Naomi Choi

Thesis title: Erudition, Gender and Heterodoxy: The Intellectual Career of a Prophetess, Johanna Eleonora Petersen, von und zu Merlau (1644-1724)

Biography

Background

I grew up in Hong Kong and read Computer Science and Philosophy for my undergraduate degree. I then spent three years in Leuven and Heidelberg, where I studied Theology and Religious Studies as well as Philosophy. I returned to Hong Kong and completed an MPhil in Religious Studies with a thesis on the influence of Pietist Christoph Blumhardt on the early Karl Barth. Afterwards, I became convinced that historical contexts matter as much as ideas themselves. So I came to Edinburgh to train as a historian with a focus on intellectual history and the history of knowledge. My current interests are religious dissenting communities (such as the German Pietists, the Labadists, the followers of Antoinette Bourignon and the Philadelphian Society) as spaces of erudition and women's contribution to early modern intellectual culture.

Qualifications

MPhil in Religious Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (2022)

BA in Theology and Religious Studies, KU Leuven (2020)

MA in Philosophy, KU Leuven (2019)

BEng in Computer Science, University of Hong Kong (2016)

 

Undergraduate teaching

Tutor

Early Modern History: A Connected World (2022-23)

Early Modern History: A Connected World (2024-25)

Research summary

My current research lies at the intersection of the history of knowledge and women’s history. My thesis focuses on a leading figure of the German Pietist movement, Johanna Eleonora Petersen, née von und zu Merlau (1644–1724). Astonishing for a woman of her time, she had fifteen titles published; some of which were prayer books and others were theological treatises. She was known for elaborating radical ideas, such as chiliasm and universal salvation, with detailed interpretation of biblical passages and arguments. She is also known for her autobiography, which was the earliest autobiography known to be published by a woman in the German language. My thesis seeks to understand how Johanna Eleonora became a major figure in the network of Pietists through her activities and writings. In doing so, I hope to raise questions about the place of women in early modern intellectual culture and at the same time, reveal some less-appreciated forms of intellectual life in the early modern world.

Affiliated research centres

Current project grants

In the year 2024, I hold a three-month doctoral fellowship funded by the Rolf und Ursula Schneider-Stiftung at the Herzog August Bibliothek and a two-month Herzog Ernst Fellowship funded by the Ernst-Abbe-Stiftung at Gotha Research Centre.

Papers delivered

Scientiae: Disciplines of Knowing Conference (Brussels, 11-14 June 2024)  

"The network of “enthusiasts” around Johanna Eleonora Petersen in c. 1700"

Winter Meeting 2024 of the Ecclesiastical History Society: Margins and Peripheries (Online, 13 January 2024)

"Mysticism and Piety in the Thought of Johanna Eleonora Petersen and the German Religious Radicals around 1700"

ISIH 2023: Crisis and Change in Intellectual History since c. 1450 (Edinburgh, 4-6 September 2023) 

"Crisis of the heart as a source of knowledge: The Writings of Johanna Eleonora Petersen"

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