Academic Staff

Paul Hummel studied at the University of Freiburg and at the University of La Réunion. He completed two combined bachelor’s programs in geography, Political Science, and sports science. He specialized in human geography through the master’s degree program “Human Geography: Globalization, Media, and Culture” at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. In his master’s thesis, he examined political and indigenous identity in the music of the P’urhépecha people in Michoacán, Mexico. As part of his exploration of film-based approaches to geography, he produced the documentary *Raíces y Brotes* (2023).

After two years of professional work with a regional focus on the French-speaking Sahel countries as part of the Africa portfolio of the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), Paul Hummel has been working since October 2023 as a doctoral candidate and academic staff member in the Human Geography Work Group led by Prof. Dr. Veronika Cummings.

In his current research, he examines migrant self-narratives in the context of European migration between the West African Sahel states and Europe. The focus is on cultural forms of expression such as music and Film, which are understood as forms of urban identity formation and subjectivation, as well as politicized counter-narratives to dominant discourses on migration policy. He is particularly interested in the extent to which artistic practices in contexts of exile and migration can foster social cohesion, while at the same time being embedded in postcolonial narratives.

Hummel, P., E. Sommerlad, & V. Cummings (2026): Doing Reel Geographies: Situating Responsibilities and the (In)Visibility of Migration through Short Vertical Films. In: Annals of the American Association of Geographers. https://doi.org/10.1080/24694452.2026.2623951

Manvelidze, K. & P. Hummel (2025): Blue Batumi. The ‘Las Vegas of the Black Sea’ between tourism value creation and socio-ecological vulnerability. In: City and water. Geographical Review (12) 2025, pp. 42-47.

Hummel, P. (2025): Our land, our pirekuas. Music as a form of resistance and its appropriations. In: Science & Peace 3: 45-47.

Sommerlad, E. & P. Hummel (2025): Researching with moving images: perspectives on an applied film geography. In: Bauer, L., K. Beurskens, J. Dobrusskin, N. Küttel, J. Miggelbrink, A.-L- Müller & E. Nöthen (eds.): Visualizing Qualitative Geographies: A Handbook. Münster: Westfälisches Dampfboot: 123-131.

Hummel, P., Sommerlad, E. & Zschocke, J. (2024). Doing Film Geographies with the Video Documentary Approach. VisQual Methodbox. https://visqual.leibniz-ifl-projekte.de/methodbox/2024/03/21/video-documentary/

Hummel, P. (2023). Raíces y Brotes – P’urhépechan Music, Politics & Identity. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4D74iCH30yU (22.3.2024)

Hummel, P. & Sommerlad, E. (2025). Doing Film Geography. Reframing (In) Visibilities of Urban Migration. Bolzano Art Week 2025 – Democracy Remapped. October 2025, Bolzano. 15.10.2025

Hummel, P. (2025) Navigating Urban Displacement: Resilience and Sense of Community Among Diasporic Groups from the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) in France. 22nd IMISCOE Annual Conference, July 2025, Paris. 05.07.2025

Cummings, V., Hummel, P. & Sommerlad, E. (2024). Film-based methods and their (geo)ethical implications: Reflections on the example of migration geographies of the urban. Conference Visual Geographies – Approaches, Methods, Questions. Dfg Network “Visual Geographies”, November 2024, Leipzig. 29.11.2024

Cummings, V., Hummel, P. & Sommerlad, E. (2024).

Hummel, P., Sommerlad, E. & Zschocke, J. (2024). Creation of the scientific documentary Raíces y Brotes (2023) – P’urhépechan Music, Politics & Identity. Workshop discussion: Contemporary mediation formats of regional studies knowledge – concepts, applications, experiences. Saxon Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Leipzig (SAW), October 2024, Leipzig. 15.11.2024

Film-based methods and their geoethical implications:Reflections based on the example of urban migration geographies in Palermo. SPOTLIGHTS Seminar – Staring at People. Interdisciplinarity and ambiguity of playing with the visibility of humans in cities. September 2024, Bucharest. 16.09.2024

Hummel, P. (2024). DIY Filmmaking at the Intersection of Urban Political Activism, Music and Migration. KISMIF International Conference ‘DIY Cultures, Democracy and Creative Participation’ (KISMIF 2024). July 2024, Porto. 13.07.2024

Cummings, V. & Hummel, P. (2024). “Uncovering” migrants everyday life and the production of the urban space in Europe through art-based methods. Forthem Blended Intensive Program (BIP) 2024: “Migrants and Cities”. Università degli Studi di Palermo (UNIPA), June 2024, Palermo, 10.06.2024

Gutenberg Graduate School of the Humanities and Social Sciences (GSHS)

FORTHEM Diversity and Migration Lab

AK Geographical Migration Research

Sommersemester 2026

  • Human Geography I (Social Geography) Practice Class—Groups C, D, H

Winter Semester 2026/2027

  • M2/M2ED Practice class: HG II: Economic Geography (Group E + F)

Summer semester 2025:

  • Major field trip with preparatory seminar: Georgia 2025

Winter semester 2024/2025:

  • Practice class Human Geography I (Social Geography) (Group F + G)

Summer semester 2024:

  • Seminar & Research Workshop : Exploring Migrants and the City: Place-Making in Palermo/ Sicily

Winter semester 2023/2024:

  • Major field trip with preparatory seminar: Georgia 2024

Consultation hour:
By appointment via email