Academic interest
I am a historian of "global social policy" of the 19th and 20th centuries in the broadest sense. More specifically my research interests are located in three major fields of study: humanitarian aid, internationalism/ international organizations and global discourses on working conditions from the 1970s onwards. An overarching concern for ideas and practises of social justice, development as well as for the motives and drivers behind international and transnational action informs my research including my two latest monographs - a history of the ILO (“100 years of Global Social Policy”, 2019) - and a history of US quakers’ humanitarian operations throughout the first half of the 20th century ("The Politics of Service, 2024").
Teaching
● HIS2930/4930 «Man-Machine-Work. Historiographical perspectives on the interactions of humans and technology» (del av UiO-40-gruppe 40HKI – Mennesker og maskiner. Humaniora og kunstig intelligens)
● HIS2980 «Mapping Schools of History»
● HIS1000 «Innføring i historiefaget»
● HIS1400 «Nyere historie fra ca.1800 til vår tid», forelesninger «Avkolonisering»; «Den globale kalde krigen»
● MITRA4000: «Key Issues in Modern International and Transnational History»
● MITRA 4001 Reading course in Modern International and Transnational History, currently «International and Transnational Perspectives on the History of the Welfare State»
● MITRA4010: «Methods and Theory in Modern International and Transnational History»
● MITRA 4011: Reading course in Modern International and Transnational History. "History of internationalism and international organizations", "history of humanitarianism, humanitarianism as history"
● MITRA4300: «Global Encounters. The Transnational Movement of People, Commodities and Ideas»
● MITRA4400/ MITRA 4450: internship/history project module
● MITRA4421: «War, Peace and the Nobel Peace Prize»
Supervision
International modern and contemporary history
Humanitarianism
Internationalism and International Organizations
National/international/transnational Labour History/Global Social Policy
From Automation to AI: relationsship of humans and technology in the workplace and beyond from a contemporary history perspective
I am a historian of modern and contemporary history, and my research interests include the history of humanitarian aid, internationalism and international organisations, as well as – more recently – labour history and modern working conditions in an international and transnational context. I am particularly interested in how historians can make a genuine and constructive contribution to current debates, for example on the societal consequences of the introduction of new technology and/or the future of democracy.
I am happy to supervise Bachelor and Master’s theses within all the aforementioned subject areas and see my primary role as a supervisor in helping students to further develop their ideas and supporting them in terms of both content and methodology. Supervision is individual, but always includes a group element. Together with colleagues, in addition to individual supervision, For Master students in the final phase before submission, I offer the opportunity to take part in a series of meetings with other Master’s candidates, where projects are presented and discussed in a constructive and critical manner. I look forward to your proposals!
P.S. Supervision is in English and/or Norwegian (or German), your choice!
Background
After studies in contemporary history, ancient history, human geography and political science in Erlangen, Bremen and Bologna I graduated from Ludwig-Maximilians-University München first with an M.A. (2000) and later with a Ph.D. (2006) both in modern history. I subsequently held teaching positions at Justus-Liebig-University Giessen (from 2010 as a Dilthey-Fellow of the German Volkswagen Foundation) and - as an Assistant Professor for Social and Economic History at Aarhus University (2014/2015). Since 2016 I have been teaching modern and contemporary history at the University of Oslo, where I had the great privilege of serving as head of the newly launched Masters' Program in International and transnational history (MITRA, 2017-2021, and again from 2023).