History
History began with the first humans, never ends, and includes all of us and everything we do. As an academic discipline, history is all-encompassing, from the minuscule to the expansive, from specific detail to abstract theory. In practice, however, we can only ever learn about a small part of the historical process.
Antiquity
The University of Copenhagen has a distinctively unorthodox and innovative international profile in Antiquity research. The two areas it prioritises are empires and non-governmental organisations.
The Greek, Hellenistic and Roman world
Ancient history is an integral part of the study of history at the University of Copenhagen. The focus is on the Greek, Hellenistic and Roman worlds, from the Bronze Age to circa 400 BCE.
In Antiquity we find the roots of modernity
In addition to broad, general studies of culture, politics and, in particular, society and economics in Antiquity, the research focuses on the subsequent reception of period and specific academic problems in a global historical perspective, e.g. the emergence of states, migration, warfare and long-distance trade. It is an approach that juxtaposes the historically specific with the historically general. Even more importantly: studying Antiquity provides a solid foundation for understanding the modern world.
Traditional methods meet modern theories
Ancient History at the University of Copenhagen is characterised by a methodological pluralism, in which practical skills such as archaeology, epigraphy (the study of inscriptions), papyrology (the study of papyri), etc., are deployed in productive interactions with modern theories derived from sociology, anthropology, economics and cultural history (e.g. in relation to textile research, etc.). One commonly employed method is a comparative approach that not only highlights less visible factors, but also allows us to observe how the Greco-Roman world interacted with other cultures at the time, and how its institutions were comparable to those that arose in Europe, Mesoamerica, Asia and Africa.
New international profile
The University of Copenhagen has a distinctively unorthodox and innovative international profile in Antiquity research. The two areas it prioritises are empires and non-governmental organisations.
The Vikings and the Middle Ages
Research into the Vikings and the Middle Ages at the Saxo Institute deals with the history of Denmark and Europe 500–1500 CE, as seen in culture, scholarship, education, economics, politics, institutions, the climate, etc.
The foundations for contemporary culture, politics and economics were laid during this period. Several institutions that have played a crucial role in the emergence of modern society have their origins in the Middle Ages, e.g. Europe’s kingdoms, parliaments, banks and universities. The research aims not only to understand and present developments, social structures and relationships in the Middle Ages but also to explore and demonstrate their influence on the world today. Conversely, the research also explores how later philosophies have affected, and continue to influence, perceptions of the Middle Ages.
The Medieval History section conducts research into the following core areas:
- The history of scholarship, education and culture
- Economic and political history in a Danish and European context
- Institutional history
- Medieval historiography, memory culture and uses of history
- Environmental history: climate and demographics
- Viking history in Scandinavia and Europe
- The modern historiography of the Middle Ages.
Modern history
The Saxo Institute conducts research into a broad spectrum of topics in the period c. 1500 to the present, including radical processes of renewal, industrialisation, population growth, Europeanisation, globalisation, ways of understanding the world and much more.
Although the modern era has no clear starting point, the term is used internationally to describe the period from the Middle Ages until today.
It does have a clear identity, however, shaped by a series of radical processes of renewal: Europeanisation and globalisation from Columbus to electronics.
- Industrialisation and explosive population growth.
- New understandings of the world, from the Reformation to quantum mechanics.
- Sovereign states, international law, human rights.
- Mass communication, from the printing press to television.
The list goes on. One defining feature of modern history is the ever-accelerating trend towards renewal, despite all the baggage cultures carry from pre-modern times.
Contemporary history – the 20th and 21st centuries
The Saxo Institute’s teaching and research in contemporary history are based on diverse and wide-ranging research traditions such as political history, economic history, and cultural and social history.
Contemporary historians share an interest in historiographical, theoretical/methodological and empirical approaches to understanding the past approx. 100 years of history. They also work along with their fellow historians and other academics at the Institute, in particular the ethnologists.
“All history is contemporary history,” wrote the Italian historian and philosopher Benedetto Croce. In other words, our understanding of the past is inevitably influenced by the present, and by the issues that most concern us now. Croce also believed that the study of the past makes us wiser about the present and, if we are lucky, about the future. In this sense, all history, modern or ancient, can be understood as contemporary history.
Living memory
As a specific discipline, contemporary history differs in certain respects from the study of the more distant past. Contemporary historians at the Saxo Institute teach and research the period from around the First World War to the present day. This might be called the history of “living memory”, i.e. of the part of the past of which people alive today, to a greater or lesser extent, have a personal recollection. Another characteristic of contemporary history is that the enormous amount of source material has only partially been systematised and made available to study.
Geographical scope
Geographically, the Saxo Institute’s contemporary historians mainly study Western culture, i.e. Danish/Nordic, European and North American/transatlantic history. However, the Institute’s contemporary historical expertise also extends to the Middle East, Asia and Latin America.
As a separate discipline, Contemporary Political History originally focused on the history of nation states’ domestic and foreign policies. However, in recent years, the discipline has undergone a process of revitalisation, and now also encompasses subjects like international relations and transnational history.
Contemporary political history in a wider perspective
One key recurring feature of research in this area is an interest in political power and how it is exercised by institutions and individuals. The research draws on classical source criticism but also derives inspiration from social science theory. In recent years, efforts have been made to establish links not only with the social sciences and economic history but also cultural history. This reflects the recognition that, like any other historical discipline, contemporary political history cannot be studied in isolation, but must take into account the insights and academic traditions of neighbouring disciplines and professions.
The 20th and 21st centuries
The Saxo Institute conducts research into and teaches contemporary political history of the 20th and 21st centuries, including the two world wars, the inter-war years, the Cold War, and the period from 1990 to the present. Contemporary political history concentrates on the most recent history, often as new archives become accessible.
In other words, the focus tends to move with the times
For many years up until the 1960s, the Institute’s research and teaching in contemporary history revolved around the period from the 1870s up to the end of the First World War. The focus then shifted to the occupation of Denmark and World War II. In the last 20–30 years, the emphasis has been on the Cold War, the EEC/EU, modern political ideas and culture, human rights, etc. Recent years have seen a marked increase in interest among students and teachers in the politics and contemporary history of the period after 1990.
The main themes studied in Economic History are production, allocation, distribution and consumption. The methodology deployed includes economic theory, quantification/statistics and case studies of economic phenomena. Economic history, like the economy itself, is based on a specific behavioural model, in which every individual is assumed to act rationally – but in the main conforming with groups and with society – in order to improve their own prosperity using the limited resources available to them. However, the primary focus of economic history is not on the individual, but on the social and collective results of what the actors do and the historical changes in the institutional conditions through which these actions are channelled.
The 20th and 21st centuries
Typical subjects for 20th- and 21st-century economic history include economic growth and crises, new technology, business structures, companies and their history, international economic relations (foreign trade, foreign exchange systems, etc.), the labour market, the role of the public sector in the economy, economic policy, patterns of consumption, colonies and developing countries and economic theory.
Research at the Saxo Institute
In recent decades, economic historians at the Saxo Institute have focused on topics such as industrialisation in Denmark, Danish agriculture, industrial technology, the relationship between business, government and society, patterns of consumption for industrial goods, the national accounts, Danish foreign aid and a number of other topics primarily anchored in pre-20th-century history, i.e. food consumption in the 19th century. Researchers at the Saxo Institute have thus far written three volumes in the series Denmark’s Economic History after 1500, covering the period up to 1960. Current research includes conditions for business in Schleswig-Holstein in the mid-19th century and the Scandinavian countries’ inflation policies of the 1970s and ’80s.
Research into cultural history, as practised today, is primarily based on the “new cultural history” approach that emerged in the 1980s, influenced by trends in contemporary anthropology, literature and the “linguistic turn”. It does not focus on elite high culture or the history of particular peoples. Instead, it emphasises the cultural constructions of identities and meanings in a wider sense. The research looks at objects, people, ideas and actions and their changing historical meaning. It is often in debates about these meanings – as reflected in society’s practices, in social identities and in discourses – into which cultural historians conduct research.
The history of everything
Similar to other periods, research into the cultural history of the 20th century has frequently focused on constructions of gender, race and ethnicity, under the influence of feminist and postcolonial studies. In recent decades, however, the field has expanded exponentially and now includes what cultural historians have dubbed the “the history of everything”. Just as the car, the sense of smell and the environment all have a cultural history, so too do statistical categories, diplomatic practice and military organisational structures. It is the rule rather than the exception that cultural historians work in an interdisciplinary manner and collaborate with researchers in the social and human sciences. This is now also the case for the natural sciences, as cultural history expands to include a series of “natural” phenomena (e.g. the body, the environment and disease).
Research at the Saxo Institute
Subjects that researchers and lecturers in 20th- and 21st-century cultural history at the Saxo Institute engage with include the history of the following: the body and gender, health, disease, food, cities, technology, mobility, digitalisation and cultural heritage.
Contemporary social history combines theory with finding and processing historical source materials in new ways. The primary focus of contemporary research and teaching in social history at the Saxo Institute is the period 1850–1950.
Classical social history
Interest in social history as a discipline goes back to early-20th-century statisticians, who sought to document social conditions and problems by establishing time series. Classical social history dealt with demographics, morbidity and mortality, nutrition, accidents, housing, working conditions, wages, consumers, unemployment, social security and pensions.
The exercise of power
More recent social history research has largely focused on the exercise of power (economic, political and discursive), in particular by established institutions – e.g. prisons, hospitals, psychiatric institutions, kindergartens, schools and universities (viewed as “social organisms”) – in which the people in charge (doctors, teachers) consciously or unconsciously categorise or discipline those over whom they exercise power. The philosopher Michael Foucault, in particular, has left his indelible mark on this research.
Social relations
In recent years, the focus has shifted towards social relations – to networks, civil society, social cohesion, social movements, marginalisation and problematic cultures. The research in this area often adopts a comparative perspective on social relations in different social spaces within or between nation states.
Social policy and the welfare state
One area to which social historians have made a particularly significant contribution is research into the emergence of the welfare state, its development, nature and problems. This has entailed a shift toward studying political priorities, means and measures. Relatively little research has yet been conducted into the very latest contemporary social history, partly due to the new and tighter rules for personal and sensitive data (GDPR).
Theory and history
All historians at the Saxo Institute are engaged in theoretical questions linked to their research areas, while some specialise in science theory, including the history of science, historiography and the history of ideas.
The claim is often made that history is a discipline lacking in theory. This is a myth. Historical research is characterised by being empirical. Citing exact source material for statements about the past is an important aspect of the legitimacy of our work. Traditionally, therefore, source criticism has played a significant role in the definition of the discipline. However, since sources never convey the past per se and only say something about it in conjunction with a specific historical problem, theory and empirical evidence are always linked. This applies to all of the interwoven elements of the historical research process: articulating the problem, heuristics, analytical design, as well as the reasoning and plot behind the historiography.
Analytical and theoretical reflection
The demand for analytical and theoretical reflection is, therefore, a natural and integral part of history as an academic subject and occurs at all levels of the study programmes. What are power, society and discourse, and how are they interrelated? What is the relationship between actor and structure, or between materiality, physical practice and articulation? What are the prerequisites for change and development in history? These are examples of questions that historians discuss on a more abstract level and seek to answer in dialogue with a wide range of sources.
Science theory problems
With regard to science theory, history shares problems with other parts of the humanities and the social sciences. What constitutes a scientific approach? What are the criteria for objectivity? What is the relationship between language and reality? A number of science-theory questions are also of particular relevance to historians, such as the question of time and historicity, the relationship between past, present and future, as well as collective memory and its political function.
All historians at the Saxo Institute address questions of theory related to their research and some of them specialise in science theory, including the history of science, historiography and the history of ideas.
Collective projects and networks
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Researchers and lecturers
Name | Title | Phone | |
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Bak, Sofie Lene | Associate professor | +45 353-29460 | |
Bang, Peter Fibiger | Associate professor | +45 51 29 91 04 | |
Engelhardt, Juliane | Associate professor | +45 51 29 94 59 | |
Eriksen, Sidsel | Associate professor | +45 51 29 95 56 | |
Fink-Jensen, Morten | Associate professor | +45 23 21 92 09 | |
Fonnesbech-Wulff, Benedicte | Teaching associate professor | +45 353-35772 | |
Frandsen, Karl-Erik | Associate professor emeritus | +45 51 30 17 81 | |
Fritzbøger, Bo | Associate professor | +45 51 29 97 59 | |
Jahnke, Carsten | Associate professor | +45 51 29 97 37 | |
Jensen, Tenna | Associate professor | +45 353-36069 | |
Kirchhoff, Hans | Associate professor emeritus | +45 51 30 17 81 | |
Lammers, Karl Christian | Associate professor emeritus | +45 51 29 95 67 | |
Langen, Ulrik | Professor | +45 27 44 34 16 | |
Langkjær, Michael Alexander | Part-time lecturer | ||
Lind, Gunner | Professor | +45 51 29 93 28 | |
Littrup, Leif | Associate professor emeritus | +45 51 29 95 16 | |
Løkke, Anne | Professor | +45 51 29 96 04 | |
Mariager, Rasmus Mølgaard | Associate professor | +45 51 29 96 06 | |
Møller, Jes Fabricius | Associate professor | +45 353-35336 | |
Nosch, Marie Louise Bech | Professor | +45 23 82 80 21 | |
Olden-Jørgensen, Sebastian | Associate professor | +45 51 29 96 53 | |
Olsen, Niklas | Associate professor | +45 51 29 96 76 | |
Pedersen, Jan | Associate professor | +45 51 29 96 15 | |
Pelt, Mogens | Associate professor | +45 51 29 95 21 | |
Rasmussen, Anders Holm | Associate professor | +45 353-35769 | |
Rasmussen, Morten | Associate professor | +45 29 62 05 50 | |
Roslyng-Jensen, Palle | Associate professor emeritus | +45 28 69 65 42 | |
Rud, Søren | Associate professor | +45 51 29 96 05 | |
Schmidt, Regin | Associate professor | +45 51 29 95 34 | |
Shamir, Avner | Associate professor | +45 21 17 93 29 | |
Simonsen, Gunvor | Associate professor | +45 51 29 93 35 | |
Sonne, Lasse Christian Arboe | Associate professor | +45 51 29 92 79 | |
Villaume, Poul | Professor emeritus. | +45 51 29 95 68 |