History of Ideas

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News History of Ideas

History of Ideas

History of Ideas is the most all-round field of study at the university – at least if you believe our students.

History of ideas deals with questions about how people understand themselves and the world around them. What conceptions they have about history and the present times, and what hopes they hold for the future. Almost all of the thoughts and ideas that are around us have historical roots. You could call history of ideas the history of creativity, since it is concerned with all the ideas that have created our world, or at least our perception of it.

Code Narrative History: Critical Perspectives on Ancient DNA

International symposium at the Department of Culture and Aesthetics, Stockholm University, 11 May 2021.

Seeking proof for Viking identity in DNA

In a new study Anna Källén, Associate Professor and researcher in Heritage Studies at the Department of Culture and Aestetics and Daniel Strand, Uppsala University, have conducted interviews with fourteen persons who have taken DNA tests, and asked them about the desire to “be a Viking”. Did they see themselves as related to Vikings, to have a Viking heritage, or to be Vikings themselves? And which characteristics did they connect with their Viking identity?

Exploring the unfinished encyclopedias

Linn Holmberg, researcher in History of Ideas at the Department of Culture and Aesthetics, and Maria Simonsen researcher at Aalborg University are the editors of Stranded Encyclopedias, 1700–2000, a new anthology published by Palgrave Macmillan in the series ”New Directions in Book History”.

"Entangled memories of violence", new article by Victoria Fareld

In a new article in the journal Memory Studies (16/2 2021), Victoria Fareld, associate professor in History of Ideas, Stockholm University, analyzes how the Austrian writer Jean Améry formulates his memories of the Holocaust in the contemporaneous situation of decolonisation.

Fact Sheet for International Exchange Partners and Students