History of Ideas and Science

The research within History of Ideas and Science at University of Gothenburg covers a wide range of themes, theories and historical periods. The researchers are however joined by the ambition to study ideas and knowledge production in relevant intellectual, institutional, cultural and societal contexts. Several areas of research are addressed – politics, philosophy, and aesthetics, as well as science, technology and medicine.

Themes that are explored by the department’s researchers are, among others: conditions of critical thinking and history of philosophy, materialities of scientific knowledge, European identity and post-colonialism, environmental history, gender issues, theories of society, and transformations of modernity. Hermeneutical questions, conceptual history and problems of historiography are other areas of interest.

There is a certain emphasis on the twentieth century, and contemporary topics, however, the Early Modern period is also a focus of study, as is long historical diachronic perspectives. Geographically speaking most research is done on European material, but global subjects are also addressed. The research profile corresponds to what is internationally understood by intellectual history, history of concepts, history of science and technology, history of political ideas, and cultural history.