At the Ordinariate, we study modern Swiss history (19th-21st century) in its transnational entanglements. Our focus is on political and social histories, expanded through cultural and knowledge history, with a strong relevance to contemporary issues. For example, we research Switzerland with its nuclear bunkers during the Cold War, the underground as the ultimate resource of the 21st century, or the handling of epidemics in modern times. A broader perspective across national, temporal, and disciplinary boundaries helps us to identify the distinct features of Switzerland and its connection to global trends. Central to our work is the dialogue between science and society, as well as between different disciplines. This is reflected in interdisciplinary publication projects and networks, as well as in a wide range of outreach activities. In teaching, we also place great emphasis on imparting interdisciplinary and transversal skills.
Our research and teaching areas include Switzerland in the nuclear age, the history of the Swiss underground and vertical infrastructures, places, objects, and technologies of modernity, the history of infectious diseases and epidemics, apocalyptic visions and fears, the history of knowledge and science, women's and gender history, spatial history, and the history of the body and senses.
