Research
Our research and teaching here in Göttingen is informed by theoretical concepts and focuses primarily on the social and economic history of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. We focus on three subfields:
History of consumption
A plentiful array of affordable consumer goods available to wide segments of the population has shaped the "modern" way of life in developed economies. The rise of mass consumer societies, their origins and their social consequences are an important aspect of the study of economic and social history in Götttingen.
Business history
We are interested in the history of companies not merely as producers, but also as actors within society. We study the way in which companies are embedded within economic, political, social and cultural contexts. Our research also traces transformation processes with regard to the micro-economic and organizational structures and functions of businesses.
History of globalisation
The growth of the world econopmy and the increasing global integration of markets has a historical dimension; it cannot simply be viewed as a uniform and linear process leading up to the present day. We research the effects of globalisation as a process on societies worldwide as well as through the histories of phenomena such as multinational enterprises, global markets, or transnational transfers in knowledge.
