The Department of Economic, Social and Environmental History focuses on the economy, society and environment in transformation. We consider economic history (as the history of of how people deal with resources of all kinds) and social history (as the history of the manifold relationships between people and groups) and environmental history (as the history of the 'more-than-human' relationships between society and nature) as interrelated fields of investigation. In addition, we address other aspects of historical reality (technology, politics, law, science, culture, etc.). In doing so, we strive for temporally, spatially and societally differentiated views of the past:

• In temporal terms, we consider short-, medium-, and long-term developments, focusing on the varieties of modernity since about 1500.
• In spatial terms, we link global, European, national, regional, and local perspectives.
• In societal terms, we examine inequalities of class, gender, generation, and other categories.

In all of these regards, we focus on the interplay between social structures and the practice of human thought and action.

Teaching

In teaching, we coordinate history and civic education in the bachelor's and master's programs for secondary school teachers (in cooperation with the Department of Modern History and Contemporary History at the JKU Linz and the two Colleges of Education in Linz. In addition, we introduce a historical perspective into courses in the social sciences and humanities. In the doctoral programs in social and economic sciences as well as in humanities and cultural studies, we supervise dissertation projects of young scholars with a historical focus. The university course in tourism management, which is based at the department, opens up further career prospects.

Research

In research, our questions derive from professional criteria and society’s orientation needs: images and uses of nature, economic conjunctures and crises, commodity chains and frontiers, technological diffusion and change, migration and mobility, labour relations, family life, consumer culture, living standards, and so on. The sources and methods used are wide-ranging: from quantitative approaches that evaluate statistically ascertainable mass data to qualitative approaches that decode oral, written, and pictorial ego-documents. For the interpretation of the collected facts, we rely on categories, theories and concepts from the social sciences and humanities. In doing so, interdisciplinary cooperation is of great importance.

Dissemination

In the communication of knowledge, we use a variety of media in addition to the conventional forms of science. We publish journals and book series, organize conferences, workshops and lectures, and participate in (inter)national organizations and networks. One focus is the curation of museums and exhibitions. In addition, we use our expertise to engage in public debates and are committed to an open, professional and responsible approach to the past, above all the Nazi era.