“When we have chosen “Defining Humanities” as the title of this report it is actually not because the Division represents the largest concentration of humanities at KTH – but rather because we wish to signal that the humanities that students and society deserve should have this capacity to define the issues and the problems, and also define directions for the innovations and transformations that undoubtedly lie ahead.”
Sverker Sörlin, Defining Humanities, Division Annual Report, 2017-2018
A starting point is that technology and science are cultural phenomena that shape and affect conditions for life on earth. Equally fundamental to our work is the idea that historical studies are crucial for understanding present situations as well as future developments. In other words, studies of history contribute to a better understanding of the conditions for technological developments and changes in society. We believe that such insights are valuable for future engineers as well as for other students.
Education
IT-society, knowledge society, service society – what is actually new about what these terms describe? What does the relation between technology, science, environment and economy look like? Is our world becoming an increasingly dangerous place in which to live? The Division of History of Science, Technology and Environment offers a broad range of courses that address questions like these. In addition to our basic courses, students at a higher level in their education can choose to do their Master’s thesis in our division. We also offer selections of courses outside KTH, for further education for members of our staff for instance.
Read more about our Undergraduate Studies
Read more about our Thrid Cycle Education
Research
Almost all our research is carried out in the form of team projects that have successfully secured funding from highly competitive research funding programmes, including from Vetenskapsrådet, Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, Vinnova, the Wallenberg foundations, Mistra, Formas, etc.
The quality of our research has been confirmed by an evaluation by Högskoleverket, which stated that the Division is one of the best research environments for history of technology in northern Europe. This has also been confirmed in two internal Research Assessment Exercises at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH).
Read more about our ongoing projects at our Research Pages
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Collaboration
Researchers at the Divison take an active part in popular debates through lectures, articles in daily newspapers, and appearances on radio and television.
Members of our staff receive commissions from several sectors outside the university, including education, museums, heritage, cultural and environmental preservation, official investigations etc. Besides such assignments, our researchers are well represented on boards and investigative committees outside KTH, both in Sweden and beyond.
