External memberMadeleine Herren-Oesch

Prof. Dr Madeleine Herren-Oesch is director of the Institute for European Global Studies and professor of modern history at the University of Basel.

Prof. Herren-Oesch was born in Bern in 1956. She studied history and modern German language and literature at the University of Bern, graduating with a first degree and qualification as a high-school teacher. After completing a doctorate and habilitation at the University of Bern she became assistant professor at the University of Zurich. In 2004 she was appointed full professor at Heidelberg University and in 2013 accepted the post of professor of Modern History and director of the Institute for European Global Studies at the University of Basel.

Her main areas of research and teaching are the general history of the 19th and 20th century, the global history of Europe, processes of transcultural interweaving, historical methods and theories, the development of information transfer and the digital humanities. A special focus is the history of Europe, European expansion and integration, and the history of international organisations. In her research projects Prof. Herren-Oesch investigates the mutual influence of global, local and national actors. She addresses those areas extending methodologically beyond national history and is interested in implementing interdisciplinary forms of collaborative research as well as processes of internationalising universities.

Prof. Herren-Oesch is on the national research council of the Swiss National Science Foundation and chairs the commission of Diplomatic Documents of Switzerland. In 2004-2013 she held a chair at Heidelberg University’s department of history. From 2007-2012 she was co-director of the Heidelberg cluster of excellence “Asia and Europe in a Global Context”.

Prof. Herren-Oesch is married and the mother of two children.

She has been a member of the Heidelberg University Council since 2015.