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Thomas Kaiserfeld

Head of Department, Professor

As the head of the Department of Thematic Studies (TEMA), I aim to create the best possible conditions for teaching and research.

Research on the Formation of Knowledge

Grounded in both social science and humanities perspectives, my research questions primarily revolve around areas of technology and science history.

I investigate how knowledge is shaped, circulated, and utilised in various contexts. With a background in the history of technology and science, I have particularly analysed how diverse societal needs have historically influenced research efforts and how these, in turn, have altered the frameworks for different research endeavours. One study has focused on how the production of saltpetre in Sweden, a key ingredient in gunpowder, shifted during the 18th century from state control to private initiatives. Another study has examined the ideological and rhetorical contexts of the Macchiarini affair. My teaching has mainly involved responsibility for a course in the history of technology for engineers at the Faculty of Science and Engineering.

In addition to research and teaching at universities and colleges, I have also contributed to other activities, including serving as the editor for the reality series "Skrotslaget" on SVT in 2005, where teams competed to build the best machines from scrap. I have also been a member of the Swedish National Council for Nuclear Waste and the chairman of the Scientific Council for Humanities and Social Sciences at the Swedish Research Council.

Publications

2023

Per Gyberg, Thomas Kaiserfeld, Harald Rohracher, Anna Sparrman (2023) Jakten på kortsiktiga resultat är hämmande för forskningen
Thomas Kaiserfeld (2023) Book Review: Beyond the Lab and the Field: Infrastructures as Places of Knowledge Production since the Late Nineteenth Century in TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE, vol 64, issue 1, pp 268-269 Technology and culture, Vol. 64, p. 268-269 Continue to DOI

2022

Thomas Kaiserfeld (2022) Teknik Svenska begreppshistorier: från antropocen till åsiktskorridor, p. 661-675
Thomas Kaiserfeld (2022) Konkurrens, samverkan och brist på principiell polarisering: Norra Stockholm kring 2010 - en tragedi i fem akter Polarisering: idéhistoriska perspektiv på ett samtida fenomen, p. 241-280

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