Johan Östling's Avatar

Johan Östling

@johanostling.bsky.social

Professor of history • Knowledge, ideas, people, universities, the humanities, Europe – past and present • Director of the Lund Centre for the History of Knowledge (LUCK)

5,610 Followers  |  343 Following  |  136 Posts  |  Joined: 22.09.2023
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Posts by Johan Östling (@johanostling.bsky.social)

(The image shows the Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico, founded in 1551 as one of the first universities in Latin America. In 1910, it was re-established as a secular scientific institution and given the name the National Autonomous University of Mexico.)

05.03.2026 08:50 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Hopefully, the English translation of the book will be published at the end of this year or early next year.

05.03.2026 08:49 — 👍 3    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
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I am happy to announce that my book on the history of the university will be published in English. I have signed a contract with Routledge and will revise the text before a translator turns it into English. One challenge will be to make the book more global without losing its concise structure.

05.03.2026 08:48 — 👍 14    🔁 1    💬 1    📌 0
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CfA: 2026 Doctoral Summer School in the History of Knowledge

We invite applications for the seventh annual Doctoral Summer School in the History of Knowledge: Lund University, 17–20 August, 2026. Deadline for applications: 15 March.

More information: newhistoryofknowledge.com/2026/02/03/c...

04.02.2026 07:49 — 👍 8    🔁 8    💬 0    📌 1
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Universitetet har lång, vindlande historia, men hur ser dess framtid ut som kunskaps- och samhällsinstitution. Den frågan fick jag och jag fick lägga ut texten om akademisk frihet, det historiska arvet, dagens hot och åtskilligt annat.

Här finns intervjun: www.lu.se/artikel/univ...

12.12.2025 07:00 — 👍 6    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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OLOF BÄRTÅS: Det här är problemet med alla 70-talister 1990-talet gick från att vara löftenas årtionde till en urscen för 2020-talets kriser. Olof Bärtås tar del av hur 70-talisterna nu gör upp med tiden som formade dem.

Generationsuppgörelser är dagens tema.

www.expressen.se/kultur/kultu...

17.11.2025 14:19 — 👍 10    🔁 2    💬 2    📌 0

More about the work here: www.bloomsbury.com/us/cultural-...

30.10.2025 13:04 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
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“A Cultural History of Higher Learning” – this massive work in six volumes is today published by Bloomsbury. Spanning 2,500 years, 67 scholars chart the dynamics of higher learning across the centuries. I am glad to have contributed a chapter on the history of disciplines in the 20th century.

30.10.2025 13:04 — 👍 8    🔁 3    💬 1    📌 0
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Two new articles on the contemporary history of the university:

@Maria Simonsen, “Writing the History of a Reform University”: doi.org/10.1515/9783...

Karl Haikola and Johan Östling, “Review Essay: The Europeanisation of the Universities”: doi.org/10.1515/9783...

16.10.2025 06:21 — 👍 7    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0
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New publication: “History of Intellectual Culture”, Vol. 4 of the yearbook that I edit with Charlotte A. Lerg and Jana Weiss.

Available open access: www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...

15.10.2025 08:17 — 👍 5    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

The 2nd History of Knowledge Conference in Lund was fantastic, and I look forward to contributing to make the History of Knowledge Conference a tradition by organizing it in Utrecht, home of @jhokjournal.bsky.social, in 2027. More soon!

10.10.2025 15:31 — 👍 8    🔁 2    💬 0    📌 0

At the closing session, we could announce some exciting news: the third History of Knowledge Conference will be held in Utrecht in 2027, under the leadership of @svendupre.bsky.social. I am already looking forward to it.

10.10.2025 13:35 — 👍 6    🔁 1    💬 1    📌 0
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The second History of Knowledge Conference has come to an end. Over three intense days in Lund, around a hundred researchers have explored the history of knowledge from various perspectives.

It has been a real pleasure to host this conference and organise it with my wonderful colleagues at LUCK.

10.10.2025 13:35 — 👍 13    🔁 1    💬 1    📌 0
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THE HISTORY OF KNOWLEDGE CONFERENCE

This week, on 8–10 October, LUCK is organizing The History of Knowledge Conference in Lund. I am delighted to be the host together with my dear colleagues.

The programme can be found here: newhistoryofknowledge.com/wp-content/u...

06.10.2025 05:59 — 👍 22    🔁 12    💬 1    📌 0
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Universitetets grundfrågor fortsätter att engagera. I går var Linda Wedlin och jag inbjudna till Karolinska Institutet för diskussion om universitetens roll i ett demokratiskt samhälle. Spänstiga samtal om kollegialitet, akademisk frihet och om vi ser framväxten av en kinesisk universitetsmodell.

25.09.2025 05:51 — 👍 5    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Please spread the word about the book series – and don’t hesitate to contact us if you have a book that might be suitable.

23.09.2025 05:55 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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New assignment: editor of Routledge’s book series “Knowledge Societies in History”. It will be truly stimulating to work with @svendupre.bsky.social as an editor of this series and thereby hopefully continue to develop the history of knowledge internationally.

23.09.2025 05:55 — 👍 17    🔁 4    💬 1    📌 0
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LUCK’s seminar series for the autumn of 2025 is out!

Read more here: newhistoryofknowledge.com/2025/09/16/a...

16.09.2025 10:41 — 👍 6    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0
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Autumn Seminar Series @LUCK LUCK’s Seminar Series, Autumn 2025 8 October, 09.15–10.15 (LUX Nedre Aulan) An Early Information Society: Paris under the Ancien Régime* Robert Darnton (Harvard) 9 October, 13.00–14.00 (LUX Nedre A…

Great lineup in this seminar series hosted at LUCK:

newhistoryofknowledge.com/2025/09/16/a...

#skystorians #earlymodern #mediahistory #bookhistory

16.09.2025 08:07 — 👍 11    🔁 8    💬 0    📌 0
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Universities and the Public Good Universities and the Public Good: Research, Education, and Democracy since 1945 September 10 – 12, 2025 | Herrenhausen Palace Conference Center, Hanover, Germany Supported by the Volkswagen Foundation...

“Universities and the Public Good”. That is the title of a conference on research, education and democracy since 1945 in Hanover this week. Most of the researchers here are historians, but the questions raised are highly relevant for us today.

ghiworkshops.hypotheses.org/universities...

11.09.2025 05:27 — 👍 11    🔁 2    💬 0    📌 0
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Alumner – vilken roll spelar de för universiteten? I en ny avhandling ger sig Pia Widén i kast med ämnet och jämför Harvard, Penn State, Cambridge, Uppsala och Helsingfors från mitten av 1800-talet till i dag.

Min streckare om avhandlingen: www.svd.se/a/0VmM3M/alu...

10.09.2025 05:38 — 👍 8    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0
MA Pia Widén (right) defending her thesis in the grand auditorium of the main building of University of Helsinki, with Prof. Laura Kolbe (middle) as supervisor and Prof. Johan Östling (Lund, left) as opponent.

MA Pia Widén (right) defending her thesis in the grand auditorium of the main building of University of Helsinki, with Prof. Laura Kolbe (middle) as supervisor and Prof. Johan Östling (Lund, left) as opponent.

Pia Widén defending her thesis (hdl.handle.net/10138/599570), a pioneering comparative study of strategic alumni engagement at Cambridge, Uppsala, Harvard, Helsinki and Penn State universities 1840–2018, with Prof. Laura Kolbe as supervisor and Prof. @johanostling.bsky.social (Lund) as opponent.

29.08.2025 10:46 — 👍 2    🔁 1    💬 1    📌 0

Läs mer här om konferensen: www.ht.lu.se/fileadmin/us...

27.08.2025 05:45 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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I dag anordnas konferensen ”Forskaren i framtidens offentlighet” för andra året i rad. Liksom i fjol står Centrum för kunskapshistoria som värd. Det är mina goda kollegor @dlheidenblad.bsky.social och @bjornlundberg.bsky.social som har satt ihop ett fint program.

27.08.2025 05:45 — 👍 15    🔁 2    💬 2    📌 0
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Last week, the sixth annual Summer School in the History of Knowledge brought together an international group of 20 Ph.D. candidates and early career researchers for lectures, seminars, and discussions in Lund. Thank you all for coming!

Read more here: newhistoryofknowledge.com/2025/08/25/h...

25.08.2025 09:11 — 👍 4    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Very happy to have spent 4 days at the Summer School organized by the Lund Centre for the History of Knowledge. Great encounters, wonderful concepts to use, and exciting research ideas and perspectives. I warmly recommend it to all PhD students interested in the field!

22.08.2025 15:28 — 👍 5    🔁 1    💬 2    📌 0

Thank you, Jules! Great to have you here. Welcome back in October!

22.08.2025 15:45 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Det stora forskningsprogrammet ”Demokrati och högre utbildning” samlas för internat på Sigtunastiftelsen. Denna tioåriga satsning från Uppsala universitet involverar en rad forskare. Tacksam att få ingå som extern representant i styrelsen.

21.08.2025 10:01 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Summer School in the History of Knowledge Begins Today, August 19, the sixth annual Summer School in the History of Knowledge opens. Over the next four days, an international group of 20 Ph.D. candidates and early career researchers wil…

Read more about the Summer School: newhistoryofknowledge.com/2025/08/19/s...

19.08.2025 06:30 — 👍 4    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0
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Today, August 19, the sixth annual Summer School in the History of Knowledge opens. Over the next four days, an international group of 20 Ph.D. candidates and early career researchers will gather in Lund for seminars and discussions.

Thank you, @bjornlundberg.bsky.social, for coordinating this!

19.08.2025 06:30 — 👍 11    🔁 4    💬 1    📌 1