David Blackbourn
Encyclopedia
David Gordon Blackbourn is the Coolidge Professor of History at Harvard University
and director of the university's Minda de Gunzberg Center for European Studies. Blackbourn teaches and researches primarily in the fields of German and modern European history. He is on the editorial board of the journal Past & Present
; the academic advisory board of the Institute for European History
, Mainz; and the advisory board of the Friends of the German Historical Institute, Washington. He was chair of the Harvard History Department in 1998–1999 and 2000–2002, and was president of the Conference Group on Central European History of the American Historical Association
in 2003–2004.
After completing his dissertation at Jesus College
, Cambridge
, Blackbourn became a lecturer at Queen Mary College
in 1976 before joining the faculty of Birkbeck College in 1979. In 1992 he moved to the U.S. becoming a professor at Harvard. He was award a Guggenheim Fellowship
in 1994. In 2007, he was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
.
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and director of the university's Minda de Gunzberg Center for European Studies. Blackbourn teaches and researches primarily in the fields of German and modern European history. He is on the editorial board of the journal Past & Present
Past & Present
Past & Present is a British historical academic journal, which was a leading force in the development of social history. It was founded in 1952 by a combination of Marxist and non-Marxist historians. The Marxist historians included members of the Communist Party Historians Group, including E. P...
; the academic advisory board of the Institute for European History
Institute for European History
Institute of European History in Mainz, Germany is an independent research institute that carries out and promotes historical research on the foundations of Europe in Early Modern and Modern times.- History of the Institute :...
, Mainz; and the advisory board of the Friends of the German Historical Institute, Washington. He was chair of the Harvard History Department in 1998–1999 and 2000–2002, and was president of the Conference Group on Central European History of the American Historical Association
American Historical Association
The American Historical Association is the oldest and largest society of historians and professors of history in the United States. Founded in 1884, the association promotes historical studies, the teaching of history, and the preservation of and access to historical materials...
in 2003–2004.
After completing his dissertation at Jesus College
Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The College was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely...
, Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, Blackbourn became a lecturer at Queen Mary College
Queen Mary, University of London
Queen Mary, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
in 1976 before joining the faculty of Birkbeck College in 1979. In 1992 he moved to the U.S. becoming a professor at Harvard. He was award a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
in 1994. In 2007, he was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
.
Works
- Class, Religion, and Local Politics in Wilhelmine Germany (1980)
- The Peculiarities of German History (with G. Eley, 1984)
- Populists and Patricians (1987)
- The German Bourgeoisie (co-edited with R. Evans, 1991)
- Marpingen: Apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Nineteenth-Century Germany (1994)
- The Long Nineteenth Century: A History of Germany, 1780–1918 (1997)
- The Conquest of Nature: Water, Landscape, and the Making of Modern Germany (2006).