About

Dr Ada Arendt-Weise

Research

I am a cultural anthropologist who works with historical material, using the methods of cultural studies and microhistory. My research concerns the early modern and modern history of Central and Eastern Europe, and within it primarily human–environment relations and temporality, approached through the lens of ethics of care.

Path

I hold an MA (2011) and PhD (2018), both cum laude, in Cultural Studies from the University of Warsaw. A Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship took me to the University of Bern for a postdoctoral year, after which I returned to Warsaw as a tenure-track assistant professor. In 2022 I moved to the University of Oslo, where I co-led an interdisciplinary research group on climate, environment, and energy. In spring 2027 I will be a guest lecturer at the University of Fribourg.

Beyond research

I have designed university-wide teaching programmes during my tenure as Expert on the Quality of Postgraduate Education at the University of Warsaw, written competitive grant applications for the SNSF and the ERC, and brought scholarship to general audiences through radio, festival panels, and curated webinar series and reading groups. I recently completed a Certificate in Digital Teaching and Learning Cultures at the Zurich University of the Arts. I live in Zurich.