Researchers at Aarhus University will soon have the opportunity to collaborate with two of the world's most eminent scholars, the Australian historian Alistair Thomson (Monash University, Melbourne) and the Harvard sociologist Robert D. Putnam. Dr Thomson and Dr Putnam have been appointed distinguished visiting professors (DVP) at AU.

2012.02.15 | AU Kommunikation

Both scholars have made a significant international contribution to their fields through their ground-breaking research. Dr Thomsen's research centres on the relationship between official history and peoples' lived experiences and memory. Dr Putnam's seminal work on social capital focusses on the factors which contribute to the maintenance - or dissolution - of the sense of community. 

The new Distinguished Visiting Professor position was created in connection with Francis Fukuyama's affiliation with Aarhus University. It gives AU a unique opportunity to facilitate collaborations  which stimulate and enrich AU's existing research activities and cultures. Both distinguished visiting professors will be keynote speakers at Aarhus University's annual MatchPoints seminar. MatchPoints is  a forum for dialogue on issues of broad social relevance, both among world-class scholars and opinion-makers and with society at large.  Therefore, the seminars are open to the general public.

Francis Fukuyama, who received an honorary doctorate from AU in 2011, participated in three MatchPoints seminars and contributed chapters to the three first volumes of the new Aarhus University Press MatchPoints series.  He also contributed to a number of seminars and master classes for PhD students. Dr Thomson and Dr Putnam will be affiliated on the same terms.  

• For more information: Please contact DVP Coordinator Michael Böss at engmb@hum.au.dk or +45 2093 4818.

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• 2012 Distinguished Visiting Professor: Alistair Thomson, professor of history, Monash University, Australia
• 2013-14 Distinguished Visiting Professor: Robert Putnam, professor of political theory and sociology, Harvard University, USA