I am a PhD student in history researching the emergence of meritocracy in Northern Europe ca. 1600–1810. By comparing developments in Prussia and Sweden, I am investigating how and why meritocracy became part of people’s experiences, expectations, and lived reality. I am particularly interested in changes in the practices, techniques, media, and institutions of everyday life.

This topic touches on current debates about the nature and future of meritocracy by shedding new light on the history of European societies in recent centuries.

My other research interests include social mobility and experiences of social advancement in the early modern period and, more broadly, the period from the late Middle Ages to the nineteenth century, with a particular focus on the intersections between culture, ideas, emotions, and social life.