Research Interests

The focal point of my research is Danish and Nordic welfare history in the twentieth century, with a particular emphasis on the role of the family in the welfare state. I work at the intersection of social, welfare, gender, and family history, examining how the relationship between state and citizens has been shaped through family life, its institutions, and everyday practices. My work highlights how shifting social, economic, legal, and political circumstances have defined what family, parenthood, and especially fatherhood have meant - in legislation, in daily life, and in the encounters between citizens and the welfare state.

In my current projects, I explore both the history of paternity in the twentieth century and the so-called Danish family revolution, when new ideals of equality, family forms, and parenthood emerged from the 1960s onwards. I am particularly interested in how technologies, scientific methods, and political and societal developments have influenced the understanding of fatherhood, and how families have navigated the profound transformations that characterize the evolution of the welfare state.

Ongoing research projects:

1. Paternity in Denmark, c. 1900-2000, PAID, (Principal Investigator). Funded by the Inge Lehmann program from the DFF (Danmarks Frie Forskningsfond). (2024-2027)

2. The Danish Family Revolution: Experiences and Institutions (FREI), (co-PI with Prof. Klaus Petersen). Funded by the Velux Foundations. (2024-2029)
3. Future Family Dynamics: Supplementary Project to the Velux-funded Research Project The Danish Family Revolution: Experiences and Institutions (FREI); with Klaus Petersen and Pieter Vanhuysse. (2025–2026)

Previous research projects:

1. Project participant in the research project 'Politics of Insecurity' (POINS) (2023) with Professor Peter Starke as the Principal Investigator: https://portal.findresearcher.sdu.dk/da/projects/the-politics-of-insecurity-poins  

2. Project participant in the research project "Neoliberalism in the Nordics - Developing an Absent Theme" (2020-2024) with Professor Jenny Andersson as PI. See more here: https://nyliberalisminorden.se