European History and Politics

The Chair in European History and Politics was held by Oliver Schmitdke from 2006 to 2009. 

Oliver Schmidtke is a Professor in the Departments of Political Science and History at the University of Victoria where he also holds the Jean Monnet Chair in European History and Politics. He received his PhD from the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence. He taught at the Humboldt University Berlin before joining UVic in 2000 and has been a visiting scholar at Harvard University, Bonn University, the European University Institute, and Hamburg University. 

As a ‘UVic European Studies Scholar’ he has been instrumental in building the European Studies Program as its former director (2005-2008) and taken a leading role in promoting European Studies in Canada. From 2004 to 2006 Oliver Schmidtke was the President of the European Community Studies Association Canada and since 2008 he has been the leader of the migration research group for the Canada-Europe Transatlantic Dialogue project. From 2007 to 2012 he was also the domain leader for Metropolis BC (‘Citizenship and Social, Cultural and Civic Integration’). 

Oliver Schmidtke’s research interests are in the fields of comparative European politics and contemporary history, European integration, the political sociology of migration, integration and ethnic conflict, and the role of identities and collective memory in modern societies. His most recent book publications are: Falge, C., Ruzza, C. and Schmidtke, O. (2012). Giving New Subjects a Voice. Political and Institutional Responses to Cultural Diversity in the Health Care System. Ashgate. A. Salvatore, Schmidtke, O. and H.J. Trenz (eds.) (2012) Rethinking the Public Sphere Through Transnationalizing Processes: Europe and Beyond. Palgrave (Series: Political Sociology); A. Nohl, K. Schittenhelm, O. Schmidtke and A. Weiss (forthcoming, 2013). Cultural Capital in Migration. The Labour Market Integration of Highly Skilled Migrants.

To find out more about the projects Oliver Schmitdke is currently involved in, visit the Europe Canada Network.