Research in Agrarian history

Agrarian history is a historical discipline that encompasses a development from ancient times to the present. The subject is about agricultural production and technological development, social and economic conditions, people in the rural society and their relation to nature, the landscape and to society at large.

At present, four main research themes are at the center of the research agenda:

• The workers in agriculture;

• Transhumance, commons and property rights;

• Early modern climate adaptation;

• Agricultural growth and transformation.

To this, several other topics are studied, such as garden history, medieval agriculture and the emergence of the servant system, historical inequality, the commercialization of agriculture, and landscape and settlement history. Research at the division combines theories and methods from both the humanities and natural science and by using Swedish contexts and sources to address general problems it contributes to the international research agenda.

The division is also engaged in collaboration with the surrounding society. One example is the external consultancy for the County Administrative Board in terms of the cultural reserve of Linnés Hammarby that have resulted in a longterm management plan for the reserve, and the reserve being used for teaching and for research on e.g. swidden agriculture  and the cultivation of land race grains.

Patrick Svensson is since 1 May 2017 professor of agrarian history. His inauguration lecture is about growth and inequality during the agrarian revolution.