About
Matthias Ruoss is a Lecturer in Contemporary History at the University of Fribourg, affiliated with the Interdisciplinary Institute of Ethics and Human Rights (IIEDH). He holds a habilitation (2023) and PhD (2014) from the University of Bern. His research focuses on the history of capitalism, gender history, historical anthropology, and social security systems.
He leads major research projects like the SNSF-funded 'Freiwilligkeit und Geschlecht' (2021–2025) and the AGORA project 'Behind the Scenes: The History of Volunteering in Switzerland' (2024–2026). His work bridges economic, gender, and social history, addressing topics like credit systems, voluntary labor, and neoliberal transformations.
Key publications include Auf Pump (2024) on credit history and edited volumes on volunteering’s gender dynamics. His media contributions include radio interviews on debt and historical ethics, winning the 2019 Radiopreis.
