Astrid Rasch

Astrid Rasch is a Professor of Cultural Studies and Social Studies in English at the Department of Language and Literature, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Her research focuses on post-imperial memory politics, particularly in Zimbabwe, Australia, the Caribbean, and Britain, with emphasis on memoirs and autobiography. She holds a master’s and PhD in English from the University of Copenhagen, and has studied at Monash University and been a visiting fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford.

Key professional roles include co-chair of the Nordic Memory Studies Association group, leader of the Trondheim Analytica social media research project (2018–2022), and co-founder of the Literatures of Change initiative focused on Southern African culture and politics. She teaches courses on post-1945 British global history and memory politics, and supervises master’s theses in postcolonial studies, imperial history, and modern literature.

Her research explores how autobiographical writing engages with colonial pasts to challenge dominant narratives. Notable works include Embers of Empire in Brexit Britain (2019), the forthcoming The Politics of the Past in Zimbabwe (2025), and leadership in interdisciplinary initiatives like the Collective for Interdisciplinary Studies of Sound and Text (2024–25). She has also advised PhD students on topics ranging from Brexit Britain to social media’s impact on democracy.

Rasch contributes to public discourse through media commentary on British and Zimbabwean affairs, and collaborates with students on climate change advocacy. Her work bridges academic research with societal engagement, addressing themes like decolonization, historical memory, and digital democracy.