Carola Ossmer

Carola Ossmer is a historian of science, knowledge, and culture affiliated with the University of Erfurt (Department of History) and previously held roles at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, and the Heinrich Böll Stiftung. She was a Visiting Fellow at Yale University and the University of Cambridge.

• Education: Completed a PhD at University of Erfurt on 'The Invention of the Normal Child'.
• Research Focus: Explores intersections between developmental norms, human sciences, and media technologies, particularly Arnold Gesell’s photographic dome and developmental schedules. Analyzes how critiques of standardization paradoxically reinforced normalization mechanisms.
• Publications: Investigates the material and media foundations of developmental psychology, visual culture in science, and the history of academic critique.
• Scientific Awards:
  • 2021 Biennial Article Prize (Forum for History of Human Science)
  • Förderpreis der GWMT (German Society for History of Sciences, Medicine, and Technology)
• Professional Activities: Board member of GWMT, co-founder of Forum Geschichte der Humanwissenschaften, and organizer of the Workshop for the History of Psychology.