Ernst Langthaler

Ernst Langthaler is a Professor of Social and Economic History at the Johannes Kepler University Linz, where he serves as Head of the Institute for Economic, Social and Environmental History. He has held this position since 2016, after previously serving as Director of the Institute of Rural History in St. Pölten from 2011. Langthaler has also held visiting professorships at the Universities of Innsbruck and Vienna, and was a fellow at the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society in Munich.

His educational background includes a teaching degree from the Krems Academy of Education (1986), followed by studies in history at the University of Vienna where he earned his Mag. phil. (1995) and Dr. phil. (2000). He completed his habilitation in economic and social history at the University of Vienna in 2010 with support from an APART scholarship from the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

Langthaler's research spans agricultural and nutritional history, rural environmental and social history, global and regional history, and historical methodology. His work examines the relationship between human societies and their environments across time, with particular focus on agrarian societies under National Socialism, forced labor during World War II, and family farming in industrial society. He is currently investigating the history of globalization in the 20th century through the lens of soybean production and trade, reflecting his innovative approach to connecting historical analysis with contemporary environmental challenges.

• Board member of the European Rural History Organisation (EURHO)
• Member of the Commission for Interdisciplinary Ecological Studies of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
• Co-editor of "Commodity Frontiers" journal
• Co-editor of "Austrian Journal of Historical Sciences"
• Co-editor of "Yearbook of Rural History"
• Co-editor of book series "Social and Economic History Studies"
• Co-editor of book series "Sources and Research on Agricultural History"

Langthaler teaches multiple courses at JKU Linz including Theories of History, seminars on historical protest movements since 1500, economic history, and the Anthropocene. His teaching reflects his interdisciplinary approach that connects historical analysis with contemporary environmental and social challenges, demonstrating his commitment to engaging students with both historical methodology and current global issues.