Helga Thorson

Helga Thorson is a Professor in the Germanic and Slavic Studies department at the University of Victoria's School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures. She specializes in Holocaust studies, late 19th- and early 20th-century German and Austrian literature and culture, history of gender and sexuality, foreign language pedagogy, and Scandinavian studies.

• Co-founder of the I-witness Holocaust Field School (2011)
• Recipient of UVic’s Excellence in Teaching for Experiential Learning Award (2017)
• 3M National Teaching Fellowship awardee (2019)

Her research focuses on Holocaust memorialization, gender implications in historical trauma, and digital humanities projects. Recent work explores intersections between Indigenous studies and feminist German studies, as well as multidirectional memory work. She collaborates on digital exhibits like Stories of the Holocaust: Local Memory and Transmission and the Servitengasse 1938–1945 mapping project.

Helga’s publications and presentations emphasize social justice pedagogy, feminist theory, and transdisciplinary approaches to education. She has developed curricula for Holocaust field schools and contributes to experiential learning frameworks through collaborative projects with students and international partners.

• Scientific Awards:
  • Faculty of Humanities Teaching Excellence Award (2012)
  • UVic Excellence in Teaching for Experiential Learning Award (2017)
  • 3M National Teaching Fellowship (2019)

Her academic work integrates teaching and research, with a focus on digital memorialization, gender studies, and Holocaust education. She leads international collaborations and emphasizes community-engaged scholarship in her practice.