Jan Rueger

Prof. Jan Rueger is a Professor of History at Birkbeck, University of London, within the School of Historical Studies. He joined Birkbeck in 2003 after a post-doctoral fellowship at Yale and served as Head of the Department from 2017 to 2020. His research focuses on modern British and German history, with a particular emphasis on transnational and comparative frameworks, as well as the cultural history of conflict. His notable work includes Heligoland: Britain, Germany and the Struggle for the North Sea, a microhistory exploring Anglo-German relations through the lens of a North Sea island.

Research interests extend to global history, conflict studies, mobility, migration, and issues of race and inequality. He is affiliated with the Birkbeck Institute for the Study of Antisemitism and contributes to interdisciplinary research clusters such as Global History and Internationalism and Conflict and Violence.

Prof. Rueger supervises doctoral research across diverse topics, including British-German relations, civil war attitudes, Victorian exploration, and imperial monarchy. Current and recent students include Ellis Huddart (Principal Supervisor since 2020) and Paul O’Donnell (Principal Supervisor since 2023). Notable alumni include Jack Watling (PhD 2018) and John Siblon (PhD 2024).