Katja Doose

Katja Doose is a Senior Researcher in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Fribourg. Her research focuses on environmental history, the history of science in Russia and the Soviet Union, and human-nature interactions in Central Asia. Since completing her PhD in 2018, she has held positions at institutions such as the University of Birmingham and the Graduate Institute in Geneva. Her current projects include leading the SNF-funded 'Myths of equality' (2024–2027), examining gender dynamics in Central Asian science, and the ongoing 'Timescapes of ice' project on Soviet glaciology in Pamir and Tian Shan.

Education: PhD from the University of Tübingen (2018), with a dissertation on the 1988 Armenian earthquake's socio-political implications. Earlier work includes contributions to architectural studies of Tashkent and interdisciplinary environmental humanities projects.

Research Interests:

• Environmental history of Soviet and post-Soviet regions
• Gendered dimensions of field sciences in Central Asia
• Climate change research during the Cold War
• Geopolitical dimensions of disaster management
• Interplay between science, ideology, and environment

Current Projects:

• 'Myths of equality': Analyzes gendered identities in Central Asian field sciences (1870–1970)
• 'Timescapes of ice': Studies Soviet glaciology practices in Central Asia's Third Pole region

Grants & Funding:

• Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) grants for both ongoing projects
• Interdisciplinary workshop funding for Fedchenko Glacier eco-biography

Labs/Teams: Collaborates with Christine Bichsel's research group and international networks in environmental humanities. Active in transdisciplinary initiatives linking natural and social sciences.