Tina Asmussen

Tina Asmussen serves as Head of the Research Department for Mining History at the German Mining Museum Bochum and holds a Junior Professorship in Early Modern Mining History at Ruhr University Bochum. Her interdisciplinary work bridges historical research with contemporary resource challenges, connecting museum-based scholarship with academic teaching.

Her educational background includes:

• History and German Studies at University of Basel
• PhD in Early Modern Knowledge History (2012) from University of Lucerne
• Postdoctoral research at Max Planck Institute for History of Science (2014-2017)
• SNF Ambizione Fellowship at ETH Zurich (2017-2020)

Asmussen's research centers on the interconnected histories of knowledge, economy, and environment in early modern Europe, with particular focus on mining cultures. She examines how resource extraction shaped material practices, ecological understandings, and cosmological frameworks through innovative approaches combining material culture studies with environmental history. Her current book project Subterranean Oeconomies – Mining and Resource Cultures in Early Modern Europe explores the complex relationships between underground labor, economic systems, and environmental transformations.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals consistent thematic trajectories across mining history, demonstrating how material resource flows intersected with knowledge production, economic networks, and cultural belief systems. Her work increasingly addresses the historical roots of contemporary resource challenges, particularly through collaborations examining toxic legacies and sustainable resource practices.

Key scientific recognition includes:

• Ambizione Research Fellowship (Swiss National Science Foundation)
• Heinrich Winkelmann fellowship
• Forum Basiliense Fellowship (University of Basel, 2025)

Asmussen actively leads major research initiatives including the DFG/AHRC-funded Toxic Heritage project examining pollution landscapes in Harz and Cornwall, and the Leibniz-funded Commodity Frontiers in Eastern Europe network. She coordinates the Minescapes international workshop series and serves as PI for the DFG Graduate College Wissen – Glauben – Behaupten. Her grant portfolio reflects strong collaborative leadership across European and transatlantic institutions including Columbia University and Max Planck Institute.

She directs the Mining History Research Department at the German Mining Museum, which integrates museum collections with academic research through projects like Anthropocene Commons and the Metals, Minerals and Life Cycle initiative. Her team combines archaeological, historical, and environmental approaches to investigate long-term resource dynamics, with particular emphasis on material flows and socio-ecological transformations.