The Greenhouse has several PhD candidates – see presentation of their projects below.
Ocean Energies: Transitions at Sea
How do the solar, lunar, and geothermal transitions of the ocean transform not only each other, but also the cultural, economic, and scientific structures that depend on them?
What are the implications of the ocean’s endless material interconnections and temporal intersections for the ways in which we give meaning to, value, and know our worlds? Across four chapters organized by distinct energetic processes, this dissertation traces the mediation and extraction of hydrothermal vents, tides, waves, and upwelling across contemporary art practices, climate sciences, and ocean energy companies.
Aster Hoving´s PhD project is funded by the University of Stavanger.
Inception of waste artificial reefs off Atlantic coast of USA in the 1960s and 1970s
The project investigates the origins of artificial reef construction using waste materials in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s, focusing on how waste was framed as an acceptable resource and identifying the key players involved.
By analyzing congressional records, scientific reports, newspaper articles, and corporate archives, the research aims to uncover the motivations behind these initiatives and assess their broader environmental impact.
Using a case study approach, the dissertation examines three key examples. The first case focuses on the US Federal Artificial Reef Research Program (1966-1974), which advocated for the use of waste tires as reef material, framing them as solutions to both recreational fishing needs and waste management. This led to the creation of hundreds of tire reefs along the Atlantic coast. The second case explores the construction of waste reefs in Southern Florida during the 1970s, including the notorious Osborne Tire Reef, and examines the local and corporate factors that influenced these projects. The third case investigates the Liberty Ship Reef Program (1972-1980), where decommissioned WWII cargo ships were intentionally sunk to form artificial reefs. This case highlights the role of government agencies and state-level initiatives in advancing this program.
Through these case studies, the research reveals how waste materials became positioned as ecological solutions and highlights the complex interplay between science, industry, and policy that shaped one of the largest ocean modification efforts in history. Ultimately, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of marine environmental history, illustrating how waste management, ecological engineering, and government policy collectively transformed the ocean’s landscape.
Dmitrijs Porsnovs´s PhD project is supported by the Research Council of Norway under the project titled “Histories of Animals, Technological Infrastructure, and the Making of More-Than-Human Homes in the Modern Age” (Grant No. 324180).
Radical Moderation: Time and History in Twentieth-Century Norwegian Literature
In recent years, there has been an increased interest in the idea of moderation due to the growing polarization in the political, economic, and cultural systems of late modernity.
However, what is argued in the first part of this thesis is that because applications of moderation tend to be—knowingly or unknowingly—influenced by a modern historicity driven by notions of progress, its function as a means for change is replaced with a stagnate preservation of the status quo.
If one is to suggest that moderate thinking can facilitate change today, renegotiating its functions in relation to the dominant historicities that dictate perceptions of what a better future entails becomes a clear prerogative. The substance of this thesis is built from the observation that certain twentieth-century Norwegian writers offer a distinct response to this dilemma. It is argued that the idea of moderation in Knut Hamsun’s Markens grøde (1917), Aksel Sandemose’s En flyktning krysser sitt spor (1933), and the mid-century poetry of Olav H. Hauge functions not only as a means to live modestly in a world dominated by industrialization, conformity, and overconsumption, but more importantly as a means to put differing conceptions of history and time into dialogue with one another.
These texts are used as a window into the conceptual makeup of moderation not merely because they address the issues of their contemporary society as records of social thought, but also because the literary practice itself can be framed as an attempt to create a present embedded with histories and temporalities in dialogue. This study takes as its primary aim to investigate how the various conceptualizations of moderation in twentieth-century Norwegian literature can reveal and decenter the conservative functions of moderation in the ongoing negotiation of the modern historical situation.
Jacob Lee Tom´s PhD project is funded by the University of Stavanger.
Restoring fire: How practices of heath burning created fire communities in Western Norway
All along the Atlantic coast of Europe – from Portugal in the south to Norway in the North – you will find treeless areas dominated by common heather (Calluna vulgaris).
These are coastal heathlands and as the story goes, they were created five thousand years ago when ancient farmers set the old forests of the area on fire for agricultural purposes. Since then, they were regularly burnt by humans, but in the last two centuries the practice of heath burning died out.
The result has been degrading coastal heathlands and their eventual disappearance. In recent years, however, there has been a resurgence in heath burning by a small civic group in western Norway.
The restoring fire project examines this revival of fire by looking at the history of heath burning in Norway through the twentieth century. In that way it aims to provide insight into the idea of fire as a restoring force in the landscapes and complicate the narrative of the twentieth century as an age of suppression.
Johannes Ellingsen´s PhD project is funded by the Norwegian research council as a part of Good fire: An environmental history of Norway and the North (project number 334144).
Maritime Museum Artifacts
A History of Knowledge about the M/S Maritime Museum of Denmark, Helsingør, 1915 to the Present.
This PhD aims to fill a significant gap in the sparse literature on maritime museums by investigating how maritime museum objects have facilitated the circulation of knowledge about human relationships with the sea. Focusing on the annual reports of the Maritime Museum of Denmark (M/S Museet for Søfart) from 1942-2012, this study explores how these publications reflect societal and cultural changes, document the development of the museum’s collections, and track shifts in the museum’s mission and role over time.
A key component of the research is the historical context of the annual reports, analyzing how they mirror societal transformations and the museum's responses. The study examines the evolution of the museum’s collections, highlighting significant acquisitions and preservation projects, and the criteria and processes behind these decisions.
Materiality is central to this project, emphasizing how the physical properties of maritime objects influence their interpretation and significance. By focusing on material aspects, the research explores how these objects convey historical narratives and cultural values.
The relocation of the museum from Kronborg Castle to a dry dock in 2014 is a crucial part of the study. It addresses the logistical and preservation challenges of moving collections, the impact on exhibition design and visitor interaction, and the cultural implications of transitioning from a historic castle to an industrial setting.
Additionally, the study examines the museum's collection management practices, from manual cataloging to the adoption of digital tools like REGIN and SARA, assessing the impact of digitalization on archival integrity and accessibility.
By offering a comprehensive analysis of the Maritime Museum of Denmark's practices and the role of its objects, this project not only contributes to the limited scholarship on maritime museums but also provides insights into the broader implications of museum practices in a digital age.
Katla Cortsen Brandt's PhD project is funded by the University of Stavanger.
Submergence: Environmental Justice and the Specter of Chemical Exposure
The dissertation examines the Danish chemical manufacturer “Cheminova,” its multiple and ongoing cases of chemical pollution, and the community’s experiences of living in a contaminated area.
Sebastian Lundsteen Nielsen defended his Doctoral thesis "Submergence: Environmental Justice and the Specter of Chemical Pollution" in June 2024.