About

I am both physically and intellectually a nomad, driven by curiosity.  I studied German and anthropology (BA, University of the South 1993),  as well as social science (MA University of Chicago 1995) in my native US,  before moving to England (PhD in Modern Languages, University of Southampton 2004) to study Germany, then moved to the Netherlands and began to study Europe.   I am interested in a number of themes  and subjects in cultural and media history, from radio to roads to chocolate and of course, to television.Fittingly enough for a nomad, one of my ongoing scholarly interests is in ideas and constructions of “Home” (both physical dwelling place and realm of emotional belonging) and their tranformations through new constellations of culture and media.  This guided my work on the reconstruction of national identity through the radio in postwar Germany, and continues to inform my growing interest in the  rise of mediated ‘European’ cultures.  In addition, I teach on this theme in relation to television in courses that  reflect on the changing meaning of nature of TV as a ‘home medium’ – even as it leaves the home:

The 'home medium' at large: Utrecht central train station becomes the nation's 'living room' during the 2008 Olympics.

As will be apparent by now, one of my other key interests is in the connections between technology and Europe.  Before coming to Utrecht, I was part of a large project on Transnational Infrastructures and Europe.  As the ‘cultural arm’ of that project, I looked at the various ways ideas of Europe were mediated through road, railway, electricity – and of course radio and television networks.   This has included everything from motorways to hydroelectric projects to network maps.  This work has also led to my designing an online virtual exhibit that brings together the collections of science and technology museums in Europe.  In my ongoing research, I continue to study the activities of the European Broadcasting Union in radio and television.

I am involved in a number of European research networks, including the Tensions of Europe network (for whom I edit the newsletter), as well as the Transmitting and Receiving Europe group, who work on the mediated construction and fragmentation of European spaces.  I also sit on the board of the German association for broadcasting history, the Studienkreis Rundfunk und Geschichte.

My complete CV can be found here:  BadenochCV