Dr. Björn Billing

Biography

Björn Billing is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Gothenburg specializing in aesthetics, modernity, and environmental history. He has focused his research on ecocriticism and the representation of landscapes in the Anthropocene. His Ph.D. thesis, completed in 2000, explored the ideas of German philosopher and composer Theodor W. Adorno and the historical development of modern art. From 2001 to 2004, he conducted postdoctoral research examining the intersections of philosophy, architecture, and music during Vienna 1900. Recently, his research has gravitated toward ideas surrounding nature and the environment, leading to the development of courses in environmental history and ecocriticism. He has actively collaborated on projects regarding sustainability, climate, and visual culture, and has been involved in several significant publications, including a 2017 monograph on Jean-Jacques Rousseau. His recent work includes a project funded by the Swedish Research Council, focusing on Northern European imaginaries of winter and ice during the Ice Age. He has published extensively in scholarly journals and has been a prominent figure in the discourse surrounding ecology and cultural history.

Research Interests