Dr. Brian Palmer

Biography

Brian Palmer is a social anthropologist and scholar of religion at Uppsala University in Sweden. He previously held the Torgny Segerstedt Guest Professorship at the University of Gothenburg and has taught at Harvard University, where his courses on civic courage and social engagement attracted around 600 students per term. In recognition of his teaching excellence, he was awarded the Levenson Prize at Harvard, as well as Uppsala University's Pedagogical Prize in 2022. Palmer has hosted the radio program Sommar P1 since 2004 and lectures regularly in Sweden and internationally. His research focuses on civic courage, which Susan Sontag described as 'the simultaneity of wildly contrasting human fates.' He has published works including '101 historiska hjältar' (101 Historical Heroes) in collaboration with Ola Larsmo and 'Global Values 101,' which is based on his Harvard courses. Palmer also completed his doctoral dissertation at Harvard, exploring Swedish conceptions of solidarity and the impact of time pressures on the inner lives of Swedes. Additionally, he serves as the research director for the Raoul Wallenberg Calendar, which features accounts of individuals who took significant risks for human rights, peace, and democracy, and has been published internationally in over 100,000 copies.

Research Interests