Dr. Norman Aselmeyer

Assistant Professor

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Biography

Norman Aselmeyer is a historian specializing in European colonialism in modern Africa, with a particular focus on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. His research engages urban social history, the history of infrastructure, and the dynamics of popular protest. He completed his doctorate at the European University Institute in Florence in 2022, with a dissertation entitled "Shadow Line: Railway Society and Colonial East Africa, c. 1890–1914." In Oxford, he teaches modern European, African, and global history from around 1800, and offers classes on the Approaches and Disciplines of History. He welcomes supervision requests in modern African colonial history. His research interests include German and British colonialism, modern Africa, decolonization, and the history of the Maasai. He also focuses on global urban history and the legacies and memories of colonialism, exploring how infrastructures like railways shaped the everyday life of empire and how people navigated systems of domination. Aselmeyer's research opens broader questions regarding the memory and reckoning of colonialism within societies, particularly examining the case of divided Germany and its positioning on colonialism and anti-colonial struggles.

Research Interests

Courses

Prelims FHS Approaches History Disciplines History EWP 4: 1815–1914 (Society, Nation, Empire) EWF 13: Europe Divided, 1914–1989 OS: Rise Crisis European Socialisms: 1881–1921 EWF 14: Global Twentieth Century, 1930–2003 FS: Transformations Transitions African History c. 1800

Requirements for University of Oxford

Master Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3.7
IELTS
Listening
Required:7
Reading
Required:7
Writing
Required:7
Speaking
Required:7
Overall
Required:7.5
TOEFL
Listening
Required:22
Reading
Required:24
Writing
Required:24
Speaking
Required:25
Total
Required:110
Prerequisites
Bachelor's degree in Politics, International Relations, Economics, History, Law, Philosophy or Sociology
Application Checklist
  • Three academic references
  • Official transcripts
  • CV/Resume
  • Statement of Purpose (1,000 words)
  • Two academic essays (2,000 words each)
Specialization Notes

Department of Politics and International Relations - Higher Level English requirement.