My research focuses on the modern history of gender, sexuality, knowledge, forensic expertise and the body, as well as cultural theory. My publications include History of the Body (2020) in the History and Theory series of Palgrave MacMillan/Red Globe Press. I am the principal investigator of the research project Forensic Culture. A Comparative Analysis of Forensic Practices in Europe, 1930-2000 (FORCE), funded by an ERC Consolidator Grant (2018-2023). It starts from the idea that cultural ideas and practices have been major determinants in the position of science in the courtroom. To expose the power of culture, the project compares forensic practices in four European countries (the Netherlands, England, Spain and Russia) with differing legal systems and ideologies. It discusses criminal cases in which gender plays an important role, such as rape, murder and infanticide. These cases often play out in the media as well as the courtroom and can demonstrate the influence of cultural images of gender on the role of European forensic science. As a conclusion to this research project I am currently writing a book on the history of bodily integrity.

Personal Website: https://www.uu.nl/medewerkers/WGRuberg

Contact: W.G.Ruberg@uu.nl