Lydia Bucher
About
I'm a historian focusing on personal photography within Norwegian-Jewish history and memory. I have worked on my project titled Framing Life beyond the Holocaust: Norwegian-Jewish Personal Photography in History and Memory since January 2025, later joining NTNU as a PhD candidate as part of the project Negotiating Community: Norwegian-Jewish Life and the Wider Society.
I hold an MA in Global History (2020–2022) and a BA in History and Political Science (2017–2020), both from the Free University of Berlin. My MA thesis has been awarded the Historical Commission of Berlin's young scholar award. Previously, I held researcher positions at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena and the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder). I joined institutions such as the University of Oslo (IAKH) as a whole-semester guest researcher and have received scholarships from, among others, the German Historical Institute in Paris, ZeitLehren Foundation, and the German Academic Exchange Service. I did consulting for museums and have several semesters of teaching experience on the BA level. Additionally, I have four years of experience as an editor for the Journal of Social and Cultural History (Geschichte und Gesellschaft) and held assistant positions for numerous researchers and research institutions. For a full list of references, please get in touch.
I'm always happy to exchange ideas and to collaborate. I'm member of several research networks as well as the co-leader of the research network forum foto + album. Previously, I've established and coordinated a self-help network for PhD candidates at the Free University of Berlin.
My pronouns are she/her.
Research
Framing Life beyond the Holocaust. Norwegian-Jewish Personal Photography in History and Memory
My PhD thesis examines personal photography as a unique lens into the untold stories of Jewish life in Norway. My sources capture lived experiences and self-expressions, rarely recorded elsewhere. Innovatively combining large-scale digital analysis with close source readings, I analyze vast, unstudied collections of visual and oral materials. In doing so, I explore how Jewish Norwegians lived with and through photography, tracing the forms and meanings of Norwegian-Jewish personal photography in history and memory. I aim to establish Norwegian-Jewish Visual Studies as a new field. Situated at the Department of Teacher Education, the project also considers didactic implications for several areas of education.
Data Handling
For this project, sensitive personal data has been gathered from Norwegian public institutions and archives, accessible only through formal applications and in compliance with legal frameworks. All data is securely stored on encrypted, password-protected hard drives, accessible exclusively by me. If your or your family’s information is included in my research, you have the right to access the data recorded about you or your family members, request corrections to any inaccuracies, or request deletion of your information. For further details about how your data is processed or to exercise your rights please don’t hesitate to contact me directly: lydia.bucher@ntnu.no.
Contribute to This Research
If you or your family have materials such as photographs, albums, or associated documents you would be willing to share, discuss, or have included in this research, please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or material you'd like to discuss: lydia.bucher@ntnu.no.
The thesis is supervised by:
Jon Reitan, Department of Teacher Education, NTNU Trondheim
Nina Lager Vestberg, Department of Art and Media Studies, NTNU Trondheim
Vibeke Kieding Banik, Department of Culture, Religion and Social Studies, University of South-Eastern Norway
The thesis is part of:
Publications
My publications include work from a previous research project on the visual history of anthropology.
Journal Articles
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"Wissen schaffen. Globale Netzwerke der Berliner Anthropologischen Gesellschaft im Kaiserreich," in: JGMO 69 (2023), open access ["Creating Knowledge. The Berlin Anthropological Society’s Global Networks in the German Empire"]
Conference Reports
- "Law without Law. Conference on the Restitution of Nazi-confiscated Art," in: H-Soz-Kult, 12/04/2024, open access
- "Demokratisierung des Kunstbetriebs? Transformationsprozesse zwischen Ost und West 1960– 1990," in: H-Soz-Kult, 12/12/2019, open access
Reviews
- Felix Wiedemann, Rassenbilder aus der Vergangenheit. Die anthropologische Lektüre antiker Bildwerke in den Wissenschaften des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts, Göttingen 2024, in: H-Soz-Kult, 02/05/2025, open access
Miscellaneous
- Opinion Piece "Deutungshoheit über die Geschichte," in: südostasien, 19/02/2025, open access ["Authority over History"]
- Research Report "Die Erforschung des Eigenen? 'Indigene Anthropologen' im französischen Kolonialreich," in: DHIP. Dialog und Austausch, 24/04/2024, open access ["Researching One's Self? ‘Indigenous Anthropologists’ in the French Colonial Empire"]
Teaching
My teaching and assessment experience includes three 10-ECTS courses on the B.A. level, designed and delivered at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena in connection with a former research project on the visual history of anthropology:
- Images of Race. Introduction to Visual History (summer term 2024)
- Introduction to Historiography (summer term 2024)
- Anthropological Collections Then and Now (winter term 2023/24)
Outreach
2026
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Conference lectureBucher, Lydia. (2026) Potential in Bias. Approaching Norwegian-Jewish Personal Photography in Holocaust Education. Visual Bias: Documenting, Representing & Communicating of Images in Educational History Research
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Conference lectureBucher, Lydia. (2026) Life Lenses. The Potential of Studying Jewish Personal Photography in Norway, 1880s–1980s. Norske historiedager 2026