Jörn Rüsen

Jörn Rüsen was born in 1938. He studied history, philosophy, German literature and education at the University of Cologne from 1958 to 1966 gaining his doctorate. By 1969 he was an assistant professor for philosophy, at the University of Brunswick; moving to the Free University of Berlin in 1972.He gained his first full Professor post at the University of Bochum. From 1994 to 1997 he was Managing Director of the Zentrum für interdisziplinäre Forschung (Center for Interdisciplinary Research) at the University of Bielefeld and became the President of the Kulturwissenschaftliches Institut (Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities) at Essen in 1997.

He is noted for his conception of narrative abbreviation as a basis for understanding historical consciousness. According to this communication is laden with "symbols that express or indicate stories without being stories themselves". He is a regular contributor to the journal "History and Theory". He is married with three children.