Peter Hansen
Email
phansen@wpi.edu
Office
Salisbury Labs 107
Affiliated Department or Office
Education
BA Carleton College 1984
MA Harvard University 1986
PhD Harvard University 1991

Peter H. Hansen is Professor of History and Director of International and Global Studies at WPI. International and Global Studies brings together faculty from arts and sciences, business, engineering, and the global school to enrich students' experience of global engagement on campus and around the world. He enjoys teaching courses in history or international and global studies, seminars on sports or global studies, and working with student teams in WPI's project programs. He is director of the Copenhagen Project Center and has advised student projects in Bangkok, Copenhagen, London, Lyon, Morocco, Namibia, Venice, Washington DC, and Worcester. Hansen was a Fulbright Scholar in France for the Fulbright International Education Administrators Program.

Hansen's research investigates the intertwined histories of mountaineering and modernity. The Summits of Modern Man: Mountaineering after the Enlightenment (Harvard University Press, 2013) examined the transformation of the summit position into a symbol of individual sovereignty and enlightenment since the eighteenth century. Debates over “who was first” on Mont Blanc, Mt Everest, Mont Ventoux, and other peaks articulated changing definitions of modernity. Hansen has also published on colonialism, cross-cultural encounters, documentary films, mountains, and WPI's project program. 

He has written about Mount Everest for many years and is co-editor of Other Everests: One Mountain, Many Worlds (Manchester University Press, November 2024), which brings together perspectives from Australia, Canada, France, Korea, Nepal, Poland, Slovenia, UK, and US. Other Everests highlights the many worlds on this mountain, including Buddhist monks, Sherpas, women, gear, films, social media, and theatrical performances. Currently, Hansen is writing a book on the whiteness of Mount Everest. 

Hansen has been a visiting fellow at the Durham University, Cambridge University, the Australian National University, and Harvard University. He is President of the Worcester World Affairs Council and a former president of the Northeast Conference on British Studies. At WPI, Hansen has led multi-year efforts to revise the general education requirements in the humanities and arts, broaden the criteria for promotion in academic rank, and institutionalize a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion across the university. His research has reached wider audiences as a lecturer at public libraries and museums and as a commentator for television programs on the BBC, History Channel, and Discovery Channel. He recently appeared on BBC World Service The Forum on The only way is up: A history of mountaineering


Visit Digital WPI to view student projects advised by Professor Hansen.

Peter Hansen
Email
phansen@wpi.edu
Affiliated Department or Office
Education
BA Carleton College 1984
MA Harvard University 1986
PhD Harvard University 1991

Peter H. Hansen is Professor of History and Director of International and Global Studies at WPI. International and Global Studies brings together faculty from arts and sciences, business, engineering, and the global school to enrich students' experience of global engagement on campus and around the world. He enjoys teaching courses in history or international and global studies, seminars on sports or global studies, and working with student teams in WPI's project programs. He is director of the Copenhagen Project Center and has advised student projects in Bangkok, Copenhagen, London, Lyon, Morocco, Namibia, Venice, Washington DC, and Worcester. Hansen was a Fulbright Scholar in France for the Fulbright International Education Administrators Program.

Hansen's research investigates the intertwined histories of mountaineering and modernity. The Summits of Modern Man: Mountaineering after the Enlightenment (Harvard University Press, 2013) examined the transformation of the summit position into a symbol of individual sovereignty and enlightenment since the eighteenth century. Debates over “who was first” on Mont Blanc, Mt Everest, Mont Ventoux, and other peaks articulated changing definitions of modernity. Hansen has also published on colonialism, cross-cultural encounters, documentary films, mountains, and WPI's project program. 

He has written about Mount Everest for many years and is co-editor of Other Everests: One Mountain, Many Worlds (Manchester University Press, November 2024), which brings together perspectives from Australia, Canada, France, Korea, Nepal, Poland, Slovenia, UK, and US. Other Everests highlights the many worlds on this mountain, including Buddhist monks, Sherpas, women, gear, films, social media, and theatrical performances. Currently, Hansen is writing a book on the whiteness of Mount Everest. 

Hansen has been a visiting fellow at the Durham University, Cambridge University, the Australian National University, and Harvard University. He is President of the Worcester World Affairs Council and a former president of the Northeast Conference on British Studies. At WPI, Hansen has led multi-year efforts to revise the general education requirements in the humanities and arts, broaden the criteria for promotion in academic rank, and institutionalize a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion across the university. His research has reached wider audiences as a lecturer at public libraries and museums and as a commentator for television programs on the BBC, History Channel, and Discovery Channel. He recently appeared on BBC World Service The Forum on The only way is up: A history of mountaineering


Visit Digital WPI to view student projects advised by Professor Hansen.

Office
Salisbury Labs 107
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SDG 3: Good Health & Well-Being

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Professional Highlights & Honors
President, 2023 - 2025
Worcester World Affairs Council
Visiting Fellow, 2018
Institute of Advanced Study, Durham University
Fulbright Scholar, 2017
Franco-American Fulbright Commission
Visiting Scholar, 2005 - 2006
Center for European Studies, Harvard University
President, 2005 - 2007
North East Conference on British Studies
Walter D. Love Prize, 2001
North American Conference on British Studies
Visiting Fellow, 1998
Australian National University, Humanities Research Centre
Fellow, 1997
Royal Historical Society
Visiting Fellow, 1995 - 1996
Clare Hall, Cambridge University
Fellowship for College Teachers, 1995 - 1996
National Endowment for the Humanities
Bowdoin Prize, 1991
Harvard University
Fellow, 1984 - 1985
New York City Urban Fellows Program

News

SEE MORE NEWS ABOUT Peter Hansen
BBC
The Only Way Is Up: A History of Mountaineering

Peter Hansen, a mountaineering expert and professor of history and director of International and Global Studies at WPI, spoke to the BBC’s The Forum podcast about the history of mountain climbing dating back to the 1300s. Hansen, author of several books on mountaineering, including “The Summits of Modern Man: Mountaineering after the Enlightenment,” gave important insight into the role climbing has played in society’s ever-changing relationship with nature. 

Inside Higher ED
New Paths to Full Professor

This Inside Higher Ed article featured work by WPI faculty and administration to clarify the university’s faculty promotion guidelines to better support associate professors and offer options that go beyond traditional research paths.