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 integrative programs to enrich students’ global learning 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 students in WPI’s project programs. He is director of the Copenhagen Project Center and has advised student projects in Bangkok, Copenhagen, Kathmandu, London, Lyon, Morocco, Namibia, Singapore, Venice, Washington DC, and Worcester.  

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. 

For many years he has written about Mount Everest and is co-editor of Other Everests: One Mountain, Many Worlds (Manchester University Press, 2024). Other Everests brings together interdisciplinary and international perspectives on the many worlds of this mountain, including Sherpas and Buddhist monks, women and gender, gear and material culture, films and social media, as well as multiple stories and theatrical performances. Other Everests collaborated with The Confluence Collective (TCC) in Kalimpong on बाउको धुरी छैन Father Has No Roof Over His Head to share narratives of mountain communities whose lives and labor shaped early Himalayan expeditions. (See the TCC's wonderful exhibition video.) Currently, Hansen is writing a book on the whiteness of Mount Everest. 

Hansen has been a visiting fellow at the Australian National University, Cambridge, Durham, and Harvard, and a Fulbright Scholar in France. Hansen has also published on colonialism, cross-cultural encounters, documentary films, mountains, and WPI’s project program. His research has reached wider audiences as a lecturer at public libraries and museums. He has appeared as a commentator on radio and television, including recent programs on the BBC World Service, CNN with Fredricka Whitfield, and NPR's Science Friday to discuss histories of mountaineering and Skimo at the Winter Olympic Games. 

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 enhance inclusion and belonging across the university. He is a former President of the Worcester World Affairs Council and Northeast Conference on British Studies. WPI recognized Hansen with the Nicoletti Trustees’ Award for Service to Community in 2025.  

The Mountain Stories, Mountain Futures podcast also featured a discussion of Summit Positions with Peter Hansen in 2026. Listen on MSMF Podcast, Spotify, Apple.

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