H. Martin Thomassen holds a BA in International Development and Social Change from the Department of Geography, Clark University, Mass. (1983), a Cand.Pol. in Social Anthropology from the University of Oslo (1992) and a Ph.D in Social Anthropology from NTNU (2008). He has carried out fieldwork in Kenya, Norway and France.

He served as head of Department (NTNU) between 2009-2013 and head of NAF (Norsk Antropologisk Forening) between 2011-12. He has held a number educational leadership positions and Board membership positions (NTNU) between 1993-2024.  He is currently member of the research group: Technology and Society ("Teknologiens antropologi") https://www.ntnu.no/web/sosant/teknologi, NTNU.

He was recently engaged in three externally financed research projects:

The Hot Lava Edge of Cultural Flows

ISP Denaturalizing Difference

https://classroomlab.uvt.ro/

CURRENT POSITION and previous position

 Associate Professor (since 2008):

• Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences https://www.ntnu.edu/su , Department of Social Anthropology https://www.ntnu.edu/sosant, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) https://www.ntnu.edu/ , NO.  

Lecturer (1993-2008):

• Lecturer at The Department of Anthropology, NTNU, NO

MAIN FIELDWORKS

• 1988 (1991): Fieldwork on Kamba peasants in Machakos, Kenya
• 2000: Fieldwork on organic farmers in Nordre-Nordland, Norway.
• 2013-2014: Fieldwork on museum exhibitions, Pompidou Centre in Paris, France

TEACHING ACTIVITIES

• Courses at all levels: Department of Social Anthropology, NTNU

SUPERVISION OF GRADUATE STUDENTS AND RESEARCH FELLOWS

• PhD: 1 candidate, of whom defended her dissertation (accepted after the first submission):

• Backman, Aina Cecilia Dansdotter 2024: To keep Availiable: An Inquiry into Immigration Detention Work in Sweden. Department of Social Anthropology, NTNU.

• Master: 20-30 candidates, Department of Social Anthropology, NTNU 

COMMISSIONS OF TRUST

• 3 review assignments with NAT and 1 book review with Human Ecology
• 4 PhD commitees (1 as first oppponent, 3 as administrator)
• 3 evaluation committees (for associate professor position)

MAJOR INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS

• ClassroomLab. EEA Grants 2014-2021. “The Education, Scholarship, Aprenticeships and Youth Entrepreneurship Programme”. In partnership with Universitatea de Vest din Timisoara, Romania. https://classroomlab.uvt.ro/ .

DISSEMINATION

• Presentations of 5 papers at anthropological and interdisciplinary conferences
• A total of 130 media contributions (newspapers, radio, television, other public venues)

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS (2015-2024)

Textbook:

• Thomassen, M. (co-author), Berge, T.' Dinca, M., Crasovan, M., Lustrea, A., Onitiu, A., Fyhn, H., Røyrvik, J., Thomassen, M., Ravn, M., Tvedt, G. 2020: ClassroomLab: Classroom Laboratory Reader. Craiova: SITECH Publishing House.

Book chapters:

• Lustrea, Dinca, Berge, Onitiu, Thomassen, Crasovan et al. Chapter 12 The Digital Reflective Journal: A Self-Assessment Tool for Higher Education Students. I: Digital Assessment in Higher Education Navigating and Researching Challenges and Opportunities. Springer 2024. ISBN 978-981-97-6136-4
• Thomassen, H. M. Chapter 8 Panel discussion. I: Anthropology in Norway: Directions, Locations, Relations. Sean Kingston Publishing 2021 ISBN 978-1-912385-30-0. s. 100-131
• Thomassen, H. M. The Perfect Subject: Central Europe at a crossroad. I: Edges of Global Transformation: Ethnographies of Uncertainty. Lexington Books 2018 ISBN 978-1-4985-8407-4
• Thomassen, H. M. Ontological Turns Within the Visual Arts: Ontic Violence and the Politics of Anticipation.. I: Critical Anthropological Engagements in Human Alterity and Difference. Palgrave Macmillan 2016 ISBN 978-3-319-40474-5. s. 205-228
• Thomassen, H. M. Blikket: den globale samtalen sett fra kunstfeltet. I: Det skapende mennesket : Antropologiske dialoger om tegn, ting og tolkning. Scandinavian Academic Press 2015 ISBN 9788230401736. s. 231-247

Journal articles:

• Berntsen, Alexander; Fyhn, Håkon; Thomassen, Martin; Berge, Trond; Dinca, Melinda 2024: Bringing Real Life into the Classroom: Learning in Nearness & Distance. Teaching and Learning Anthropology Journal. Vol. 6, No. 2, s. 16-36.
• Dinca, Melinda; Berge, Trond; Onitiu, Atalia; Thomassen, Hans Martin; Lustrea, Anca; Luches, Daniel; Crasovan, Mariana. (2023) Immersive Team-based Learning in Transnational Virtual Classrooms. Sciendo. Volum 16.(27) s. 51-70.
• Thomassen, H. M. Om forskjeller som gjør «den antropologiske forskjellen». Norsk Antropologisk Tidsskrift 2016 ;Volum 27.(1) s. 57-60