Josef Ehmer

Josef Ehmer (born 7 November 1948) is an Austrian historian.

Born in Gschwandt, Upper Austria, Ehmer was born as the son of Maria Ehmer and Josef Ehmer. His parents were involved in the communist resistance and belonged to the Communist Party of Austria. He studied history and German studies at the University of Vienna from 1968 to 1976, where he received his doctorate in 1977. He was a founding member of the Kommunistischer StudentInnenverband [de] (KSV) and for many years also a member of the Historical Commission at the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Austria. Subsequently, he worked as a research assistant at the University of Vienna from 1978 to 1984. He was also employed there as a university assistant from 1987 to 1989. In 1989 he completed his habilitation with the thesis The Marriage Behaviour and Traditions of Capitalism. From 1989 to 1993 he taught as lecturer at the University of Vienna. From 1993 to 2005 he was professor for general modern history at the Paris-Lodron-University of Salzburg. From 2005 until his retirement, he taught as Professor of Economic and Social History at the University of Vienna.

His research focuses on the social history of the 18th to 20th centuries in European comparison, including in particular the history of the family, workers and craftsmen, migrations, old age, as well as population history and historical demography.

Monographs

• Bevölkerungsgeschichte und historische Demographie. 1800–2000 (Enzyklopädie deutscher Geschichte [de]. 71). Oldenbourg, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-486-55732-7.
• Heiratsverhalten, Sozialstruktur, ökonomischer Wandel. England und Mitteleuropa in der Formationsperiode des Kapitalismus (Kritische Studien zur Geschichtswissenschaft [de]. 92). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1991, ISBN 3-525-35755-9.
• Sozialgeschichte des Alters (Suhrkamp Verlag. 1541 = NF 541). Frankfurt, 1990, ISBN 3-518-11541-3.

As pubvlisher

• with Ursula Ferdinand and Jürgen Reulecke: Herausforderung Bevölkerung. Zu Entwicklungen des modernen Denkens über die Bevölkerung vor, im und nach dem „Dritten Reich“. VS – Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden 2007, ISBN 978-3-531-15556-2.
• with Dietmar Goltschnigg, Peter Revers and Justin Stagl: Förderung des wissenschaftlichen Nachwuchses. Bestandsaufnahmen und Zukunftsaussichten. Edition Praesens, Vienna 2004, ISBN 3-7069-0186-2.
• with Helga Grebing and Peter Gutschner: Arbeit. Geschichte – Gegenwart – Zukunft. (ITH-Tagungsberichte. 36). AVA – Akademische Verlags-Anstalt, Leipzig 2002, ISBN 3-931982-28-9.
• with Peter Gutschner: Das Alter im Spiel der Generationen. Historische und sozialwissenschaftliche Beiträge. Böhlau, Vienna among others. 2000, ISBN 3-205-99157-5.
• with Tamara K. Hareven and Richard Wall: Historische Familienforschung. Ergebnisse und Kontroversen. Michael Mitterauer zum 60. Geburtstag. Campus, Frankfurt among others. 1997, ISBN 3-593-35753-4.