Rate My Professor Kim Christiaens

Prof. Dr. Kim Christiaens is an associate professor in the History Department of the Faculty of Arts at KU Leuven and Director of KADOC-KU Leuven, the interfaculty Documentation and Research Centre on Religion, Culture and Society, recognized as a cultural heritage institution by the Flemish Government. He earned degrees in contemporary history and political sciences at KU Leuven, as well as in management and business administration at EHSAL Management School, and completed his PhD in History at KU Leuven in 2013. A member of the Research Group 'History of Modernity & Society 1800-2000,' Christiaens teaches undergraduate and graduate courses including 'Religion, Politics and Society in Europe after 1800,' 'Religions in Europe,' and 'Political History of Belgium.' His academic career encompasses roles as postdoctoral researcher funded by the Research Foundation-Flanders and leadership in cultural heritage projects across Flanders and internationally.

Christiaens' research focuses on the interplay between religion, politics, and society from the 18th century to the present, emphasizing the history of Catholicism in Belgian, European, and global contexts. His work explores social movements and transnational activism, international solidarity, decolonization, North-South relations, the Cold War, and the social, cultural, and political dimensions of the Roman Catholic Church. Notable publications include the edited volumes Missionary Education: Historical Approaches and Global Perspectives (Leuven University Press, 2021, with Idesbald Goddeeris and Pieter Verstraete), International Solidarity in the Low Countries during the Twentieth Century: New Perspectives and Themes (De Gruyter Oldenbourg, 2020, with Jan Nieuwenhuys and Clara Roemer), and contributions such as 'European Reconfigurations of Transnational Activism: Solidarity and Human Rights Campaigns on Behalf of Chile during the 1970s and 1980s' (International Review of Social History, 2018), 'Europe at the Crossroads of Three Worlds' (European Review of History, 2017), and 'Eastern and Southern European Convergence or Alternative Europes? 1960s-2000s' (Contemporary European History, 2017). He supervises PhD theses on Catholic internationalism, migration and Catholicism post-1945, trade unionism during the 1980s, and workers' parishes in Belgium (1884-1914), while leading projects like 'Archival (Re)connections: Cultural Heritage and Community Empowerment in Limete, Kinshasa' (2024-2029), 'The Holy See Negotiating Decolonization (1945-1958)' (2023-2027), and 'KADOC-ODIS: Digital Research Infrastructure for Religion, Culture and Society' (2022-2026). Christiaens serves on the editorial boards of Revue d'histoire ecclésiastique and Trajecta, participates in panels on religious heritage and humanitarianism, and contributes as a board member and expert in heritage organizations.