We receive many questions from researchers who are doing research into social history, psychology and other topics to explore the social and/or emotional impact of expat life, the cultural or political changes of specific places or countries over the years, genealogy etc.

At present, research is only possible by visiting the Archive in person. Please contact us for more information.

Topics for Research

The sources gathered by us, either written or translated into English, are made available as electronic documents and offer unique possibilities to study expatriate’s experiences from a wide range of perspectives and disciplines into themes such as:

• expatriate’s observations and representations of other cultures
• practices of communication, from letters to blogs
• bilingualism in expatriate’s life writings
• social life, identity formation and constructions of ‘home’
• expatriate’s dealings with emotions like loneliness and homesickness
• women’s roles in making a family life abroad

Digital Archive in Progress

We are digitalising our collection of source material concerning expatriate life, to make it accessible online for researchers around the world.

In the meantime, if you would like to know more about the source material in the Archive or are interested in using it for your research, please contact us.