He teaches Modern German and European History. Before coming to San Diego, he was Assistant Professor at the Eberhard Karls University Tübingen (2009-2017) and Lecturer at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (2008-2009). After studying History and English Literature at the University of Cologne and at Trinity College Dublin, he received his PhD from the University of Cologne in 2007. In 2013-2014 he was a fellow at the Historisches Kolleg München.