Olsen is a prominent figure in the turn to things in humanities and social sciences, including symmetrical archaeology.
Olsen has published 10 books (and close to 160 scientific papers), including Archaeology: The Discipline of Things (2012 with Michael Shanks (archaeologist), Timothy Webmoor and Christopher Witmore), In Defense of Things: Archaeology and the Ontology of Objects (2010), Persistent memories: Pyramiden – a Soviet mining town in the High Arctic (2010, with Elin Andreassen and Hein Bjerck; see Pyramiden), and Ruin Memories: Materiality, Aesthetics and the Archaeology of the Recent Past (2018, editor with Þóra Pétursdóttir).
Olsen, being an academic and an author, is also known for his rebellious streak[1] and willingness to explore new and emerging theoretical or philosophical directions while persuading the reader to give said theory more thought.
Things, materials, and landscapes possess real qualities affecting and shaping both our perception of them and our cohabitation with them.” Olsen then analyzes the importance of understanding an object's ontology apart from its original intended purpose.
Olsen is director of the Unruly Heritage: An Archaeology of the Anthropocene project which focuses on industrial ruins, abandoned fishing villages, World War II remains, and mining sites in Norway, Russia, Iceland, and Canada.