Research project

I hold a Licentiate of Philosophy [1] in History of Ideas from Stockholm University, where I occasionally lecture in areas such as modern history of ideas (19th-20th centuries) and history of pre-modern science (up to 18th century). Most of the time I work on my Ph.D. thesis entitled Den sjunde världsdelen (The seventh part of the world). (Curriculum vitae meae - in Swedish.)

I WILL DEFEND THE THESIS IN A DISPUTATION 17 MAY 2008. MORE INFORMATION HERE (IN SWEDISH).

In this thesis I explore the historical construction of regional identities. I focus on regional identities construed in and about the Swedish historical territory (landskap) Västergötland (West Gothia) and their inhabitants during the 17th and 18th centuries. I define westgothian identity as the inhabitants's self-images, the way they talk and write about themselves and their territory. How does this identity manifest itself during the centuries? How is it construed and brought on from generation to generation? Emphasis is placed on the concepts used, such as 'patria', 'land', etc.

The history of regional identities in Sweden is largely unwritten. I draw inspiration from modern research and theory on nationalism, cultural regionalism and ethnicity. Among theoretical impulses I would like to mention the works of Anthony D. Smith, at London School of Economics, on the origins of nationalism.

The primary materiel in the study is made up of prints (among them Latin dissertations on topographical matters) as well as manuscripts (mostly topographical descriptions of the 18^th century). Throughout the study an eye is kept on the Student associations at the Swedish universities, above all Västgöta Nation (Westgothian Nation) at Uppsala, as these associations were cradles of regional identities.

The study has so far resulted in a thesis for licentiate degree, "Det höfves äfven nu som förr." Regionalism och myt hos västgötaprästen P. A. Kjöllerström ('It behoves likewise now as formerly.' Regionalism and Myth in the westgothian priest P. A. Kjöllerström), and a number of articles in Swedish language (see Published). An English abstract of an article concerning the handling of regional territory in primary and secondary education is published on the Web.

[1] "Postgraduate programmes nominally comprise 160 credit points (four years of full-time study) and lead to a doktorsexamen (PhD). A PhD student must complete a number of taught courses and write a doctoral dissertation. The dissertation must be defended at a public oral examination. A licentiatexamen (licentiate degree) can be obtained after a minimum of 2 years (80 credit points) and requires course work and a thesis. Normally students aim directly for a doktorsexamen but it is also possible to take a licentiatexamen as an intermediate degree. All faculties can award a licentiatexamen or doktorsexamen, in which the discipline is named, e.g. teknologie licentiatexamen (Licentiate in Technology)." Excerpted from The Swedish Higher Education System (pdf).