To Örebro University

I denna antologi diskuteras hur skönlitteratur kan användas som källa till historiskt inriktade studier. Upprinnelsen är en konferens som hölls hösten 2008 i Göteborg, då företrädare för disciplinerna historia, idéhistoria, ekonomisk historia och litteraturvetenskap presenterade sin forskning. De många bidragen ger en översiktlig bild av forskningen kring litteratur som historisk källa bland svenska forskare.

In the summer of 1932, Dagbräckning [Daybreak], the first Swedish nudist journal, was founded with the mission of getting people to sunbathe, swim and do gymnastics naked. It was soon followed by Natur och Hälsa [Nature and Health] and Solvännen [Sun Friend], which alongside Dagbräckning sparkled interest in the emerging Swedish nudist movement. A recurring feature in these journals were conversion narratives in which men and women described how they became nudists. This article analyzes thirty-six conversion narratives from the 1930s and 1940s and demonstrates how a narrative structure drawn from a religious context helped nudists to make sense of their new identity and convince others of the possibilities of nudism. Using Ernest G. Bormann's concept of rhetorical vision and his symbolic convergence theory as an interpretive framework, the article shows that in this religiously inispired way the nudists weaved together their experiences into a more encompassing drama about the freedom that awaited those who chose to practice nudism: freedom from clothing that obstructed natural movements, freedom from prejudice that limited individual thinking and freedom from rules that restricted social contacts.

This report presents a pedagogical project that focuses on developing a problem-driven and skill-oriented introductory course in history in the teachers’ training program at Örebro University. Resting upon the educational philosophy of the university—not least the principle that both teachers and students should take an active role in the development of teaching and learning—the project group, consisting of a senior lecturer and four teaching assistants, has made several suggestions on how to teach students to do history while offering them an education that is engaging, inclusive and sustainable.

Course evaluations and group interviews show that many history students enrolled in the teachers’ training program appreciate a problem-driven and skill-oriented introductory course. Thus, there are good reasons to first and foremost strengthen the practical elements in the course. For the future, the project group suggests a focus on (1) ensuring a better alignment between learning activities and assessments, (2) offering more variety in learning activities and assessments, and (3) presenting students with more clear directives in learning activities and assessments.

Vintern 1885 förklarade en grupp stockholmskor krig mot korsetten som påstods skada kroppen, försvaga intelligensen och hindra kvinnor från att delta i samhällslivet. De betraktade korsetten som en symbol för tidens modeslaveri, och deras krigsförklaring ledde till att en dräktreformrörelse uppstod som hävdade kvinnors rätt att klä sig mer praktiskt och hälsosamt. Vilka var kvinnorna som engagerade sig i rörelsen? Vilka plagg lanserade de som alternativ? Och var de framgångsrika i sitt krig mot korsetten? Utifrån mötesanteckningar, debattartiklar, obduktionsprotokoll och en rad andra källor skildrar Henric Bagerius en kvinnlig frigörelsekamp som är okänd för många, och hans berättelse ger nya perspektiv på den tidiga svenska kvinnorörelsen och relationen mellan kvinna, kropp och kläder.

Riktiga klänningar visade hur modet radikalt förändrades, över flera händelserika årtionden, från 1880-tal till 1910-tal. I tablåer beskrevs korsettens dubbla natur, bland annat som plagg med erotisk laddning – och samtidigt ett måste för den dygdiga borgerliga kvinnan.

The purpose of this study is to show how political and sexual strategies interacted when the Icelandic elite was reorganized in the late Middle Ages. During the years 1262 through 1264, the Icelanders agreed to pay tax to the Norwegian king and thus Iceland evolved into a more organized and hierarchical society. Representing the Norwegian crown, the Icelandic chieftains developed a stronger aristocratic identity. Their mutual understanding grew and so did their sense of being members of a chivalry.

Emphasizing certain sexual norms was a way for the elite to define its own group and sexuality functioned as an important component when forming an aristocratic self-image. Through analyses of Icelandic romances and other sources, this dissertation shows that sexuality was frequently used to make distinctions of various kinds. Sexuality served as a marker to distinguish the chivalrous from the common, the human from the monstrous and the masculine from the feminine.

In the romances, a homosocial pattern emerges, reflecting changing conceptions of male friendship in the aristocracy. In these narratives, it is the friendship between equal knights that matters. Chivalrous men seek each other's company and the strong bond between them often affect the way they act sexually. A chivalrous knight is able to control his sexual desires and he also considers the consequences of his actions. These characteristics distinguish him from other men in the romances. The heathen, for example, acts without respecting the rules of chivalry. He lacks the ability to reason and his urges cannot be subdued. These traits apply to the berserk as well.

Sexuality was also important in distinguishing aristocratic women from other women. In the late Middle Ages, Icelandic aristocrats' interest in virginity increased - partially as a result of a stronger patrilineal way of thinking. However, the aristocratic approach to virginity was tinged with ambivalence. In the romances, there is something both enticing and frightening about the sexuality of young women. The maiden is adored because of her chastity and pure thoughts. On the other hand, her lack of sexual experience makes it difficult for her to control her sexual desires and to resist men. In this regard, the maiden is a source of deep worry.

Nätbaserat lärande - en vägledning handlar om hur nätet kan användas för att stödja vuxnas lärande. Den är skriven för Försvarsmaktens anställda och frivilligrörelsens medlemmar, men innehållet är även relevant för personer som inte ägnar sig åt militär verksamhet. Vägledningen sätter fokus på de pedagogiska möjligheterna och utmaningarna med nätet och diskuterar bland annat hur man med samarbetsverktyg som blogg, diskussionsforum, nätmöte och sociala medier kan skapa mer flexibla former för lärande. Vidare behandlas även hur man använder och skapar digitala lärresurser och hur man utvecklar och organiserar kurser på nätet.

Nätbaserat lärande i Försvarsmakten handlar om hur nätet kan användas för att stödja vuxnas lärande. Den är skriven för Försvarsmaktens anställda och frivilligrörelsens medlemmar, men innehållet är även relevant för personer som inte ägnar sig åt militär verksamhet. Boken sätter fokus på de pedagogiska möjligheter och utmaningarna med nätet och diskuterar bland annat hur man med samarbetsverktyg som blogg, wiki, diskussionsforum, chatt och nätmöte kan skapa mer flexibla former för lärande. I boken finns också kapitel som handlar om hur man använder och skapar digitala lärresurser och hur man utvecklar och organiserar kurser på nätet.

This article discusses the interaction of political and sexual strategies when the Icelandic aristocracy was reorganized during the Late Middle Ages. The social changes in Iceland introduced a new sexual mindset that gave the aristocratic group a stronger affinity and accentuated the polarity between aristocratic masculinity and femininity. I will argue that emphasizing certain sexual norms was a way for the elite to define its own group, and that sexuality functioned as an important component when forming an aristocratic self-image. This is particularly evident in late medieval prose fiction from Iceland. As society was transformed, a courtly literature developed that reveals the aspirations of the political elite to become an aristocracy with a distinctive set of values and behaviours.

Vad betydde det när en medeltida kung sades älska en riddare och hålla honom ljuv och kär? Hur kunde en vag misstanke om att kungen haft samlag med män motivera hans avsättning? I en uppsats om politisk kärlek och svartsjuka visar Henric Bagerius och Christine Ekholst det fruktbara i att använda genus- och queerteoretiska begrepp när medeltidens politiska historiska ska analyseras. Med exempel ur Erikskrönikan och Libellus de Magno Erici rege, båda från 1300-talet, belyser de samspelet mellan politik, kön och sexualitet under svensk medeltid.

This article discusses how accusations of sodomy were used as a political weapon during the late Middle Ages. With St. Birgitta’s accusations of sodomy against the Swedish king Magnus Eriksson in the 1360s as a starting point, we study how sodomy was used as political propaganda and why it was effective. We argue that these allegations must be seen as part of a wider European political pattern. Numerous cases of similar charges can be found throughout late medieval Europe. All arise in troublesome political situations when the power struggle between king and aristocracy had reached a high point.We claim that a queer reading of the medieval texts reveals the great importance of heteronormative sexuality manifested in marital intimacy. To diverge from what we call a heteronormative kingship was regarded so seriously that it could be the very foundation of criticism against a king. The sodomite was an established figure of thought that captured all the faults of king Magnus Eriksson: his heresy, his thoughtlessness, his lasciviousness, his indecisiveness and his inclination to keep young and depraved men as advisors. The sodomite threatened the gender order and by doing so he jeopardized the entire social order. In other words, the accusations of sodomy made it possible for Magnus’ critics to articulate his inability to be master in his own marriage and consequently master of his realm. A sodomite was clearly not suited to be king and the charges of sodomy could thus be used to justify a dethronement.

This chapter discusses how sexuality was used in political critique in late medieval Europe. In the Middle Ages the union of the king and the queen symbolized the social contract, and the royal marriage represented the bond between the king and his subjects. Negative descriptions of a royal marriage could therefore be used to signal discontent with a king’s reign. The chapter analyses a number of late medieval texts in order to expose reoccurring critical discourses that built on perceptions of gender and sexuality. We argue that sexual matters were used deliberately to highlight fundamental shortcomings in how a country was governed. A king’s inability to be sexually active indicated a lack of masculine authority. Kingly masculinity and dominance were closely linked and an effeminate king was an unthinkable proposition. In addition, since the king and queen were regarded as a unit, his behaviour impacted how she was judged. If the king was believed to lack masculine dominance and to be unable to control his wife, this could unleash the dangerous power that lay within queenship itself. The queen could be become unruly and adulterous. The incapable king and his unruly queen represented a dysfunctional rulership and failed regency.

This article examines the use of discursive sodomy' in political critique against five late medieval monarchs and their favourites. Sources from Castile, England and Sweden reveal common themes that recur. Contemporary sources frequently stated that the king's love for his favourite was excessive and beyond measure; that the favourite was always by the king's side and thereby hindered others from approaching him. Critics further claimed that the king showed no moderation in his generosity toward the favourite and that the difference in rank between the two men made their relationship suspicious. This paper argues that all four themes included allusions to same-sex desire with the purpose of implying that the natural order and hierarchies were put in jeopardy. The main issue at hand was that the king had been seduced or even bewitched and therefore was no longer in control. He had let another man dominate him.

King Magnus Eriksson of Sweden has had the reputation of being a sodomite since his reign, when St. Bridget of Sweden called for rebellion against him in a manifesto claiming he was unfit to rule because he had had sexual intercourse with men. His queen, Blanche of Namur, was also depicted negatively in contemporary and later propaganda, with attempts to take action on her own described as “improper and suspicious.” These two elements were clearly linked to each other in propaganda: if sexual intercourse was supposed to symbolize the proper gender order of the Middle Ages, with the man active and in charge, Magnus’s stubborn refusal to have sex with Blanche is to blame for her becoming independent and unruly. This chapter explores the role and rhetoric of sexuality in late medieval propaganda directed at queens consort.

In the recommended general learning outcomes for higher education teacher training issued by the Association of Swedish Higher Education Institutions (SUHF), one objective states that participants should demonstrate the ability to ”independently, and jointly with others, plan, implement and evaluate teaching and assessment in higher education with a scientific, scholarly or artistic basis and within their own area of knowledge”. This article analyzes interpretations made by academic developers of SUHF’s wording jointly with others. It also discusses what foundations higher education teaching courses offer participants for developing knowledge, skills, and abilities to collaborate with others in their pedagogical work.

Three aspects of educational collaboration emerged from semi-structured interviews with twelve academic developers at nine Swedish universities: developing a language for learning; developing a critical approach; and developing a professional capacity to act. It also became evident during the interviews that the academic developers interpret jointly as working together with colleagues, rather than just side by side, and that they hope that their course participants are acquiring the knowledge, skills, and abilities to enable them to engage in a shared pedagogical practice. However, the academic developers also find it problematic that they rarely come into contact with teaching teams through their courses, making it difficult to assess participants’ ability to collaborate with colleagues within their own areas of knowledge. In other words, it is uncertain whether it is possible to achieve SUHF’s objective in the higher education teacher training courses as they are organized at the nine universities studied.