Nominated by:
- Linda Kristina Joelsson nominates herself.
Election Platform
The University of Oslo contributes to societal resilience. To contribute to resilience, both individual and societal, is also the key motivation behind my candidature to the board of the UiO. Amidst rapid societal changes we are currently experiencing, the UiO has a key role to play in producing new knowledge, disseminating that knowledge, and building and defending the societal structures that make these possible. The UiO promotes diversity of community, and depth and nuance of scholarship and public-facing education. For such endeavours, the role of democracy is crucial.
The university itself incorporates a great variety of disciplines, formal and informal professional communities and working groups, all of which play an important role in enabling the university to carry out its tasks. My commitment to the UiO could be described in three ways: collaboration / togetherness, integrity and sustainability.
- Collaboration / togetherness: What would be easier and more enjoyable if we did it together? How can we create and nurture community? The fight against Covid-19 made our efforts toward collaboration and cohesion more complicated. What have we learned from this experience? How can the UiO develop collaboration and community among students and faculties? How might the UiO contribute to collaboration and social cohesion in society?
- Integrity: How can the UiO improve our ways of being "different together"? The question of integrity relates to both the researcher's work, the student's work and everyday life, and the ability of the various faculties and professional groups to pursue their interests and to develop their particular methods and procedures. The concept of cohesion does not imply that we have to be the same, or similar to each other, but social systems with greater extent of individual variation are also more resilient compared to the groups who build their collective identity upon an idea of sameness. Hence, defending human rights is to protect our future.
- Sustainability: Sustainability is a pressing issue that cannot be neglected, especially now. Much has been done but much remains to be done. The quest for sustainability has an impact on the questions we ask and, importantly, on how our research results are communicated to the larger society and to their relevant target audiences and communities. The communication of research results could be improved, and also the university’s public outreach, that is, the popularization of results. Overall, communication with the wider society must be given a higher priority within the academic world.
Background
I am a theologian, historian of the ancient world, and biblical scholar from the southern part of Sweden. My present research project at the UiO (Marie Sklodowska Curie fellowship, 2020-2022) combines Bible translation issues with a social systems perspective on attitudes toward diversity and difference. My doctoral dissertation (Åbo Akademi University, Finland 2015) investigated Paul's changing attitude toward death and dying from psychological perspectives (Routledge, 2017). My academic experience includes teaching New Testament theology, Greek, religious education, and interdisciplinary perspectives on religion and health (Ersta-Sköndal-Bräcke University, 2015-2018, and Umeå University, 2019). A priest in the Church of Sweden and a pastor in the Uniting Church of Sweden, I have experience from two denominations and their respective ways of collaboration, management and democracy. I am interested in societal and individual processes, and in the interaction between individuals and groups in society.
In the academic setting, I am the chair of the section "Psychological Hermeneutics for Biblical Themes and Texts" in the Society of Biblical Literature’s International meetings. I was a member of the parish board in Gustavsberg (2009-2010) and the employed secretary to the church council of the Botkyrka parish (2007-2008), and also the project manager for an innovative program for support to children and their families during the asylum process. I am a member of the editorial board of ELSA, the Swedish Ecumenical Women’s Council's Journal (since 2017), and of Tro & Liv, the pastoral-oriented series affiliated with the University College Stockholm (since 2016). I am one of the primary translators to the forthcoming translation of the New Testament into Swedish (NT2026).