Affiliated research projects
The emotional citizen
Measuring citizens' perceived "quality of life" is an important tool in current politics, but when the concept was first launched in the Swedish welfare state, it gave rise to intense debate. This project examines political and academic debates about quality of life as a measure of welfare in 1970s Sweden. The project combines perspectives from governmentality research and the history of knowledge, studying the emergence of a new citizen category, the "emotional citizen", as well as its relationship to a new democratic ideal, the "emotional democracy". The project is financed by Riksbanken Jubileumsfond and run by Linnea Tillema, Department of History of Science and Ideas.
The emotional citizen - Quality of life debates and the transformation of democracy in 1970s Sweden
Controlling the Uncontrollable
Digital smartphone applications (apps) for reproductive health currently constitute a huge market. These apps are mainly developed by private actors, outside of government-funded and -controlled care. Despite this, we know almost nothing about their effects on experiences of fertility, sexual health and healthcare. The purpose of the project is to review these new technological players in reproductive health. We want to know what role they play for healthcare professionals and healthcare institutions, as well as for women's and men's interpretation of and experiences with reproduction and partnership. The project is led by Lina Eklund, Department of Informatics and Media.
DOME Consortium
The purpose of the DOME consortium is to build knowledge about the implementation and use of e-health services. The research is conducted in collaboration with the parties involved in the establishment of online patient records in Sweden.
DOME Consortium. Development of Online Medical records and E-health services
Communicating Medicine (SweMPer)
The purpose of the project is to create a database (Swemper) of Swedish medical journals published 1781–2011. The goal is threefold: to establish a national resource for future research and teaching in the history of medicine and medical humanities, as well as for a wider public; to make historical medical journals available for analysis of long time intervals and broad areas of inquiry through quantitative methods; to adapt and enrich data and metadata for research through the multidisciplinary expertise of the research team. The project is led by Solveig Jülich, Department of History of Science and Ideas.
Communicating Medicine (SweMPer). Digitalisation of Swedish Medical Periodicals, 1781–2011
Between Openness and Secrecy
The purpose of the project is to explore the management and control of medical communication in Sweden. The focus is on controversies surrounding media coverage of medical topics and the shifting strategies that were developed to deal with perceived threats of revealing too much or too little information to the public, which also included potential patients. Principles of confidentiality, anonymity, collegiality, public interest and freedom of the press were mobilized to defend professional autonomy, boundaries and interests in disputes between doctors and journalists. The project is run by Solveig Jülich, Department of History of Science and Ideas.
Between Openness and Secrecy - Controlling Medical Communication in Twentieth Century Sweden
PACMUM
This project investigates how pregnancy and childbirth-related content on YouTube may influence pregnancy-related anxiety. The project aims to understand how pregnancy and childbirth-related content on YouTube can meet different needs of women with pregnancy-related anxiety and to elucidate the underlying processes of association between exposure to pregnancy and childbirth-related content and pregnancy-related anxiety. The project is run by Femke Geusens.
Pregnancy- and Childbirth-Related Media Use to Support Maternal Mental Health (PACMUM)
Scandinavian Border Crossings
During the 2000s, Scandinavia has experienced a queer baby boom. With new legislation giving lesbian couples and single women access to state-funded reproductive technology, combined with a growing international fertility market, including gay male reproduction through surrogacy, the family landscape has changed drastically. This project studies how online media are intertwined in people's lives and in particular in reproduction and kinship. Not only can gametes and treatments be found and purchased online, social and other online media are now central to kinning; people search for and locate "donor siblings", thus creating new forms of kinship across Scandinavia. The project is led by Ulrika Dahl, Centre for gender studies.
Scandinavian Border Crossings. Race and Nation in Queer Assisted Reproduction
Between life and death. Intrauterine device (IUD) use in Sweden, ca 1960-1975
This project investigates the introduction and use of the modern IUD in Sweden. IUDs were used and given meaning by actors involved in overpopulation and family planning issues abroad, by those who provided or received care in the country's health facilities, and by reproductive researchers collaborating within larger networks. This project investigates how and why IUDs first began to be used by Swedish institutions and individuals and explores whether a new contraceptive may have influenced medical practice, discourses about reproduction and individual family planning. The project is run by Morag Ramsey, Department of History of Science and Ideas.
Between life and death: intrauterine device (IUD) use in Sweden, ca. 1960-1975