Swedish Institute for North American Studies (SINAS)
The Swedish Institute for North American Studies (SINAS) conducts research and promotes the study of North America. A central research focus at SINAS is to explore the global relevance of U.S. culture and society.
Research
SINAS Research Profile: Understanding Swedish-American Relations
During the first decades of the twenty-first century, Swedish interest in the United States has intensified. Increasing numbers of contacts in the business and entertainment worlds, in academic contexts, and in terms of social and political policies have linked the countries close together. Even though there are plenty of contacts between the countries, the Swedish and American understanding of each other is partial, often based on stereotypes and quick media reporting. Important dimensions of the two countries and their relationships remain misunderstood, to the detriment of politics, industry, and culture. As the global political and cultural configurations change, understanding the full complexity of Swedish-American relations is thus more important than ever.
SINAS has launched a new program in Swedish-American relations to remedy this problem and better understand how the countries relate to each other. This requires a broad approach with expertise and insights in the cultural, social, and political connections between Sweden and the United States consisting of education, research, and public outreach.
As Sweden’s only academic institution devoted to the study of and teaching about the United States, SINAS provides an ideal platform for this program. The work is spearheaded by Dag Blanck, Professor of North American Studies and director of SINAS, and Associate Professor of North American Studies and Senior Lecturer at SINAS, Adam Hjorthén.
Building on existing work at Uppsala University and elsewhere, the program seeks to renew this field by bringing together scholars from different disciplines in new combinations. It allows for new questions to be raised and new answers to be produced about the nature of Swedish-American interactions. This work has already begun through the creation of an international research network and through workshops, conferences, and publications sponsored by SINAS.
The era that most immediately comes to mind when thinking about Swedish-American relations is the mass migration of over one million Swedes to the United States in the 19th and early-20th centuries. Memories of the migration continue to inform contacts between the countries, influenced by the stories of Karl-Oskar and Kristina from Vilhelm Moberg’s novels The Emigrants or, more recently, from the life of the emigrants in Ola Larsmo’s Swede Hollow.
In recent years, scholars have broken new ground and expanded the field to investigate the multiple points of confluence between the countries. Migration will always be an important dimension of Swedish-American relations, but now the story of how Sweden and the United States have related to each other also concerns food, culture, fashion, sports, music, film, literature, theater, arts, climate politics, digital technology, and social media. It deals with the tourism and travel industries, which after 1945 has significantly contributed to the spread of ideas, culture, and knowledge between the countries. Although these areas are well known to many in Sweden and the United States, it is often based on individual experiences, fast-paced media reporting, social media or Google searches.
The program at SINAS offers a center for novel research and advanced learning to the benefit of many segments of society. It aims to be a unifying force for everyone interested in historical and contemporary contacts between Sweden and the United States. Many of these interests have come together in a SINAS network of scholars interested in what we call Swedish-American Borderlands.
Teaching
SINAS offers two 30-credit courses in American Studies on the bachelor's level – American Studies A and American Studies B. All of the modules in American Studies A and B are offered as individual 7.5-credit courses, two of which are also taught as distance courses. As of Fall 2022, we offer two master's level courses in American Studies.
American studies is a minor subject, which means it is not possible to obtain a degree in the subject. However, our courses can be used as a minor subject within a degree.
Bachelor's level courses
- American Studies A (30 credits)
- American Studies B (30 credits)
- Introduction to American History (A-level, 7.5 credits)
- Introduction to American Politics (A-level, 7.5 credits)
- Race and Ethnicity in the United States (A-level, 7.5 credits)
- American Media Cultures (A-level, 7.5 credits)
- Global American History (B-level, 7.5 credits)
- Current Issues in American Politics (B-level, 7.5 credits)
- Memory and Heritage in American Culture (B-level, 7.5 credits)
- Current Research in American Studies (B-level, 7.5 credits)
- Collaborating in Crisis Studies in Sweden and the United States: Problem Solving via Digital Technologies (7.5 credits)
Master's level courses
Cooperation and Outreach
Cooperation and outreach are an important part of SINAS' work. We collaborate with various organizations and institutions in Sweden, the other Nordic countries, and the United States.
SINAS staff are often represented in the media and give lectures to various groups and organizations in Sweden. In 2024, these included:
- Dagens Nyheter
- Handelsbanken
- Radio Sweden (Sveriges Radio)
- Senior University (Senioruniversitetet)
- Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (Stockholms handelskammare)
- Svenska Dagbladet
- Sveriges Television (SVT)
- TV4
- Uppsala Nya Tidning
SINAS also collaborates with organizations and institutions in the United States, including the Swenson Swedish Immigration Center at Augustana College in Illinois.
We are members of the Swedish Association for American Studies, the Nordic Association for American Studies, the European Association for American Studies, and the American Studies Network.
More about SINAS
Find out more about SINAS and our research network.
Fulbright Chair
Fulbright Distinguished Chair in North American Studies at SINAS.
Publications
Part of American Studies in Scandinavia, p. 72-74, 2024
Part of Democracy and Autocracy, p. 11-15, 2024
Valet står mellan USA som idé eller etnisk gemenskap
Part of Dagens nyheter, 2024
Part of Diplomatic History, p. 551-554, 2023
Part of Genealogy, 2022
Part of Diplomatic History, p. 423-426, 2022
Part of American Studies in Scandinavia, p. 80-82, 2022
- DOI for Book Review: Frank Kelleter and Alexander Starre, eds. Projecting American Studies: Essays on Theory, Method, and Practice. Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter, 2018
- Download full text (pdf) of Book Review: Frank Kelleter and Alexander Starre, eds. Projecting American Studies: Essays on Theory, Method, and Practice. Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter, 2018
Review Essay: "Norse America" & "Runestone! A Rock Musical"
Part of Swedish-American Historical Quarterly, p. 247-255, 2022
Part of Library and Information History, p. 189-209, 2022
Transatlantic Monuments: On Memories and Ethics of Settler Histories
Part of American Studies in Scandinavia, p. 95-120, 2021
Part of Högre Utbildning, p. 76-87, 2021
Part of Journal of Borderlands Studies, p. 49-57, 2021
- DOI for “Learning from Las Vegas”: Border Aesthetics, Disturbance, and Electronic Disobedience. An Interview with Performance Artist Ricardo Dominguez
- Download full text (pdf) of “Learning from Las Vegas”: Border Aesthetics, Disturbance, and Electronic Disobedience. An Interview with Performance Artist Ricardo Dominguez
Part of International Emergency Nursing, 2020
Stormare i strid mot alla forskare
Part of Aftonbladet, 2020
The Impossibility of Writing About War
Part of Paideuma, p. 149-154, 2020
En annorlunda exceptionalism: President Barack Obama och en klassisk amerikansk tankefigur
Part of Statsvetenskaplig Tidskrift, p. 43-61, 2020
[Review of:] The New Negro. The Life of Alain Locke
Part of American Studies in Scandinavia, p. 124-127, 2019
Svensk-amerikanska relationer: Om förnyelsen av ett forskningsfält
Part of Historisk Tidskrift, p. 86-95, 2019
Myths of the Runestone:Viking Martyrs and the Birthplace of America, by David M. Krueger
Part of Minnesota History, p. 325-325, 2017
"Very Welcome Home Mr. Swanson": Swedish Americans Encounter Homeland Swedes
Part of American Studies in Scandinavia, p. 107-121, 2016
Pole Raising and Speech Making: Modalities of Swedish American Summer Celebration
Part of Scandinavian Studies, p. 464-466, 2016
Pole Raising and Speech Making: Modalities of Swedish American Summer Celebration
Part of Scandinavian Studies, p. 464-466, 2016
The Transnational Viking: The Role of the Viking in Sweden, the United States, and Swedish America
Part of Journal of Transnational American Studies, 2016
Part of Journal of Transnational American Studies, p. 1-19, 2016
Transnationalizing Swedish-American Relations: An Introduction to the Special Forum
Part of Journal of Transnational American Studies, 2016
Part of Respons : recensionstidskrift för humaniora & samhällsvetenskap, 2015
Part of Journal of American Ethnic History, p. 37-54, 2014
Från det norröna till välfärdsstaten: Scandinavian Studies i USA
Part of Tidskrift för litteraturvetenskap, 2012
Two Churches, One Community: The Augustana Synod and the Covenant Church, 1860-1920
Part of Swedish-American Historical Quarterly, p. 158-174, 2012
Displaying a Controversy: The Kensington Rune Stone as Transnational Historical Culture
Part of Swedish-American Historical Quarterly, p. 78-105, 2011
A Virtual America: Americans and 'American' Spaces in New Shanghai
Part of American Studies in Scandinavia, p. 81-108, 2010
En viking i New York: Kitsch, kommersialism och historiemissbruk på världsutställningen 1964/1965
Part of Valör, p. 19-33, 2010
Transitional times: ‘New Media’ – Novel Histories and Trajectories
2009
The Future Gaze: City Panoramas as Politico-Emotive Geographies
Part of Journal of Visual Culture, p. 25-53, 2009
Turkiet 1:25: Historiebruk och identitet i Miniaturk
Part of Valör, p. 3-14, 2009
Travels in Thirdspace: Experiential Suspense in Mediaspace – the Case of America (un)known
Part of European Journal of Communication, p. 343-363, 2008
Part of American Studies in Scandinavia, p. 100-125, 2008
Part of The Senses and Society, p. 155-172, 2007
Part of Svenska Dagbladet, 2004
My life, Bill Clinton, Mrs secretary, Madeleine Albright
Part of Sydsvenska Dagbladet, 2004
An unfinished life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963, by Robert Dallek
Part of American Studies in Scandinavia, p. 101-104, 2004
The great unraveling : losing our way in the new century, Paul Krugman
Part of Smålandsposten, 2003
Literary Generations and Social Authority: A Study of US Prose-Fiction Debut Writers, 1940-2000
Part of Poetics (Amsterdam. Print), p. 299-309, 2002
Den tredje mannen: Ralph Nader och det amerikanska presidentvalet 2000
Part of Sydsvenska Dagbladet 2002-05-12, 2002
Part of Poetics (Amsterdam. Print), p. 365-380, 2002
Sverige – ett u-land i Amerikakunskap
Part of Expressen, 2001
Medier, myter och massornas kultur: Don DeLillos författarskap
Part of Upsala Nya Tidning 2001-06-29, 2001
"George W. Bush's 'Compassionate Conservatism'"
Part of SINAS-News, Newsletter, p. 5-6, 2001
"The Rise of the Sunbelt: Urbanization and Industrialization"
Part of A Companion to the American South, p. 474-493, 2001
Det var en gång en president: Edmund Morris Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan
Part of Smålandsposten 2000-01-13, 2000