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Principal C.J.L. Almqvist and the principle of personalityThe Swedish author and visionary Carl Jonas Love Almqvist (1793–1866) was the principal for twelve years (1829–1841) of the government-initiated pilot school ”Nya Elementarskolan” (New Elementary School) in Stockholm. In this position, he argued that both the school and the state should be built on the same basic idea: the right of individual freedom. This argument is often referred to as ”personlighetsprincipen” (the principle of personality), a concept launched by another prominent figure of the liberal culture of the time, Erik Gustaf Geijer (1783–1847). This article explores how the principle of personality is expressed in the texts of Almqvist and is mainly built upon the concept’s allegorical resources. It examines the thesis that Almqvist’s use of the term is best understood if one distinguishes between the political, pedagogical, and existential dimension of the concept. The article ends with some thoughts about the context of the concept and a discussion on whether Almqvist had a greater interest in personalities than in principles.

Review of Owe Ronström, “Kulturarvspolitik. Visby från sliten småstad till medeltidsikon” (Stockholm 2008).

In this article the historical background to the reactivation of the concept of Bildung in the Swedish school debate during 1980s is presented. The article argues that the resurrection of this concept is intimately related to the foundation of the discourse of the Knowledge School (Kunskapsskolan), and shows how these two terms were central in school political program developed by the Knowledge Movement (Kunskapsrörelsen) in the early 1980s. The article shows how the concept of Bildung since it was resurrected not only has been highly contested, but that it was actually reactivated within the same movement that helped pave the way for the manifest economic-instrumentalist school discourse that dominates the current curriculum.

A very critical review of Henrik Jacobsens dissertation in medieval archaeology, "Romanske vesttårne, deres indretning og funktion. Vesttårne før 1300 i det middelalderlige Danmark øst for Storebælt" (Stockholm 1993). Alternative explanations are proposed.

General Subjects in Vocational Education and Training in Post-War SwedenThe present article focuses on the role of general subjects in the curriculum for vocational education and training (VET) in Swedish upper secondary schools after the Second World War. It shows that a steady increase in general VET subjects as a result of Social Democratic legislation in 1968 and 1991 was interrupted by a Liberal-Conservative government bill introduced in 2009, which led to a reduction. The rhetoric of these reforms is analyzed with the intent of increasing insight into the perceived educational benefits of general subjects in VET. The study employs the analytical lens of Gert Biesta and his proposed major functions of education: qualification, socialization, and sub-jectification. The results serve to illuminate the present-day educational po-licy debate, showing that the place of general subjects in the curriculum has been motivated by the important role they play in educating youth in demo-cracy, teaching them to function effectively in an increasingly international-ized and multicultural society and economy, for their lifelong learning and for the continued economic growth of the Swedish society. With the enactment of the government bill of 2009, however, the qualifying function of general subjects in VET was devaluated. The new curriculum that followed prioritized strictly vocational skills and the transition of graduates directly into the labour market.

Romanesque round church towers - a Skandinavian perspective: The aim of the article is to discuss the interpretation of the Romanesque round church towers seen from a Scandinavian perspective. After a research history and a geographical outlook, which passes Ireland, England and Holstein, the article focusses on the 15-19 churches with round towers in medieaval Denmark, Sweden and Norway, with the main part in Southern Schleswig and Scania; none are known from Finland. The chronology and social context, function and meaning of the church towers are discussed. The Romanesque round church towers are also discussed in relation to the 33 known Romanesque round churches in the same area. Finally a catalogue of the round church towers in Scandinavia is presented. The theses of the article is, that the building material was not decisive for the choice of the round architecture, at least not in Scandinavia. The round church towers were unfortified burial memorials and bell towers, where the architecture, as was the case for the round churches, copied central church buildings in the West. In a period, where most churches were without a tower or had square towers, the round church towers were examples of a “conspicuous symbolism”. The initiative to build the round church towers must have been taken by an aristocracy, who participated or were inspired by the contemporary crusades at the Baltic Sea, and who used the towers in their mutual competition on status.Corrections in the pdf 2015.

Forays in Estonia: Experiences from participation in an excavation om St Michaels monastery in Tallinn, Estonia.