1. |
- Mattsson, Pauline, et al.
(author)
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Introduction: Universities and the Matter of Mattering
- 2024
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In: Making Universities Matter. - Cham : Springer Nature. - 2197-5701 .- 2197-5698. - 9783031487989 - 9783031487996 ; , s. 1-10
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this introductory chapter, we provide insights into the debates that inspired this volume. Our aim is to extend the boundaries of the concept societal interaction and discuss the conditions for universities to undertake such endeavors. Within this context, we introduce the matter of “mattering” which serves as the central theme that runs through this volume. Mattering, we posit, can be comprehended through three key concepts: collaboration, engagement, and impact. We outline how each concept contributes to an increasing understanding of the manifold ways in which mattering can be grasped and achieved. Furthermore, we provide an overview of the coherent set of individual chapters that, separately or jointly, deal with the three concepts. Through these chapters, this volume aims to make a valuable addition to the evolving literature that explores how universities can expand their impact beyond conventional higher education missions. Collectively, these chapters cover the context of the mattering of universities and draw on various empirical data sources, mainly from Sweden but also internationally. Within this compilation of inquiries, we shed light on the multifaceted impact of universities on societies, exploring the mechanisms, contexts, and temporal dimensions of their contributions to advancing knowledge and addressing societal challenges.
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2. |
- Perez Vico, Eugenia, 1980-, et al.
(author)
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Valorizing the Humanities : Impact Stories, Acting Spaces, and Meandering Knowledge Flows
- 2024
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In: Making Universities Matter. - Cham : Springer. - 2197-5698 .- 2197-5701. - 9783031487989 - 9783031487996 ; , s. 211-232
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Despite its proven societal value, humanities knowledge tends to be marginalized in research policy; this has been a topic of debate for some time. In this chapter, we focus on the valorization of humanities knowledge, with the aim of comprehending the way this process engenders societal impact. We argue that historical impact stories offer an effective methodological approach for a deeper understanding of such valorization and its subsequent impact. Drawing on three humanities research cases from Sweden, we propose that valorization and impacts of humanities knowledge should be seen as processual and as influenced by societal actors who determine the premises and condition the somewhat unpredictable nature of such impacts. We introduce two concepts: (i) acting space, which involves access to collaborators, audiences, and channels that enable knowledge valorization, and (ii) meandering knowledge flows, which provides insight into the uneven and hard-to-predict nature of valorization. Through these concepts, we wish to provide a better and more nuanced understanding of how knowledge valorization in the humanities unfolds. By doing so, we hope to support humanities scholars to find ways of articulating their own modes of mattering.
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3. |
- Airey, John, et al.
(author)
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The expansion of English-medium instruction in the Nordic countries : Can top-down university language policies encourage bottom-up disciplinary literacy goals?
- 2017
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In: Higher Education. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0018-1560 .- 1573-174X. ; 73:4, s. 561-576
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Recently, in the wake of the Bologna Declaration and similar international initiatives, there has been a rapid increase in the number of university courses and programmes taught through the medium of English. Surveys have consistently shown the Nordic countries to be at the forefront of this trend towards English-medium instruction (EMI). In this paper, we discuss the introduction of EMI in four Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden). We present the educational setting and the EMI debate in each of these countries and summarize relevant research findings. We then make some tentative suggestions for the introduction of EMI in higher education in other countries. In particular, we are interested in university language policies and their relevance for the day-to-day work of faculty. We problematize one-size-fits-all university language policies, suggesting that in order for policies to be seen as relevant they need to be flexible enough to take into account disciplinary differences. In this respect, we make some specific suggestions about the content of university language policies and EMI course syllabuses. Here we recommend that university language policies should encourage the discussion of disciplinary literacy goals and require course syllabuses to detail disciplinaryspecific language-learning outcomes.
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4. |
- Benner, Mats, et al.
(author)
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Fel av utredningen att främst fokusera på kommersialisering
- 2021
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In: Universitetsläraren. - : Universitetsläraren. - 0282-4973.
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Journal article (pop. science, debate, etc.)abstract
- Utredningen om ett utvecklat innovationsstöd vid lärosätena riktar tydligt in sig på kommersialisering för industriell utveckling. Men nyttiggörande av forskning är ett bredare begrepp, skriver nio forskare vid den Vinnovafinansierade forskningsplattformen Making Universities Matter.
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5. |
- Brännstedt, Lovisa, et al.
(author)
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Hellre ökad insikt än ökade anslag
- 2024
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In: Curie. - Stockholm : Vetenskapsrådet. ; :3/04
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Journal article (pop. science, debate, etc.)
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6. |
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7. |
- Fejes, Andreas, et al.
(author)
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English as Language of Teaching and Research
- 2020
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In: The SAGE Encyclopedia of Higher Education. - Thousand Oaks : Sage Publications. - 9781473942912 - 9781529714395 ; , s. 449-451
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)
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8. |
- Ganuza, Natalia, 1977-, et al.
(author)
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A weave of symbolic violence : Dominance and complicity in sociolinguistic research on multilingualism
- 2020
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In: Multilingua - Journal of Cross-cultural and Interlanguage Communication. - Berlin : Mouton de Gruyter. - 0167-8507 .- 1613-3684. ; 39:4, s. 451-473
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper discusses symbolic violence in sociolinguistic research on multilingualism. It revisits an archived recording of a group discussion between four boys about their chances of having sex with a female researcher. The data is rife with symbolic violence. Most obviously, the conversation enacted a heterosexist form of symbolic violence. This was, however, not the only direction in which violence was exerted. As argued by (Bourdieu & Wacquant. 1992. An invitation to reflexive sociology. Cambridge: Polity), symbolic violence involves two fundamental elements – domination and complicity. In the case at hand, the boys’ sexist banter conformed to dominant expectations about their linguistic behavior, imbued in the research event. This is symbolic complicity of the kind that the Bourdieusian notion foresees. Yet another subordination to the dominant vision occurred when the researchers captured the conversation on tape, but decided to exempt it from publication. Here, we argue that giving deepened attention to sociolinguists’ own run-ins with symbolic violence during research is valuable, because it provides an opportunity to reflexively consider the social conditions of the research practices, in relation to the data produced and analyzed. Ultimately, this reflexive exercise may help sociolinguists sharpen their tools for understanding the give and take of dominance and complicity unfolding in their data.
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9. |
- Ganuza, Natalia, 1977-, et al.
(author)
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Boundary-work and social closure in academic recruitment : Insights from the transdisciplinary subject area Swedish as a Second Language
- 2023
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In: Research Evaluation. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0958-2029 .- 1471-5449. ; 32:2, s. 515-525
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article explores practices of evaluation in academic recruitment in Swedish as a Second Language (SSL), an expanding and transdisciplinary subject area. As is common elsewhere, Swedish academia relies on a tradition of external expert review intended to ensure a meritocratic pro- cess. Here, we present an analysis of 109 written expert reports concerning recruitment to 57 positions in SSL during 2000–20. Because SSL lacks institutional autonomy, and is spread across several sub-disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, the material encompasses experts with diverse academic backgrounds. The SSL reports are broadly characterized by qualitative assessment. In contrast to other fields, the SSL experts seldom use quantitative proxy measures. Instead, they mainly rely on received conceptions of the boundaries of SSL as a means of justifying their inclusion and exclusion of candidates. This dominant regularity consists of attempts to define and delimit SSL and its core re- search areas, to locate the candidates in a core-to-periphery scheme with respect to these boundaries, and to rank them accordingly. This mech- anism of social closure serves to restrict access to SSL to candidates with qualifications that conform to the experts’ own conceptions of SSL. As we show, the experts’ internally ambiguous conceptions of SSL tend to be constructed in relation to their own scientific habitus and invest- ments. Beyond evaluating applicants’ possession of scientific capital, their distinctive style of reasoning around research qualifications and skills thus involves power-laden boundary-work, which leaves ample room for individual, yet habitus-specific arbitrariness.
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10. |
- Hanell, Linnea, 1986-, et al.
(author)
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Nine months of entextualizations : Discourse and knowledge in an online discussion forum thread for expectant parents
- 2017
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In: Entangled Discourses. - New York : Routledge. - 9781138192263 - 9781315640006 ; , s. 154-170
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The main argument of this chapter is that knowledge is a phenomenon to be understood in the intersection of discourse and action, and that entextualization (Bauman and Briggs 1990) mediates this relationship. Drawing on mediated discourse analysis (Scollon and Scollon 2004; Jones 2013), the chapter explores an online discussion forum thread used by over 200 pregnant women expecting a child in the same month. The empirical examples demonstrate how the participants in this thread exchange information, provide reports and contest knowledge. By way of these examples, the analysis claims that a key process in such knowledge practices is the entextualization of prior actions, often from the private life of the participants. Through such processes, a range of transient actions are treated as a unit, such as an experience, that is given a linguistic form. Recentered in the interaction of the thread, the unit functions as a piece of knowledge for others to draw on. In this vein, the discussion forum becomes a resource for the participants to appropriate control over medical knowledge and the biologically and socially turbulent experience of pregnancy.
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