Bjorn Johan Apelkvist Pagina Principala

Lect. Dr. of Swedish language and Literature at the University of Bucharest 

Education

-High School Exam at the Swedish Katedralskolan, Turku, Finland, in 1988.

-Bachelor of the Arts degree in August 1992 at Uppsala University, Sweden, after following a cultural studies programme with literature as my main subject.

- Doctors degree (Ph.D.) in Comparative Literature at Lund University, Sweden, in 2005, with the doctoral thesis ”Moderskonflikten i Lars Noréns åttiotalsdramatik” (see publications). The thesis later received the Stina and Erik Lundberg-scholarship awarded by the Swedish Academy.

- “An introduction to University Teaching” at Lund University, spring term 2005

- Preparatory pedagogical course for Swedish lecturers abroad, arranged by the Swedish Institute, at Billströmska folkhögskolan, Sweden, 28.7.-5.8. 2005

- Conference for Swedish lecturers abroad, including workshops, seminars and lectures, arranged by the Swedish institute at Lidingö, Stockholm, Sweden, 22^nd-24^th of august 2009.

Work Experience

-Employed at the University Library of Uppsala (Carolina Rediviva) 1992-1994.

-Employed as a Ph.D. student at Lund University 2003-2005, including work as an assistant for the faculty, dealing with different kinds of administrative duties and publishing relevant information to the entire staff at the institution.

 -Participation in the SASS-conference in Los Angeles, U.S.A., 15-17 of april 2004, with a paper titled ”Strindberg´s Image of the Mother at ‘Fin-de-siècle”, and at the conference ”The Future of Comparative Literature and the Nordic Perspective” in Helsinki, Finland on 3-4 september 2004, with the paper “Strindberg and Norén – a Case Study of Comparative Literature”.

-In the autumn semester 2005, engaged as a teacher on the undergraduate level at the Department of Literature, Lund University, Sweden, teaching among other things Ibsen´s Peer Gynt

-In december 2005, guest lecture on Swedish dramatist Lars Norén for students of Scandinavian languages at the university Babes-Bolyai in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, in connection to the launching of the book Demons by Lars Norén, arranged by the Swedish Emabassy.

-Two lectures on the annual International Romanian conference arranged at Marstrand, Sweden. In 2006 with the lecture “Explorers of the Negative – Comparing Emil Cioran and Lars Norén”, and in 2008 with a lecture in connection to the publication in Swedish of Romanian philosopher Gabriel Liiceanu´s work The Paltinis-Diary.

-Since October 2006, Swedish Lecturer at the faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures at Bucharest University, Romania, Where I teach courses on practical language skills and thematic literary and cultural courses on among other things Swedish Children´s Literature, Modern Swedish Drama, and The Swedish Welfare State.

-Active since 2007 as language trainer also for the Swedish Embassy and the Export Council of Sweden in Bucharest, as well as on different working places such as Hewlett Packard, Oracle and Genpact.

Publications

The doctoral thesis Moderskonflikten i Lars Noréns åttiotalsdramatik, Möklinta: Gidlunds 2005, Diss: University of Lund, Sweden. Published in English as the monograph The Mother Conflict in Lars Norén´s Dramatic Works of the 1980s. A Study of Fourteen Plays by Lars Norén, by VDM Verlag, Germany, in 2009.

http://www.bod.de/index.php?id=296&objk_id=236804

Articles:

"Konstruktiv konflikt och livsförnyelse - Lars Noréns pjäs ´Höst och vinter´ tolkad utifrån Rollo May" ("Constructive Conflict and Renewal of Life - Lars Norén´s drama ´Autumn and Winter´ interpreted through Rollo May"), the Swedish periodical Samlaren. Tidskrift för svensk litteraturvetenskaplig forskning, 1998:119, p. 77-9

"Candide eller Pangloss - om rationalitetens gränser vid milleniets slut" (“Candide or Pangloss - on the Limits of Rationality at the End of the Millenium", the Finnish-Swedish periodical Horisont 1-2, 1999, p.74-89.

 "Dialogens existentiella rötter - Om Bachtin och den moderna litteraturteorin" (“The Existential Roots of the Dialouge - on Bachtin and Modern Literary Theory", the Finnish-Swedish periodical Horisont 4/1999, p. 51-57

 ”Nietzsches Tragedins födelse – om västerlandets flykt från den tragiska visdomens rötter” (“Nietzsches Birth of Tragedy - on the Escape from the Roots of Tragic Wisdom in the West”), Horisont 2002:4, p.20-26

 ”Vad är bildning” ("What is Education?"), the Finnish-Swedish periodical Horisont 2003:1, p. 25-29

 ”Mamma först och främst – om Strindbergs kvinnosyn” (Mother above all - on Strindbergs View of Women", the Finnish-Swedish periodical Horisont 2004:1, p.35-41

 ”Från Pelikanen till Underjordens leende – om Strindberg, Norén och den destruktiva modersmaktens problem” ("From the Pelican to The Smile of the Underworld - on Strindberg, Norén and the Problem of Destructive Maternal Power"), Strindbergiana, twentieth collection, Stockholm: Atlantis 2005, p.73-92

 ”Pe culmile suferintei. Despre dramele scriitorului suedez Lars Norén” ( “On the Crests of Suffering. On the Dramatic Works of the Swedish Author Lars Norén”), Afterword in Lars Norén: Demoni (Demoner, 1982), translation to Romanian by Åsa Apelkvist & Sinziana Demian, Cluj-Napoca: Editura Echinox, 2005, p.131-134

 ”Euripides Medea och könskampens existentiella rötter” (“Euripid`s Medea and the existential roots of the struggle of sexes”), the Finnish-Swedish periodical Finsk tidskrift 2006:5. Re-published in the booklet for the production of Sara Stridsberg: Medealand at Kungliga Dramatiska teatern, Stockholm, in 2009 (p.5)  www.dramaten.se/PageFiles/34342/MEDEALANDprogram.pdf

 ”De maktlösa männens berättelser. Om Lars Noréns Skuggpojkarna” (“The Tales of the Powerless Men. On Lars Norén´s Shadowboys”), the Finnish-Swedish periodical Finsk tidskrift 2006:10, s. 653-671

 ”Exploratori negativului” (”Explorers of the Negative” – A comparison between Lars Norén and Romanian-French philosopher Emil Cioran), The Romanian literary periodical Romania literara 2007:22, http://www.romlit.ro/

 ”Un melancolic resemnat” (”A quiet melancolic” – on the Swedish Author Hjalmar Söderberg), The Romanian literary periodical Romania Literara 2008:19, http://www.romlit.ro/   

 ”Seeing the World through the eyes of children. Astrid Lindgren, Sweden and Romania”, in the Romanian periodical  Revista Studii de Stiinta si Cultura. Universitatea de Vest ”Vasile Goldis” din Arad, 2008:2 http://www.revista-studii-uvvg.ro/index.php?categoryid=65&p142_id=230&p142_dis=3&p142_template=Default

 ”Paideia i rumänsk tappning. Om Constantin Noica och hans filosofiska skola i Paltinis” (”A Romanian version of Paideia. Constantin Noica and his philosophical school in Paltinis”), the Finnish-Swedish periodical Finsk tidskrift, 2008:10, p.

 ”Mircea Cărtărescu – Crossing the Borders of Romania and Sweden”, in the Romanian periodical Studii de Ştiinţă şi Cultură. Universitatea de Vest ”Vasile Goldis” din Arad, 2009/18. 

 “Den svenska välfärdsmodellen. Astrid Lindgren och Rumänien” (“The Swedish Welfare State. Astrid Lindgren and Romania”), in the periodical Finsk tidskrift 2010:2, p.71-86

 Language Skills

 Swedish – mother tongue

English – fluent

Finnish – fluent

Romanian - basic knowledge

French – basic knowledge

German – basic knowledge

Computer Skills

Proficient in Windows XP, Microsoft Office and Internet.

References

Professor emeritus Per Rydén, Center for Language and Literature, Lund University, Sweden, e-mail Per.Rydén@litt.lu.se , phone: 0046(0)462228481

Ambassador Mats Åberg, Swedish Embassy in Bucharest, Romania, e-mail: mats.o.aberg@foreign.ministry.se, phone: 0040(0)214067101

Monika Wirkkala, Assisting director for The Department for Intercultural Relations at the Swedish Institute, e-mail: mw@si.se, phone: 004684537966 (fix) / 0046737225338 (mobile)