Joachim Östlund – författare

Att använda teori är en viktig del av historievetenskaperna. Med hjälp av teori kan en analys fördjupas och de empiriska resultaten göras greppbara i ett vidare sammanhang. För den som ska skriva en uppsats kan dock arbetet med teori framstå som abstrakt. Hur kan teorier bidra till historiska undersökningar? Hur arbetar man med teori – i praktiken? Det är temat i denna bok.Bokens kapitel tar avstamp i elva olika materialkategorier som är vanliga i historievetenskapliga arbeten. Med utgångspunkt i dessa material diskuteras källmaterialens förutsättningar och hur de kan användas i vetenskapliga arbeten med fokus på olika teoretiska perspektiv och begrepp. Ett genomgående tema är att teorier ska förstås som verktyg i den historiska forskningsprocessen och att valet av teori hänger tätt samman med källmaterial, metod och problemformulering. Teori i historisk praktik vänder sig till studerande i historievetenskapliga ämnen vid universitet och högskolor. Den är särskilt lämplig för dig som söker redskap för att få din uppsats att lyfta.

This open access book explores the story of early modern Swedish sailors and merchants captured and enslaved in the North African territory then known as ‘Barbary’ (Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, and Morocco), and the efforts of their families, communities, and consuls to ransom them. Swedes were a minority among the Spaniards, Italians, Frenchmen, and British who were carried off. For that reason, Swedish authorities were initially unaware of their suffering; however, as the losses of men increased and awareness of their plight grew, it became a huge concern for Sweden’s long-distance trade, particularly the import of salt—essential for food preservation in the long winter months— from Southern Europe.By studying the Swedish experience of encountering Barbary, the book illustrates how a small Lutheran state navigated global interests. This volume studies letters from captured and enslaved Swedish sailors and how this correspondence played a pivotal role in shaping slave narratives and by extension Swedish identity. The book also examines these letters’ social impact on local communities at home, the political pressure they exerted on government officials, and their cultural significance among intellectuals. In addition, the study highlights how Swedish consuls became integrated into the local power elite in North Africa, which facilitated diplomatic negotiations and opened up opportunities for commerce, including participation in the transport and trade of African slaves.

In 1735, professor Kilian Stobæus donated his collections to Lund University laying the foundation for the university’s first museum. The ‘Museum Stobæanum’ contained over 3000 natural history, historical and ethnographic objects typical of the cabinets of curiosity. This richly illustrated book is the first comprehensive history of these collections. Eighteen chapters, written by an interdisciplinary group of scholars, explore Stobæus as a researcher and collector; the concept, organization and development of the museum through time; as well as the culture of collecting, including its scientific and symbolic meaning. The authors also investigate specific examples of museum objects: fossils, plants enclosed in a herbarium, a crocodile, seashells and insects, North American artefacts, an Egyptian mummy, coins and medals, the skull of Descartes, Guyana war clubs and ethnographic objects from the South Pacific. The book contributes to a better understanding of Stobæus and his peers in their pursuit of knowledge through collecting as well as the complex processes that enabled early modern museums. On a broader level, it illuminates the global connections and intellectual environment of eighteenth-century Lund and Sweden.