Mediated Meanings in Historical and Contemporary Research
The research group “Mediated Meanings in Historical and Contemporary Research” collects scholars and MA students from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences who are interested in reflecting on these questions in their research.
About the research group
The use of different media sources has increased exponentially during the 2000s due to the digitization of past sources as well as the wide variety of born-digital materials. Simultaneously, all sources in humanistic and social science research can be viewed as medium that allows us to make interpretations of the meanings they contain. Media historians have gone so far as to claim that all history can be viewed as a media history if we acknowledge that “a media historical perspective unlocks the mediality” of our sources that can vary from rune stones to newspaper articles and from A4paper to school textbooks and posts in social media.
The research group “Mediated Meanings in Historical and Contemporary Research” collects scholars and MA students from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences who are interested in reflecting on these questions in their research. The group will serve as a platform for presenting work-in-progress as well as to initiate new research projects. It will also organize quest talks and offer more hands-on seminars on the topic.
The group was established in 2026. The meetings and seminars are open to everyone, including interested students. To join the e-mail list or get more information about the meetings, please, send an email to heidi.kurvinen@uib.no.
Programme for Autumn 2026
Wednesday 19 August, 2:15–4:00 p.m.
Hannah Yoken (University of Jyväskylä, Finland): Guest lecture titled An Express Train to Nowhere? "Infotainment" and the Finnish Magazine Pikajuna, 1981–82
Venue: Room 129, Sydnesplassen 12–13
Wednesday, 23 September, 2:15–4:00 p.m.
Julie Ryland (UiB) and Tatu Laitinen (University of Oulu, Finland) will present the topics of their master’s theses on, respectively, the media portrayal of Norwegian war children (krigsbarna) after the World War II and Tromsø-Tidende’s representation of the Kven minority in Northern Norway during the nineteenth century. The meeting will be held in a hybrid format, as Tatu Laitinen will participate remotely.
Venue: Seminar room of SapienCE, Sydnesplassen 12–13, 4th floor
Wednesday, 14 October, 2:15–4:00 p.m.
Marianne Sætre Amundsen (UiB) and Marte Færevåg Wetteland (UiB): Brief presentations of the group members’ research, followed by a joint discussion.
Venue: Seminar Room 4, Faculty of Law Building
Friday, 20 November, 2:15–4:00 p.m.
Text seminar on Sissel Undheim’s (UiB) article manuscript, “Mediated Awe and Superhuman Greatness in the Story Worlds of the Roman Empire.”
Venue: Room 129, Sydnesplassen 12–13
Wednesday, 16 December, 2:00–4:00 p.m.
Iben Brinch (UiB) and Elena Kochetkova (UiB): Brief presentations of the group members’ research, followed by a joint discussion.
Venue: Room 129, Sydnesplassen 12–13
Additional seminars may be arranged during the semester.
People
Group manager
Heidi Kurvinen Associate Professor
Group members
Marianne Sætre Amundsen PhD Candidate, History
Marit Ruge Bjærke Researcher, Cultural Studies
Iben Brinch Associate Professor, non-fiction, rhetoric and composition
Kari Kvittingen Djukastein Student, Cultural Studies
Henriette Hanky Guest Researcher, Study of Religions
William van Hemelryck PhD Candidate
Elena Kochetkova Associate Professor, Modern European Economic History
Leif Ove Larsen Professor
Silje Mæland Nesheim Student, Cultural Studies
Agnete Nesse Professor
Dorthea Roe PhD Candidate
Stephan Karl Sander-Faes Professor
Ragnhild Schwensen PhD Candidate
Svein Atle Skålevåg Professor, history of science
Sissel Undheim Professor, Study of Religion
Marte Færevåg Wetteland PhD Candidate, Cultural Studies