Helena Karlsson

I grew up in Storebro, a little town by a lake in southern Sweden. Having lived for many years away from Scandinavia, and learned English, German and a little Spanish, I am now very interested in how Scandinavia contributes to the diversity of the world's cultures. I am particularly fascinated by how the Scandinavian countries, which have stood out as relatively successful experiments of equality and social justice, are dealing with immigration and multiculturalism.

I like to ask questions surrounding multiculturalism. What does it mean to truly learn something from another culture? Are there limits to cross-cultural understanding? How diverse are we within cultural groups? What cultural forms and ideas emerge from cultural borderlands? How do our class, gender, and ethnic identity affect the way we understand ourselves and others?

Fascinated with the growing cultural diversity of Europe, as a graduate student, I examined literary texts written by recent immigrants to Scandinavia and Germany. These immigrant voices challenge persisting inequalities and prejudices in Europe while they at the same time, in very interesting ways, expand the horizons of Scandinavian and German cultural and national identities.

At Gustavus, I teach my mother-tongue Swedish and various courses in Scandinavian literature, film and culture. For January 2011, I have planned a Swedish-German travel course that will take students to Stockholm and Berlin, and focus on the life and culture of the northern European metropolis.