Stockholm University, 2001–2010
History of religions
Before music became the centre of my research, I trained and worked as a historian of religions at Stockholm University. The research dealt with modern yoga: how a practice aimed at liberation became a practice of bodily well-being, how practitioners use the body to empower themselves, and how ritual recitation is performed. Alongside it ran doctoral work on Deleuzian philosophy, embodiment and ritual.
What carried over
The questions did not stay behind when I moved into artistic research. How a practice shapes what people perceive and how they act, alone and together, is the same question that runs through my work on improvisation, listening and co-creation. The 2009 paper on nomadology and improvisation marks the crossing point.
BA 2001 and MA 2003 in History of Religions, Stockholm University. Doctoral fellow and research assistant 2004–09; doctoral studies with coursework and published articles completed.
Articles and chapters
- 2008Empowerment and Using the Body in Modern Postural YogaBook chapter. In M. Singleton & J. Byrne (eds.), Yoga in the Modern World (Routledge). Republished as a “landmark text” in P. Heelas (ed.), Spirituality in the Modern World (2011).
- 2008Yogarörelser i SverigeIn I. Svanberg & D. Westerlund (eds.), Religion i Sverige (Dialogos). In Swedish.
- 2005Krishnamacharya’s Viniyoga: On Modern Yoga and Sri VaisnavismJournal of Vaishnava Studies 14:1.
- 2004Från frälsning till kroppsligt välbefinnande: Medikalisering av modern hathayogaFrom salvation to bodily well-being: the medicalisation of modern hatha yoga. Chakra: Tidskrift för Indiska Religioner 2. In Swedish.
Conference papers
- 2009Nomadology, Improvisation, SomaestheticsSecond International Deleuze Studies Conference, University of Cologne.
- 2007Transcending the Individual and Resisting Modernity: Empowerment and Sacralization in Modern Postural YogaReligion on the Borders, Södertörn University College.
- 2004Performing the Yogasutra: Towards a methodology for studying recitation in modern Hatha YogaRitual Practices in Indian Religions and Contexts, Lund University.
Theses
- 2003Octagonal MetamorphosisMaster’s thesis in History of Religions, Stockholm University.
- 2001Studier av samadhi i klassisk yogaStudies of samadhi in classical yoga. Bachelor’s thesis in History of Religions, Stockholm University. In Swedish.
Other
- 2007Att göra yogaInterview. Massage & Kroppsvård 4, pp. 52–54. In Swedish.
- 2005Reflektioner från Tokyo: XIXth World Congress of the IAHRConference report. Svensk Religionshistorisk Årsskrift, pp. 225–231. In Swedish.