From 15th to 26th August 2016 I have had the pleasure to visit my dear Swedish EMHIS colleagues in their cosy realm in Lunds universitet’s Språk- och litteraturcentrum (SOL). Benefiting from the warm and generous hospitality of Lund University’s Media History unit I thoroughly enjoyed my stay as guest researcher within the EMHIS exchange scheme. It was a very productive writing and thinking retreat on the one hand as well as an inspiring time for making plans particularly concerning upcoming tasks and the future of the EMHIS network on the other hand.
Arriving via Kastrup and the Öresundståg on a rainy Sunday afternoon I was welcomed by Marie Cronqvist and Sophie Elsässer, who courteously accompanied me to a “Hemköp” shop and to my private accommodation (which was kindly made available by Laura Saarenmaa). A dinner with Marie’s family completed the warm-hearted welcome.
Monday mornings tend to be moody – but not my first working day in Lund. A desk, marvellous strong coffee, and appreciated colleagues were waiting for me. Even a LU card allowing access to the office was organized in record-breaking time. The next days I spent my time with writing or editing papers on radio’s relationship with young listeners in Germany and on mass media’s role for public history. Furthermore, I searched through Lund University’s library catalogue for a prospective paper on an early Swedish-German collaboration in sound broadcasting and had chats and/or productive talks with Marie, Sophie, Charlie, Erik, Sofi, Charlotte, and other fine colleagues from Lund’s Department of Communication and Media. I even had the pleasure to meet Patrik, who has left Lund earlier this year to become a professor for history at the Mittuniversitetet in Sundsvall.
With regard to the future of EMHIS Marie and I especially worked on the call for papers for the final (or better transitional) conference that will take place in Lund in May 2017. In addition, other ideas and a possible project application were discussed. As always the time went by far too fast. Tack så mycket för gästfrihet! Det var en mycket vacker tid. Vi ses!