Katarzyna Herd - ny doktorand i etnologi inom forskarskolan i historia

Previously I completed master studies at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. There I studied English culture and society as my major subject, with history, philosophy and Finnish as my minor subjects. I also studied for 2 years at the Catholic University of Lublin, Poland, where my subjects included English, Irish Gaelic and Welsh languages, philosophy and history of art. I speak Polish, English, Finnish and Swedish, and I attended summer courses for Nordic students (Nordkurser) in Icelandic and Norwegian. I'm Polish, married to a Finn, and we have a 4 years old daughter and a dog. We've been living in Malmö for 5 years now. I knit and play drums. Thesis project: ’'Vi är Malmö från gamla tider'’ – performing history in the football environment

In the project I intend to investigate every-day use of historical references in the context of a small number of Swedish football clubs.
History is used regularly to establish hierarchy and validate power positions, to create meanings and draw boundaries, to defy an ally and an enemy. Performing history during a match is a creative and unique phenomenon and makes the environment meaningful for individuals that find their place in an organization. It also creates the club’s image and validates its current structure. This research would show how integration through historical references works on individual level that connects to this specific institution. I would like to look into issues like perceptions of glory, failure etc. throughout history of various clubs; the away section: constructing ourselves and our enemies from the shreds of a club's memory; reflecting historical events and clashing views of history between clubs from the same region in tifos, songs, banners.
My hypothesis is then that those involved in local football express a notion of ‘performative history’. I would like to look at history appearing in three different dimensions, those being oral traditions, material culture and the human element, i.e. some of the people used as reference in a given football club. While looking at history being performed and used nowadays, it would be equally interesting to go back and investigate what sorts of historical references were important or omitted for example 20-30 years ago. At present I consider including several clubs in the investigation, namely MFF, HIF, AIK, and DIF.