PhD Programme in Gender Studies

Scholars at Tema Genus explore wide-ranging research questions about identity and difference, nature and culture, and politics and the body. As a doctoral student, you become part of an interdisciplinary and vibrant research environment that will support and challenge you in your thesis work.

Scholarship at Tema Genus is interdisciplinary and international, with high societal relevance. It includes work on feminist posthumanities, postcolonial and decolonial feminisms, feminist technoscience, and sexuality studies. Doctoral students participate in this environment through an exciting Higher Seminar Series where visitors share their latest scholarship, extensive networks and a range of ongoing research projects.

The PhD programme in Gender Studies is a 4-year-programme of full-time study (240 ECTS credits) leading to a PhD degree in Gender Studies. Financially justifiable teaching and research fellowships may enable an extension of the time to complete the degree with up to 1 year. The PhD programme at the Tema Institute (including the programme in Gender Studies) is interdisciplinary, entails full-time work, and requires regular on-campus attendance.

Doctoral education in Tema Genus is organised into three parts providing a substantial grounding in cutting-edge gender studies scholarship, more practical skills to support production of a doctoral thesis, and the opportunity for students to deepen their knowledge in their chosen area of specialisation.

Currently our students take 90 credits of courses distributed as follows:

40 credits introductory, obligatory Tema Genus courses, typically followed during the first 1-2 years of education. These are courses taught in-house by Tema Genus staff designed to introduce students to the unique blend of gender studies expertise available in the division. These courses immerse students in cutting-edge scholarship that not only provides a strong foundation in gender studies to support doctoral research, but also gives students the wide-ranging knowledge necessary for engaging in other ways, from teaching to activism to industry.
20 credits additional, in-house obligatory courses that provide more skills to support production of a doctoral thesis, including:
Thesis as Genre
Communications/Speaking Gender Studies
Ontologies, Epistemologies and Methodologies of Interdisciplinary Studies
Feminist Methodologies
30 credits for specialist courses which may be selected by students to suit their topic.

The goal of our course programme is to prepare students to engage in many and varied ways through exposure to diverse theories and methods. To deliver on this we employ our expertise to equip students with openness to a wide range of critical perspectives as well as international awareness.

Embedded in a thriving research culture

Students at Tema Genus benefit from activities organised within the Department of Thematic Studies more widely, including the popular P6: Body, Knowledge, Subjectivity seminar group and courses hosted by other TEMAs on writing skills and fieldwork techniques.

TEMA also has a lively doctoral community, with an active PhD Council that organises regular meetings, writing retreats and social activities.

A broad professional future

PhDs who have completed the Tema Genus doctoral programme have many opportunities for a future both inside the academy as well as at various research agencies and government bodies. Among others, Tema Genus PhD students have gone on to become researchers, teachers, research managers, poets and diversity consultants.

Find PhD courses at Tema

PhD courses at the Department of Thematic Studies

The Department of Thematic Studies offers third-cycle courses for PhD students. On Forskarstudieinfo, you will find our current courses and syllabuses at doctoral level.

Hear from a doctoral student

Caroline Elgh – Doctoral Student at Gender Studies

Caroline Elgh is a doctoral student at Gender Studies with a background as a curator in contemporary art and a Master’s degree in Cultural Studies. Her research operates in the borderland between art, ecology and gender, with a particular focus on blue humanities. She is also Co-Director of the research platform The Posthumanities Hub and is committed to creating new ecological imaginaries through art and science.

What made you apply for doctoral studies at Gender Studies?

Before starting my doctoral studies, I worked as a curator in the field of contemporary art in Stockholm. I already had a Master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Cultural Studies from LiU and had studied curating at Konstfack. As a curator, I had a particular interest in what is sometimes referred to as eco art, and in the intersections of art, ecology, technology and gender. Through reading literature in feminist environmental humanities and posthumanities – which also became the basis for my exhibition Cosmological Arrows – I came across Cecilia Åsberg’s research platform The Posthumanities Hub and was soon welcomed into the community. From there, I discovered the research at Gender Studies and realised that it would be exactly the right environment for me. At that time, I felt very ready to move on from curating exhibitions to conducting research and working at the university.

How would you describe the structure and content of the PhD programme?

In my case, the doctoral programme is five years long and I spend 20% of that time working at my former workplace, Bonniers Konsthall, so it is a slightly unusual arrangement. The first year of the programme is largely focused on compulsory courses, both broader TEMA courses in interdisciplinarity and Gender Studies-specific courses linked to the various research areas at the department. The programme has an intersectional gender studies orientation, which means that doctoral students are introduced to several different branches of the field. For example, we take courses in feminist post- and environmental humanities (my main area), feminist science and technology studies, and decolonial feminisms. At the same time, we have a course introducing us to the format and methods of dissertation writing. In the later years of the programme, the focus shifts more towards the thesis, with fieldwork, writing and supervision. I find that there is a great deal of freedom and flexibility at Gender Studies, which I really appreciate. This gives me considerable opportunities to shape my own research focus, with the support of my supervisors.

What research questions are you working with in your dissertation?

Coming from a background in culture, art and curating, interdisciplinary perspectives have always been very important to me. My dissertation, situated within the emerging field of blue humanities – which brings together natural sciences, humanities and art – is situated the coastlines of Bohuslän and Halland. It is highly interdisciplinary, operating at the intersection of art, ecology and gender. Gender studies provides an excellent foundation for exploring different forms of power hierarchies, where important feminist scholars such as Donna Haraway, Stacy Alaimo and Elizabeth DeLoughrey have paved the way for bringing questions of the sea into gender studies. My research questions lie at the intersection of cultural and natural sciences, contemporary art and marine biology. I examine how artistic practices related to the Skagerrak and Kattegatt coastlines can enable new ways of understanding the sea, by opening up ecological imaginaries where the ocean no longer appears as a flat, abstract and lifeless surface. I ask how contemporary art can challenge entrenched hierarchical divisions between human and non-human life, nature and culture, sea and land, wet and dry. From the coastline, I zoom in specifically on two rather overlooked marine species – macroalgae and cold-water corals that live in the Skagerrak and Kattegatt. Through underwater and laboratory fieldwork, as well as interviews with marine biologists, I seek to understand how these underwater forests are threatened by, among other things, climate change, and how collaborations between art and science can prompt humans to notice and value these species in new ways.

How do you find the academic environment and community at the department?

The academic environment is characterised by interdisciplinarity, which means that a wide range of expertise is represented. Humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, technology and art are combined in an interesting way, providing great freedom in how one’s own work can be shaped. At Gender Studies, and also at The Posthumanities Hub where I am co-director, I find that there is freedom to test different methods, theoretical perspectives and forms of writing, which means that the final product – in my case the dissertation – has the potential to become something very unique. The research environment is also international, with English as the everyday working language (at least at Gender Studies). The interdisciplinary and international profile together create a stimulating environment that challenges you to think outside the box.

How would you describe the collaboration between doctoral students and supervisors?

I have a good and creative collaboration with my supervisors; they encourage and support me in my work. Of course, I can only speak for myself here, but I usually meet with my supervisors for proper supervision sessions a few times each term – usually in connection with presenting a piece of text – and we discuss the work process, after which I receive feedback that allows me to continue. Writing a dissertation is a major and often emotional process, so it is crucial that the collaboration with supervisors works well.

What are your plans after the dissertation?

I would like to continue in academia, while also curating exhibitions and art projects on a freelance basis. A postdoc position would be ideal! Blue humanities is a relatively new and small research field in Sweden, and I already have many ideas for follow-up research projects, as spin-offs from my dissertation. Among other things, I am working with a marine biologist, an artist and a musician on a sea opera project. I enjoy writing academic articles as well as more poetic and popular science texts, so I hope to be able to combine the two. I also want to continue teaching and supervising in gender studies, environmental humanities, art and curating. Meeting students is fantastic and always gives a lot back to one’s own research.

What would you say to someone considering applying for doctoral studies at Gender Studies?

First, I would recommend that the person reflect on how their proposed project relates to the ongoing research at Gender Studies, to find a good entry point. Perhaps contact someone at the department to learn more. If, after those initial steps, it still feels relevant and interesting, I would definitely encourage them to apply!

What has been the most challenging part of being a doctoral student?

Managing one’s own time and finding structure is probably the most challenging, but also brings freedom. Particularly at the beginning, it is difficult to plan time and structure the work, for instance to understand how long it takes to prepare for a course or to write a dissertation chapter. These things are, of course, highly individual, and you develop a lot in this regard from year to year.

What has been the most rewarding?

Finally having the opportunity to write in depth, and to take part in all the wonderful knowledge that exists at Gender Studies, through courses, supervision, but also everyday conversations in the corridor. Because the department covers many different aspects of gender studies, it means there is a fantastic group of people who are always teaching you something new. It is very enriching!

I'm exploring Jason deCaires Taylors's Museum of Underwater Sculpture.

A person is holding algae on their head outside

Field work at Kristineberg Center for Marine Research and Innovation.

Because the department covers many different aspects of gender studies, it means there is a fantastic group of people who are always teaching you something new. It is very enriching!

Consortium for interdisciplinary feminist research training

InterGender – International Consortium for Interdisciplinary Feminist Research Training

InterGender is an international consortium dedicated to advancing interdisciplinary feminist research training.

Disputations

Public defence of doctoral thesis and licentiate seminar at Linköping University

Find upcoming public defence of doctoral thesis and public licentiate seminar at Linköping University.

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Contact

Director of Post-Graduate Studies