One of Josefina Syssner’s drawings hangs in her office in Norrköping. Still more can be found on Instagram. The desire to draw is still there, even though it was not to be her profession.
The dream died when she realised that her friends on the aesthetic programme had more talent. She had no idea what to be instead.
Josefina Syssner grew up in the countryside in northern Halland. Her paternal grandparents were farmers, and her father built houses. No one in her family had any academic qualifications. She was always good at school, but university was an unknown world.
“It was by chance that I applied. A friend’s boyfriend asked if I was going to study at university and I said, ‘No, why?’ Then he showed me the course catalogue for Lund University, and I thought, ‘Oh, that’s great!’”
Taken with the theories
She had got an interest in social issues from home, so it seemed natural to choose subjects such as political science and human geography. She was initially taken with all the theories and concepts that helped her to suddenly see the world from new angles. At the same time, she noticed that she differed from some of her fellow students.
“They had parents who phoned and asked how the exam went. And I didn’t understand! How do they know you’ve had an exam? In my home, no one knew what an exam was, no one knew what a Bachelor’s degree was.”
Looking back, she wonders if this was such a bad thing. Maybe it gave her some kind of freedom. She had no expectations to live up to and her parents let her choose her own path. But there is no doubt that her background has influenced her.
“I think it’s made me feel a great need to try and explain what we do at the university. I want the research to be accessible to people who haven’t studied and who may not have a theoretical background.”
Research in the periphery
From an early stage, Josefina thought that research in human geography was far too focused on regions with growth. Few researchers seemed to care about the rest of Sweden: the rural and sparsely populated areas struggling to get schools, health and care services to function. Places that do not grow. She found her calling in research there. She could feel more at home there.
“I concern myself with areas that haven’t grown in 50 years and examine what’s going on there. What’s it like living in those places? What’s it like being a decision-maker in them? How do you deal with the fact that are fewer and fewer of you?”
Over the years, there have been many trips to areas in Sweden that are not growing. Many conversations and meetings. Sometimes she has been met with suspicion. There are decision-makers who do not want to focus on population decline, for fear of being seen as losers.
“I’ve learned to deal with all sorts of reactions. I have a folder on my computer called ‘Voices from the countryside’. It contains praise, criticism and anger. Some people have high hopes about what you can achieve as a researcher. Others may think that you’re just one in a long line of critics from outside.”
In my home, no one knew what a Bachelor’s degree was.
Her ability to deal with people’s different emotions has developed over the years. Feeling the mood in a room where she is to talk. Have people been ordered to attend? Or is there an openness? She emphasises that most meetings in the field have been positive.
“I’ve met so many people who are passionate about developing their communities, who are open to and curious about new perspectives.”
Even so, she is not looking for solutions. Instead, she wants to put words to what is happening so that those responsible in municipalities and regions have a better basis on which to make decisions. Not least important is that they understand that they are not alone. It is also a matter of spreading knowledge upwards. Over the years, Josefina Syssner has been invited to parliaments, ministries and authorities in several Nordic countries, the OECD and other international bodies to talk about her research.
Still a visitor
Time leaves nothing untouched. Not even little Åsa, the place in northern Halland where she comes from. The field where she racked hay as a child is now a commuter station. The city of Gothenburg has moved much closer. Other things don’t change as much. Despite her professorial title, Josefina Syssner still feels like a kind of visitor in academia.
“I feel more at home if I’m going to do an interview with someone in a rural municipality in northern Sweden – in those contexts where knowledge is really useful.”
