Special interests
My specialities include Ecocriticism, British literature, Canadian literature, British culture, and academic writing in English. I work closely with our teacher training programmes at Østfold University College, Norway, and have also worked with liberal arts students as well as within professional vocational training. I have taught at the doctoral level, supervise doctoral students of English Literature and have served on a number of doctoral grading committees. I have also examined doctoral theses in English Literature at a number of international universities.
With respect to research, my areas of expertise include Ecocriticism, nineteenth-century British literature, modern Canadian literature, modern detective fiction set in World War One or its aftermath, intercultural influences on writing, reading in English, and the role of written feedback in academic essays.
I am currently writing a trilogy on climate change. As the blurb explains:
"It is 2022. What can Katja and her five friends, all students at a university in Bath, England, do to turn the tables and save the life on Earth from imminent destruction? Is technology the solution, or our downfall? The past and present are intertwined as the six students, from China, Iran, Northern Ireland, Norway, The Gambia and the USA, try to make sense of their world and save what can be saved.
"The story Katja tells is not only her own – it is also ours. It is a shared story.
"Katja’s World Game is the first novel in a trilogy that explores the natural world, the supernatural, and the world of stories and games."
I am a member of the International Association of University Professors in English, the Association of English Teachers in English, and the Society of Authors.
Teaching
I teach teacher candidates at both junior- and secondary-school level. My focus is on British literature and culture, and how to teach these subjects. I also teach academic writing at bachelor and master's level, and run workshops on writing in English for academic purposes
Background
Master and Ph.D.
- Ph.D.:
I hold a Ph.D from Lund University (2000). The title of my thesis is "Knowledge and Survival in the Novels of Thomas Hardy" (Lund University Press, 2002). I address the relationship between education and survival in an increasingly modernised world. While Hardy's sympathies were clearly with the less educated rustics, he understood that their position was untenable and their future uncertain without formal education.
- Master:
My master's thesis, "Symbolism in the Novels of Daphne du Maurier", was completed in 1994. My degree was awarded by Lund University.
Research
Research projects
In addition to my research interests described above, which have enabled me to present at a number of national and ternational conferences both as keynote speaker and presenter, I have directed/participated in three research projects: 1) on using portfolios; 2) English for administrative personnel at Swedish universities, and 3) reading academic texts. I have also visited a number of international universities as an Erasmus scholar, providing lectures, seminars and leading workshops in writing and literature.
Prizes
In 2014, I was awarded the title of "Excellent Teacher". As "Excellent Teacher" I assess teachers' applications for promotion to either "Teacher of Merit" or "Excellent Teacher". I have also won several grants from a) the Canadian Government (Facutly and Enrichment awards; research in Canada) and b) the Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education (STINT; collaborative projects at bachelor and master's level at universities in West Africa and in China).
Special responsibilities
I am a member of several editorial boards, for among others, Acta Didactica Norge, Reci Journal of English Language and Literature Studies, English Language and Literature Studies, International Journal of English Language and Literature Studies, and most recently, Journal of Applied Linguistics and Applied Literature: Dynamics and Advances. I also write literary reviews for the American blog, "Roads to the Great War".
Collaboration
In addition to my teaching and editorial duties, I run workshops on British/Canadian literature and academic writing in English at a number of international universities, including the University of Palma, Majorca, Spain; the University of Parma, Italy; Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic; Kielce University, Poland; Timisoara University, Romania, and Minsk University, Belarus.
I am an active member of BRICCS (British and comparative cultural studies: identities and representation) at the University of the Balearics, Spain. Our most recent publication is The Humanities Still Matter. Identity, Gender and Space in Twenty-First-Century Europe edited by Rubén Jarazo-Álvarez and José Igor Prieto-Arranz (Peter Lang, 2021). My contribution is "On Memory Lands and Sea of Memories in Twenty-First-Century-Europe" (ch. 4, 89-104).
For a full list of my activities and Curriculum Vitae, as well as a comprehensive list of my publications (I was employed in Sweden until June 2016; my publications up to June 2016 are to be found in DIVA), please write to jane.m.ekstam@hiof.no
All publications from 2016 can be seen in 'Cristin': See all publications in Cristin.