Eva Lundgren (born November 24, 1947) is a Norwegian- Swedish sociologist. She is an expert on

violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence (GBV) or sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), violent, violence primarily committed by Man, men or boys against woman, women or girls. Such violence is often considered hat ...

and

sexual violence Sexual violence is any harmful or unwanted Human sexual activity, sexual act, an attempt to obtain a sexual act through violence or coercion, or an act directed against a person's sexuality without their consent, by any individual regardless of ...

, particularly in religious contexts. She is professor emerita of sociology at

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

. Lundgren is best known for developing the theory of the process of

normalization Normalization or normalisation refers to a process that makes something more normal or regular. Science * Normalization process theory, a sociological theory of the implementation of new technologies or innovations * Normalization model, used in ...

of violence, according to which, abused women gradually adopt the perspective of their abusers. Lundgren has written several books on

violence Violence is characterized as the use of physical force by humans to cause harm to other living beings, or property, such as pain, injury, disablement, death, damage and destruction. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines violence a ...

sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...

and

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

. She held a

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

-appointed

chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. It may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

of sociology at

1993–2011, to study "the relation between power and gender in family and society, particularly in regard to men's violence against women", and has been a visiting professor at several universities, including

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. Since 2017 she has been active in the Me Too debate.

Career

A native of

Flekkefjord Flekkefjord () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Lister Region, Lister. The administrative centre of the municipality is the ...

, she started her career as a

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...

and studied at the

University of Bergen The University of Bergen () is a public university, public research university in Bergen, Norway. As of 2021, the university had over 4,000 employees and 19,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 1946 consolidating several sci ...

, where she earned her (6-year) Candidate's degree in theology in 1978 and her doctoral degree in 1985. She was first employed as a Research Fellow at the University of Bergen, and was appointed an associate professor in 1986. She was head of the Department of Gender Studies at the University of Bergen 1987–1988, and was found to be competent as a full professor in 1988. In 1989, she was appointed a

Docent The term "docent" is derived from the Latin word , which is the third-person plural present active indicative of ('to teach, to lecture'). Becoming a docent is often referred to as habilitation or doctor of science and is an academic qualifi ...

(Reader) in Theology at

, relocating to

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. In 1993, she was appointed Professor of Sociology at

by the

government of Sweden The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden () is the Cabinet (government), national cabinet of Sweden, and the country's Executive (government), executive authority. The Government consists of the Prime Minister of Sweden, Prime Minister and their ...

, to study the "relation between power and gender in family and society, in particular men's violence against women". She was installed as a professor with a military parade and gave her inaugural lecture on eroticised power in

Uppsala Cathedral Uppsala Cathedral () is a cathedral located between the University Hall (Uppsala University), University Hall of Uppsala University and the Fyris river in the centre of Uppsala, Sweden. A church of the Church of Sweden, the national church, in t ...

. She was a

visiting professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting scientist, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic fo ...

from 1996 to 1997, and has also held visiting professorships at the

University of North London The University of North London (UNL) was a university in London, England, formed from the Polytechnic of North London (PNL) in 1992 when that institution was granted university status. PNL, in turn, had been formed by the amalgamation of the No ...

, the

University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be created in Britain, but ...

and

Åbo Akademi University Åbo Akademi University ( , ) is the only exclusively Swedish language multi-faculty university in Finland (or anywhere outside Sweden). It is located mainly in Turku (Åbo is the Swedish name of the city) but has also activities in Vaasa. Å ...

. In 2003, Lundgren became head of department for the newly created Department of Gender Studies (Samgenus) at Uppsala University.

Work

Normalisation process

Theoretically, Lundgren has focused on developing the concept of the process of normalisation, a model to explain how battered women gradually break down and accept the violent situation. Lundgren has also argued that men who systematically use sexualised violence against their partner do so in order to consolidate their position of power, rather than to satisfy a sexual desire.

Knutby murder

In recent years, Lundgren's research has focused on the Knutby murder. Her 2008 book ''The Knutby Code'', published simultaneously in Swedish and Norwegian, is a critical analysis of the Knutby case.

Reception

Political influence

Lundgren's research has had considerable influence on public policy in Sweden, particularly under the

social democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

governments in the 1990s and early 2000s. One of her supporters is Margareta Winberg, the former deputy PM and Minister for Gender Equality, who once described Lundgren as "cool". The 1998 Violence Against Women Act (Kvinnofridslagen) is said to be based on Lundgren's research.

2005 controversy in the wake of "The Gender War"

A controversial TV documentary on

radical feminism Radical feminism is a perspective within feminism that calls for a radical re-ordering of society in which male supremacy is eliminated in all social and economic contexts, while recognizing that women's experiences are also affected by other ...

in Sweden titled '' The Gender War'', which was aired in 2005, generated debate on Eva Lundgren's work in both Sweden and Norway. This led Uppsala University's rector Bo Sundqvist to first announce a public debate on Lundgren's research, then cancel the debate and appoint a commission consisting of political scientist Jörgen Hermansson and philosopher Margareta Hallberg to investigate Lundgren's research. The inquiry cleared her of any wrongdoing, although Hallberg and Hermansson aimed criticism at her conclusions. However, the inquiry and the report were criticized by Uppsala University's chief lawyer Marianne Andersson, who stated that Hallberg and Hermansson's criticism of Lundgren's conclusions was inappropriate and illegal in the context of such a report, and not in their mandate, which was solely to investigate claims of wrongdoing. Lundgren dismissed the criticism. 14 leading researchers in Lundgren's field of study also criticized the "unique" inquiry, stating that Hermansson and Hallberg were not competent to assess Lundgren's research. The university committed itself to restoring Lundgren's reputation, granting her and her research group increased funding in compensation for having subjected her to an unjustified inquiry.

2011 resignation

In 2011, Eva Lundgren resigned from her chair at Uppsala University, stating that she will concentrate on her international career in the future, and criticizing Uppsala University for not doing enough to support her. She had previously criticized the university for not honouring the agreement to restore her reputation. Lundgren is writing a book on what she considers an attack on feminist scholarship in Sweden.

Lundgren in the Me Too debate

In the context of the Me Too debate in 2017, the Swedish newspaper ''

Svenska Dagbladet (, "The Swedish Daily News"), abbreviated SvD, is a daily List of Swedish newspapers, newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. History and profile The first issue of appeared on 18 December 1884. During the beginning of the 1900s the pap ...

'' wrote that Lundgren had been proven right and that the criticism of her in the early 2000s had been discredited. In 2018, also in the context of the Me Too debate, Lundgren and legal scholar Jenny Westerstrand wrote that the Swedish journalistic profession bore a large part of the blame in Sweden for the problems the debate had highlighted because Swedish journalists had systematically attacked critical discussion of and research on men's violence against women for over 20 years. In 2019 the National Organisation for Women's Shelters and Young Women's Shelters in Sweden described the criticism of Lundgren in 2005 as a

hate speech Hate speech is a term with varied meaning and has no single, consistent definition. It is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as ...

campaign orchestrated by

trolls A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human be ...

and

incels Incel ( ; a portmanteau of "involuntary celibate") is a term associated with an online subculture of mostly male and heterosexual people who define themselves as unable to find a romantic or sexual partner despite desiring one. They often ...

, which they linked to a broader assault on

gender studies Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field n ...

by right-wing populists; the organisation lauded Lungren's "enormous influence in Swedish feminism, the women's shelter movement, academia and politics."Forskaren Eva Lundgren lämnar Sverige
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Selected publications (in Norwegian or Swedish)

*2018: '. Gyldendal Norsk Forlag. . *2008: '. Oslo/Stockholm. . *2001: '. Oslo. *2001: '. Stockholm. *1994: '. Oslo. *1993: '. Oslo. () *1992: '. Stockholm. *1990: '. Oslo. *1987: '. Oslo. *1985: '. Oslo. *1985: '. Doctoral thesis (), Bergen. *1984: '. Bergen. *1982: '. Oslo. *1981: '. Oslo.

Literature

*Eldén, Åsa and Westerstrand, Jenny (eds.),
Guts and Glory: Festskrift till Eva Lundgren
'. Uppsala University, 2007.

References

External links

— official information page at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lundgren, Eva 1947 births Living people Norwegian feminists Swedish feminists Norwegian sociologists Norwegian women sociologists Feminist studies scholars Gender studies academics Academic staff of Uppsala University New York University faculty University of Bergen alumni Academic staff of the University of Bergen People from Flekkefjord Norwegian women academics