Anders Andrén
Professor of Archaeology
Short CV
I was born in 1952 and took my doctor’s degree in Medieval Archaeology at the University of Lund in 1985 with the dissertation The Urban Scene – towns and society in medieval Denmark. At the University of Lund I have been acting professor of Medieval Archaeology 1985-86, lecturer in Medieval Archaeology 1988-92 and 1999, reader in Historical Archaeology 1993-1998 and professor of Medieval Archaeology 2000-2004. Since 2005 I have been professor of Archaeology at the University of Stockholm.
Outside Sweden I have been lecturer and guest professor in Copenhagen (1987, 1989), visiting scholar in Cambridge (1990), Athens (1995) and Sydney (2006), and holder of The Dalrymple lectureship in Archaeology in Glasgow (2003). I have been invited as guest lecturer to about 35 departments of archaeology and history in Europe and I have participated with papers at some 35 conferences in Europe. Besides this, I have taken part in organizing about 10 Nordic and international conferences in Sweden.
Among my scholarly assignments, I am and have been a member of research committees at The Swedish Steel Producer’s Association, The National Heritage Board, The Swedish Research Council, The Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation and the Rausing Foundation. In addition I have reviewed research for The Danish Cultural Ministry, The Danish Research Foundation, The Norwegian Research Council and the Academy of Finland. I am and have been a meember of editorial boards for Current Swedish Archaeology and the International Journal of Historical Archaeology. I am also member of the boards of the DanishGraduateSchool in Archaeology and the NordicGraduateSchool in Archaeology.
Research
My research is focused on three fields, namely Historical and Medieval Archaeology, Archaeology of Religion and Urban Archaeology. With a starting point in Medieval Archaeology, I have investigated in a global perspective how historical archaeologies – the branches of archaeology that study literate cultures - discuss and methodologically handle the interplay between objects, texts and images. Within Archaeology of Religion, I have above all studied ritual expressions and cosmological representations in material culture, connected with Old Norse religion as well as medieval Christianity. In the context of Urban Archaeology, I have above all analysed the interplay between economy, social order and spatial organization in premodern European towns.
Current projects
Currently, I am finishing two research projects. One is a small project concerned with the ring-fort of Ismantorp on the island of Öland, where I have carried out fieldwork, in order to understand the chronology, function and meaning of the site. The other one is a large multidisciplinary project, which I have been directing since 2000. The project concerns Old Norse religion, and comprises 15 participants from archaeology, historical archaeology and history of religion.
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