Jenny Nyberg
About me
I have a master’s degree in archaeology and a bachelor’s degree in history from Stockholm University. Throughout my studies my main focus has been the early modern period. In addition to archaeology and history I’ve also studied art history, ethnology, criminology and project management within the cultural field. I’ve been working in the museum sector since 2005. At the open air museum of Skansen I was employed by the Department of Cultural History, working as an historical interpreter in the historical environments. At The Museum of National Antiquities I held a position as project manager and archaeologist working with collections, exhibitions and culture heritage information on the web. From the autumn of 2011 to spring 2012 I was a STINT scholar (the Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Education) in England for a comparative study of early modern burial customs in Sweden and Britain and to develop theories on burial customs and emotions. I was a visiting scholar at the Centre for Historical Archaeology, University of Leicester and the Centre for the History of the Emotions, Queen Mary, University of London. Together with Professor Sarah Tarlow, University of Leicester, I’ve founded a network for early modern burial researchers in Europe.
Research
For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. Attitudes towards death and the dead in early modern Sweden
The purpose of my PhD project is to explore the attitudes towards death, and the relationship between the dead and the living, in early modern Sweden (AD 1500-1800) by studying the grave material. By looking at how the bereaved dressed, adorned and equipped the dead I hope to reach reactions and emotional attitudes towards death over time. The development in burial customs will be related to other material expressions such as epitaphs, grave monuments and written sources and furthermore be put in relation to the development in early modern society at large.
My research will include the expression of emotions and the relationship between the dead and the living through material practice, the body as materiality and changed perceptions of the body through time. To reach a full understanding of the burial customs I consider the use of a gender and lifecycle perspective necessary.
My aim is to produce a comprehensive study on the Swedish early modern practices of preparing the dead body for burial. I want to include all social groups in my work and therefore study graves both in churches and in church yards. It is my ambition that my work will facilitate and enrich the heritage management and the archaeological documentation of these graves in the future.
Previous work
2013. O himmels gyllne pracht. Den stormaktstida adelns begravningar och dödssyn speglade genom familjen Brahes gravar. I: Gullbrandsson, R. (red.). Grevars och bönders tempel. En bok om Brahekyrkan på Visingsö.
2012. Iakttagelser vid undersökning i Brahekyrkan 110818. I: Gullbrandsson, R. & Zetterström, C. Brahekyrkan. Tennkistorna i Brahegraven; Visingsö socken i Jönköpings kommun, Jönköpings län, växjö stift. Jönköping: Jönköpings läns museum.
2010. A Peaceful Sleep and a Heavenly Celebration for the Pure and Innocent. The Sensory Experience of Death during the long 18th Century. In Fahlander, F. & Kjellström, A. (eds.), Making Sense of Things. Archaeologies of Sensory Perception.
2006. Från Pelarbacken till Skansbacken. En rumslig analys av Stockholms galgbackar från medeltid till 1800-talets andra hälft. Magisteruppsats i arkeologi.
2005. Tills döden skiljer oss åt. Gravar och gravskick på Linköpings domkyrkogård under tidigmodern tid. Kandidatuppsats i arkeologi.
2002. Trolldom i staden mellan broarna. Trolldomsfallen inför Stockholms rådhusrätt under äldre Vasatid. Ett genus- och socioekonomiskt perspektiv. Kandidatuppsats i historia.