209 Archaeological University Education and Professional Archaeology in Sweden Stig Welinder During the 19'" century very few persons in Sweden recieved a doctoral degree in archaeology. Most of them found prestigious top-positions. Today there are about 100 persons with Ph. D.'s working in Swedish archaeology in positions from the top to the bottom of the professional hierarchy. Each year 150-200 students finish their basic education in archaeology. Most of them will never find a permanent full-time job as an archaeologist. The future of Swedish archaeology will very much depend on the ambitions of the general public, including tens of thousands of persons with a formal university education in archaeology but no job within the profession. Stig Welinder, Etepartment of Humanities, Mid Syyeden Uniyersity, SE- 831 25 Östersund, Sweden. The dissertation by Hans Hildebrand from related to the professional labour market at 1866 is normally regarded as the first in universities, museums and cultural-heritage archaeology in Sweden. Oscar Montelius management institutions. The stress will be defended his thesis in 1869. Thus the 1860s on the ambitions and prospects of the youth saw the start ofprofessional archaeology con- ofthe 1990s. ducted by university-educated archaeologists In contrast to the 1910s, there are today a in Sweden. The first chairs in archaeology total of five universities and four university were established in 1914 and 1919, when colleges (Sw. högskolor) to choose among Oscar Almgren and Otto Rydbeck were when striving for an archaeological education appointed professors at Uppsala University and career in Sweden (figs. 1-2).The increase and Lund University, respectively. Thus the in number is a result of the political ambition 1910s saw the establishment of archae- since the 1960s to increase the rate of higher ological departments at the universities, in education, and make it locally available in both cases as parts of century-old historical most ofthe country. The number ofuniversity university museums (Rydbeck 1943; Schön- colleges has increased tremendously, and a beck 1956; Gräslund & Almgren 1976; few of them have been turned into uni- Stjernquist 1984). versities during the 1990s. Most university This article will outline the archaeological colleges and some universities, however, do university education in Sweden primarily not teach archaeology. Only universities from a quantitative point of view as concerns bestow doctoral degrees. the number of students. Education will be Current Swedish Archaeotogy, Vol. ö, 2000 210 Stig Wetinder Fig. I. Universities with chairs in archaeology Fig. 2. Universities with archaeology departments combined with historical university museums in (points) and university colleges with archae- l 920. ological education organised in various ways (circles) in l 999. DEGREES AT THE RESEARCH LEVEL 1860-1998 During the 1970s the number of theses Very few persons recieved a doctoral degree increased from about one a year to about in Sweden prior to 1910 (fig. 3). At about three. One main reason was the introduction that time the first academic seminar, follow- in 1970 of a new degree meant to correspond ing the tradition of the mid-19'" century to a British or American Ph. D., and thus in Berlin seminar by Leopold von Ranke, was theory possible to finish in a much shorter formed at Uppsala University around Oscar time than the traditional degree. The first Almgren and Knut Stjerna. The common in- theses according to these new regulations terest of that group of scholars was the early were by Jonas Ferenius (1971), Agneta pioneer settling and the consecutive settle- Lundström (1971)and Stig Welinder (1971). ment history of Sweden. Theses were pre- The last year to defend a thesis for the sented, each discussing one province, e.g. traditional degree was 1974. Nils Lithberg (1914),Gunnar Ekholm (1915), The new regulations were part of a series and Karl Einar Sahlström (1915).The first of academic reforms that aimed at a more thesis defended by a woman, Hanna Rydh democratic university system and at paving (1919), treated box-shaped brooches. the way for new groups of potential students Current Swedish Archaeotogv, Vot. tt, 2000 Archaeological Universi&y Education and Professionat Archaeologv 211 120 cratic possibilities, including new possi- bilities for women to carve out careers. To 100 some extent it was Social Democratic govern- mental politics. ln one sense the new system failed. Before 1974 new doctors of philosophy normally were 30-40 years old. After 1974 they were not any younger. The mean age in fact was a (2) little higher than before 1974 (Nordbladh 1991:figs.9-10).Scores of students registered 0 as Ph. D. candidates (Sw. doktorand) during 1860 1900 1950 1998 the 1970s and 1980s. In the mid-1980s there were 200 registered doktorander in archae- Fig. 3. Master s theses (until l864) and doctoral ology at the five universities (Nordbladh theses in a&.chaeology defended at Su6edish uni- 1991:fig. 3). Most of them have never fin- versities (partly fion& )Vahlbe&g l877, Kj&hfbe&g ished a thesis. They were about 30-35 years l982). (l) = linea& prognosis until 2000, (2) = old and working within the growing cultural- theses defended bv I vomen. heritage bureaucracy. To register as a dok- torand and to plan a thesis developed into a from segments of the Swedish society with life-style. Attending seminars and being no previous experience of university educa- known as a doktorand helped them keep a tion. Obviously the number of theses in- stiff upper lip in the daily bureaucratic creased, and so did the percentage of theses routine. With an increasing number of defended by women (fig. 3). children and an increasing baldness the thesis The theses by female students were turned into a dream. It became rather the end written by a new generation of women bom than the beginning of a career, if it was ever in the 1940s with ambitions to combine uni- finished. versity education with establishing a family The two obvious steps in the increase and raising children. Actually, during a few curve of the number of archaeological theses years in the early 1970s more theses were defended during the 1910s and the 1970s (fig. defended by women than by men (tab. 1). 3) are not entirely typical of the humanistic Examples are Elisabeth Iregren (1972) and disciplines as a whole in Sweden. In history Lillemor Lundström (1973). Some of these and related disciplines two steps occurred women have, in personal letters, described during the 1930s and the 1960s (Odén how they did not feel themselves to be in a 1991:diagram I). The increase in the peculiar position as women: Archaeology percentage of theses written by women was was fun and archaeological research was fun. notably less compared with archaeology One of them, however, stated that the first (Blom 1978:diagram 3). female professor, Greta Arwidsson at Stock- holm University, was of great help. That does not seem to have been typical. The idea of Women Men female mentors promoting female students 1970-1974 has no obvious in Swedish archae- support 1975-1979 ology, at least not around 1970. The many new doctors of philosophy in Tab. l. Oocto&al theses in archaeology defended the 1970s was the result of a new educational bj' Ivan&en and men at S&vedish universities 1970- system and a new society with more demo- l979 (cf: f&g. 3). Current S&vedish Archaeology, Vol. ö, 2000 212 Stig Welt nder (I) (2) (3) (4) (5) of Antiquities in Stockholm or positions at the university departments, although the only 1860-1869 Lind- 1870-1879 one to become a professor was Sune 1880-1889 qvist, who got the chair in Uppsala after Oscar 1890-1899 2 Almgren. Some of them never got positions. 1900-1909 1 1 One was Hanna Rydh. She was married to 1910-1919 2 2 4 3 an antiquarian at the Stockholm museum. 1920-1929 1 4 That museum composed the entire archae- 1930-1939 2 3 4 ological labour market in Stockholm. Thus, 1940-1949 2 1 5 it was impossible for her to get a position in 1950-1959 2 1 3 2 archaeology, because a married couple was 1960-1969 3 1 3 1 unthinkable in the same place of work. 1970-1979 6 4 10 8 A at the period 1920-1949 1980-1989 1 21 21 3 17 quick glance 1990-1998 15 23 19 21 in table 2 demonstrates the above statement. The majority of the persons with a Ph. D. = = (1) riksantikvarie, professor; (2) other uni- never got positions within archaeology. = versity positions; (3) head of museum, curator, During this time the accepted career was to antiquarian; (4) = no employment, short-term write a thesis, get a position as a senior employment; (5) = not in Swedish archaeology lecturer (Sw. docent), which was a six-year Tab. 2. Positions achieved by doctors of philo- research scholarship at a university depart- sophy in archaeology at Swedish universities ment, and then a professorship. When you 1860-1998. failed to cross either of these two thresholds, you left archaeology. This is valid for some The situation in the 1980s, outlined of the doctors of philosophy from the period. above, is the outcome of the simple fact that Others never strived for an archaeological not since the 1860s has a doctoral degree been academic career. There are other reasons for a prerequisite for a career within Swedish writing a thesis. archaeology, and it has never been a guar- During these decades it was the norm to antee (tab. 2). try for an intermediate degree (Sw. filosofie Of the six archaeologists with a Ph. D. in licentiatgrad). Its requirements were, in the 19'" century three became Head of the theory, a study period of2-3 years and a small Central Board of National Antiquities (Sw, thesis.