Research Catalogue

The overall purpose of this thesis is to perform and propose diffractive methodology as a means for exploring, reading, learning, and understanding systematic theological discourses beyond binary and oppositional thinking. This methodology is based on performative strategies and feminist new materialist theory, with a specific focus on Karen Barad’s ethico-onto-epistemological agential realism theory; it can also be considered an alternative to a more traditional academic reflexive methodological approach, thus allowing for an infinite number of explorative methods to be developed within its umbrella definition of diffractive methodology. The diffractive analysis in this study is shaped as an intra-active entangled reading of Graham Ward’s Engaged Theology, through Erika Fischer-Lichte’s Performance Aesthetics, and the method I call Voicing-as-Performative-Theology. This thesis is divided into three parts. Part I unfolds relevant terminology. Part II performs the actual diffractive reading analysis. Part III consists of a concluding essay summarizing the outcome of this study’s diffractive reading, as well as opening up suggestions for how diffractive methodology can be applied for developing more performative and diffractive methods as part of future theological research. The thesis will be presented at University College Stockholm (EHS), in January 8 2024.

In this work, I want to show some excerpts from my grandmother's patriarchal resistance. The narrative and the photographs will be at the center. They will clarify Esters Lindberg's attempt to negotiate and renegotiate her position within the usual norm. The narratives and photographs will hopefully give an expanded understanding of what it could be like to live as a woman with a desire for freedom in Sweden during the early 20th century.

With Operative Fiction, we introduce a practice of spatial storytelling driven by the dynamics of prepositions rather than verb-centric narratives. Here, the textual body becomes embedded in the medial spatiality of a printed book, digital interface, or performance space. The physical or virtual site of the text thus becomes integral to the storytelling process. Spatial production methods merge into the texture of the text itself; simultaneously, the text reshapes the unfolding of space, place, and site. The material and procedural qualities of the text actively engage and activate the digital interface as a site of narrative unfolding, intertwining textual and spatial experiences. We begin our first exercise in Operative Fiction with Thomas Ballhausen’s What the Probes Report, transposing the text from the printed page (FLORA, 2020) into the digital interface of a Research Catalogue exposition. The non-human protagonist – emerging through and evolving within the text – disrupts subject-centred narration. It becomes entangled in the linguistic and scenic fabric of its own development, thus, through its procedural logic and function, becoming an active agent in its own staging. A line, speculatively re-enacting the machine's operations, simultaneously traces the topographic texture of the digital landscape. Using a drawing technique typically applied in performance design drafts, we explore the friction between staging and spacing by deploying minimally visible images and textual cues of direction. The operational plasticity of these technical images enables dramaturgical intensities to gather (staging), while also allowing the story to disperse through the digital architecture of the exposition into hyperlinked virtual spaces (spacing). Alongside a linear reading mode, which follows the story’s original chronology, we propose a contingent reading mode activated via time codes. These time codes function both as compositional elements within the drawing and as hypertextual links. They suggest the duration and shape of a staged terrain, occasionally layering multiple time zones within a single topographic entity. In this way, the timelines act as more-than-texts, generating a multiplicity of positions and proximities, and intertwining temporal aspects of space with the speculative grammar of the story.

This thesis, The Alien Between Us, explores the intersection of touch, technology, and human connection through interactive installations designed to foster intimacy, empathy, and ethical engagement. Rooted in a technofeminist framework, the research examines how mediated interactions can challenge power dynamics, reimagine consent, and empower marginalised groups. Drawing on psychoanalysis, affect theory, and feminist philosophy, the work investigates the triadic model of the Imaginary, Symbolic, and Real, as proposed by Jacques Lacan, to analyse human-machine relations and embodied communication. The installation utilises haptic technologies to create symbolic connections between participants, obscuring identity and gender biases while emphasising bodily empathy and mutual care. Through wearable sculptures and mediated touch, participants engage in spontaneous, fluid interactions that reveal new possibilities for connection and self-awareness. The thesis also critically reflects on the ethical implications of technology, addressing its potential for empowerment as well as its dangers, such as reinforcing societal inequalities. By integrating personal experiences, artistic practice, and scientific research, the thesis proposes a model of interaction that equalises power dynamics, protects against abuse, and promotes responsibility. It envisions technology not as a tool for exploitation but as a medium for fostering meaningful, inclusive relationships between humans and non-human agents. Ultimately, The Alien Between Us seeks to heal our relationship with technology and the body, offering a vision of a more equitable and empathetic future.

Media scores—expansion of musical notation that incorporate other modalities, particularly enabling interactive and generative elements—have reshaped the relationships between composer, score, and performer. This essay examines nine distinct attributes of the media score that differentiate it from traditional notation. Through historical and contemporary examples, the discussion highlights how these attributes manifest in various artistic practices. Additionally, the author's own compositions are cited, with particular focus on Mutability, a large-scale collaborative project that highlights many of the elements discussed in the paper.

A work that explores the possibilities of creating hybrid genres on the drum kit to achieve a personal artistic expression. From experimenting with different groove combinations and rhythmical structures to developing concrete practice methods for limb independence, Fred establishes a way to mix electronic and Brazilian rhythms on the drum set. As the work deepens, he continues to explore the hybrid expressions through improvisation, composing and ensemble playing. With the purpose of connecting the otherwise loose threads of a peculiar musical background, he seeks new ways to approach the drum kit to create a united sound that reflects his earlier musical journeys within the electronic and Brazilian traditions.