Research
I am an interdisciplinary researcher at the crossroads of Theater History and Gender Studies. My research mainly revolves around the professional history of the actress with a particular interest in 19th century theater and acting, as my thesis from 2018 was a contribution to "Divine, nothing less than divine!" Actress Ellen Hartman's performances on stage and in public life .
The relationship to the past and feminist historiography are questions that preoccupy me, as well as how celebrity phenomena such as divadom and dandyism are racialized and politicized. In my postdoctoral studies, I have continued to develop diva and dandy as theoretical concepts, as well as taking an interest in critical whiteness theories. Since I have a background as an actress and theater director, my research always takes its starting point in situated knowledge.
In addition to writing peer-reviewed articles, I regularly publish other popular science texts. I also lecture outside universities in the form of science outreach, within the role of "the third mission".
Teaching
I teach a range of courses on undergraduate and graduate level in gender studies.
Collaboration
As a researcher affiliated with the CGF – Center for Gender Studies and Kufo – Cultural Studies Research Group at karlstad University.
Selected publications
Monography
”Divine, nothing less than divine!” Actress Ellen Hartman's performances on stage and in public life , Institutionen för kultur och estetik, Stockholms universitet, Diss. Stockholm: Stockholms universitet, 2018, Stockholm, 2018
Peer review articles and bookchapters
Ohlsson, Hélène, ”Harriet Bosse’s Autobiography: Feminist Historiography and the Counter-Story of a Labeled Muse”, Nordic Theatre Studies, 2023/2024 (Accepted for publication)
Ohlsson, Hélène, ”Skev sexualitet runt sekelskiftet 1900: Hur skådespelaren Gustaf Fredriksson blev homosexuell”, Lambda Nordica, Skev, Vol. 26, No, 4–1, 2021, p. 23–49.
Ohlsson, Hélène, “Performing Nordic White Femininity: Two Swedish Divas in the U.S. in the Nineteenth-Century”, Nordic Theatre Studies on Transnational Influences, Vol. 32 no. 1, 2020, p. 54–70.
Other scientific articles and bookchapters
Ohlsson, Hélène, "Famas framfart - Greta Garbo, Tora Teje och skådespelares erfarenhetsmässiga samhörighet", Aiolos – Tidskrift för litteratur, teori och estetik: Dr Mabuses 1920-tal, nr 74–75, 2022–2023, p. 170–185.
Ohlsson, Hélène, "Förakt, inspiration och avund - Strindbergs relation till Dramatens stjärnskådespelare under 1800-talet" chapter in anthology Strindbergiana, Trettioåttonde samlingen utgiven av Strindbergsällskapet, Carlander, Cecilia (ed.)Strindbergssällskapet, [Stockholm], 2023, p. 77–101..
Ohlsson, Hélène, ”Diva”, Lambda Nordica, Queer Concepts for the 2020s, Vol. 25 No. 1 2020, s. 38–42. (Invited author).
Ohlsson, Hélène, ”Världar av poesi: Skådespelerskan Emilie Högqvist i Rom 1842–43”, chapter in anthology Luften så klar: Nordeuropeiska författare och konstnärer i Rom 1780–1950, Roland Lysell, Mattias Pirholt & Anna Smedberg Bondesson (ed.), Stockholm: Makadam förlag, 2020, p. 140–169.