Jessica Eriksson

My current research explores how generative AI influences creative writing. I am particularly interested in the creative and metacognitive processes that emerge in the interaction between human and machine-generated language, and I examine how authors reflect on their linguistic expression when using AI tools as writing support. The project engages with questions of creativity, language technology, and the evolving role of the author in a digital age. My research on AI-assisted writing is grounded in a practical interest in the conditions of creative writing, as I am also active as a fiction writer.

In parallel, I conduct historical linguistic research based on the diary of Metta Magdalena Lillie (1737–1750), a source I previously examined in my doctoral dissertation and later published as a critical scholarly edition. In a new project, I investigate how social networks are constructed in the diary: which individuals are mentioned, how they are referred to, and how they are positioned in relation to the diarist. Through an analysis of these linguistic representations, I aim to map the social structures surrounding the writer and explore how the diary can serve as a source for understanding relationships, status, and belonging in an 18th-century context.

I have extensive and long-standing experience in teaching Swedish language both in higher education and at the secondary school level. At Karlstad University, I have taught across all teacher education programs – from preschool teacher education and the various tracks of the primary teacher program to the subject teacher program. I teach Swedish language didactics, academic writing, rhetoric, thesis writing, and linguistic topics. My teaching has included on-campus, online, and hybrid formats, and I have also been involved in commissioned education. I regularly supervise bachelor’s theses and degree projects.

Currently, I primarily teach freestanding courses in rhetoric and academic writing, as well as within the university’s foundation year program (collegeåret), while remaining active in teacher education. I appreciate the flexibility of different teaching formats and student groups, and strive to create learning environments that are both research-based and pedagogically accessible.

In addition to my university role, I have a background as a secondary school teacher in Swedish and psychology, and taught for nine years at a high school in Stockholm. This experience has provided me with a solid pedagogical foundation and a practically grounded perspective on language didactics and learning, which has greatly informed my teaching within teacher education.

Together with my colleagues Camilla Grönvall Fransson and Annelie K. Johansson, I am co-author of the textbook Kreativ grammatikundervisning för lärare F–6, now in its third edition (Gleerups, 2025).

I completed my PhD in Scandinavian Languages at Uppsala University in 2004 with a dissertation on the language in the diary of Metta Magdalena Lillie (1737–1750). Since then, my research has primarily focused on women’s diary writing in the 18th century. In 2008, I published a scholarly critical edition of Metta Magdalena Lillie’s diary through the Royal Society for the Publication of Manuscripts Concerning the History of Scandinavia.

My academic path was preceded by nine years of experience as an upper secondary school teacher in Swedish and psychology, following the completion of a teacher education programme. This background has provided me with a deep understanding of teaching and learning, which I have drawn upon in various academic roles.

Since 2008, I have held a position as Senior Lecturer in Swedish at Karlstad University. Between 2011 and 2017, I was head of first the Department of Languages, and later the Department of Language, Literature and Intercultural Studies. From 2018 to 2024, I held the position of Dean of the Board for Teacher Education. During this period, I also completed the SUHF Higher Education Leadership Programme (HELP) along with several other leadership training courses.

In addition to my linguistic qualifications, I hold an artistic bachelor's degree in creative writing and have completed a one-year programme in literary writing, with a focus on fiction and poetry. These complementary qualifications have deepened my understanding of writing as a practice and—together with my own work as a fiction writer—form an important foundation for my interest in authors’ writing processes, creativity, and linguistic expression.

Selected Publications

Books

Metta Magdalena Lillies dagbok 1737–1750. En västgötsk släktkrönika. Published by the Royal Society for the Publication of Manuscripts Concerning the History of Scandinavia, Series: Handlingar, vol. 30. Stockholm (2008).

Metta Magdalena Lillies dagbok 1737–1750. En 1700-talstext och dess språk. Doctoral dissertation, Uppsala University, Uppsala (2004).

Selected Articles:

“Värmlands runstenar.” In En värmländsk litteraturhistoria, edited by Helene Blomqvist & Dag Nordmark (2020). Published by Karlstad University and the Värmland Museum, with funding from the Berit and Carl-Johan Wettergren Foundation, the Anne-Marie and Gustav Anders Foundation for Media Research, and the Helmia Foundation. Museum Yearbook 2020 in the series Värmland förr och nu.

“The Venice Experience: A Case Study of the Connection between Language and Situated Cognition.” In Cognitive History: Mind, Space, and Time, edited by David Dunér & Christer Ahlberger. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin (2019). Co-authored with Rakel Johnsson.

"Vikten av språkstruktur". Article published on the Legilexi platform, www.legilexi.org (2016). Co-authored with Camilla Grönvall and Annelie Johansson.

“Bilden av Bödvild. Ett genusperspektiv på berättelserna om Völund.” In Spaden och Pennan: Ny humanistisk forskning i andan av Erik B. Lundberg och Bengt G. Söderberg, edited by Svensson, Hedenstierna-Jonsson et al. Stockholm (2009).

Textbooks

Kreativ grammatikundervisning: Från förskoleklass till årskurs 6. Gleerups Publishing, 3rd ed. (2025). Co-authored with Camilla Grönvall Fransson and Annelie K. Johansson.

Flax: En flygande start till språk och kultur i Sverige. Columbus Publishing (2016). Co-authored with Louise Alvarsson, Tahereh Mahmoodan and Wurood Altashat.

Mera flax: En lärobok om språk och kultur i Sverige. Columbus Publishing (2017). Co-authored with Tahereh Mahmoodan and Wurood Altashat.