André Jansson

André Jansson is director of the Geomedia Research Group. His research is oriented towards questions of media use, identity and power from an interdisciplinary perspective. His work links various theoretical strands from social phenomenology, human geography and sociology of culture. A particular interest regards the relationship between mediatization processes and the production of social space. Jansson has studied this relationship in relation to a number of contemporary phenomena, such as the post-industrial city, tourism, expatriate lifestyles, surveillance culture and the urban-rural divide. Jansson currently leads the research project Measuring Mediatization, funded by the Ander Foundation (2016-2019).

Previous reserach projects:

Kinetic Élites: The Mediatization of Social Belonging and Close Relationships among Mobile Class Fractions, funded by the Swedish Research Council (2012-2015). The aim of the project was to illuminate the role of media and ICTs for sustaining close relationships and a sense of social belonging under everyday conditions that involve high levels of mobility and potentially fractured ties with family and friends. The focus of the study was on certain mobile élite groups within the fields of (1) corporate business, (2) international development/diplomacy, and (3) academia.

Secure Spaces: Media, Consumption and Social Surveillance. The aim of the project was to map out and provide a deeper understanding of how people today handle various media forms in order to strengthen their sense of security and control, and to clarify how these patterns and experiences are related to overarching social structures. The analyses consist of a combination of survey (the SOM Institute) and qualitative interviews. (Project leader: André Jansson, Karlstad University. Co-investigator: Miyase Christensen, Karlstad University. Funding: Riksbankens Jubileumsfond 2009-2012)

Rural Networking / Networking the Rural: Participatory Culture and Civic Communities in the Swedish Countryside. The project studied how the relationship between marginalization and participation (locally and globally) is experienced and negotiated as part of rural lifestyles and identity work, and how networked media interaction may contribute to a rural participatory culture, as well as to new and pre-existing civic communities. The analyses consist of a combination of survey (the SOM Institute) and qualitative interviews. (Project leader: André Jansson. Co-investigator: Magnus Andersson, Malmö University. Funding: FORMAS, 2008-2011)

Jansson is a board member of the SOM-Institute (Society-Opinion-Media, Gothenburg University) and ACSIS (the Advanced Cultural Studies Institute of Sweden, Linköping University).

He is on the editorial board of Culture Unbound and Communication and the Public.

PhD (2001) - Gothenburg University

Post-doctoral research (2005-06) - McGill University

Docent (2005) - Malmö University

Professor (2007) - Karlstad University