Professor Gösta Arvastson (1943-2023)

2023-08-09

Potrait of Gösta Arvastson

Professor Emeritus of Ethnology Gösta Arvastson has passed away at the age of 80. Gösta started teaching at the department in 1989 and was promoted full professor eleven years later. His thoughts on the postition of ethnology in academia and society in the early 2000s contributed to the development of the discipline, both on a local level and in the national research environment. Gösta was an articulate and innovative researcher, colleague and friend, who leaves a big void behind, writes Professor Birgitta Meurling in the department's obituary.

Professor Gösta Arvastson obtained his PhD in 1977 at Lund University with the thesis Skånska prästgårdar and subsequently worked as a researcher and teacher at the universities of Lund and Gothenburg. In 1989 he was employed as a senior lecturer at, what was then called, the Department of Ethnology at Uppsala University and in 2000 he was promoted to professor at the Department of Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology in Uppsala. From 2004 until his retirement, he held the Chair of Ethnology, especially European, at Uppsala University.

During his time as associate professor and full professor, Gösta successfully supervised a large number of doctoral students in parallel with teaching and research. His seminars and text discussions were inspiring and his thoughts on the position of ethnology in academia and society in the early 2000s contributed to the development of the discipline both at a local level and in the national research environment. His research areas included modernization processes, working life in large industries and urban environments. His publications include Maskinmänniskan. Arbetets förvandlingar i 1900-talets storindustri (1987), Slutet på banan. Kulturmöten i bilarnas århundrade (2004), and Drömmar om lufthavet. Berättelsen om en kvinnlig flygare på trettiotalet (2012). He also edited and co-edited several books, including educational materials.

During his years as a professor, Gösta developed collaborations with British sociologists and organized several excursions for PhD students and researchers to London. These contacts resulted, among other things, in the book Det urbana rummet (1999), which he wrote together with his doctoral students, illustrated and edited. Gösta also created Forum för skolan, a vibrant platform for cooperation between schools in Uppsala municipality and the University. After his retirement, he continued his research activities, establishing contacts with researchers in the natural sciences, and as late as 2022 he published the book Molnspanare. A Meteorological History.

Gösta was an articulate and innovative researcher, colleague and friend, who leaves a big void behind.

Written by: Professor Birgitta Meurling