Hjördis Levin (born 4 June 1930) is a
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
historian and author whose field of research focuses on gender studies.
Early years and education
Hildur (nickname, "Hjördis") Charlotta Eriksson was born in
Smedby,
Östergötland County
Östergötland County ( sv, Östergötlands län) is a county or ''län'' in southeastern Sweden. It has land borders with the counties of Kalmar to the southeast, Jönköping to the southwest, Örebro to the northwest, and Södermanland to the n ...
on 4 June 1930. Levin is the daughter of the gardener Karl Erik Karlsson and Hildur Schwarz. she studied office education at an early age and was an office employee until 1968. She received a B.A. degree in 1971, and earned a doctoral degree at
Umeå University
Umeå University ( sv, Umeå universitet; Ume Sami: ) is a public research university located in Umeå, in the mid-northern region of Sweden. The university was founded in 1965 and is the fifth oldest within Sweden's present borders.
As of 2015 ...
in 1994.
Career
She was a course leader in speech and argumentation techniques in
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
from 1973, and worked as a speech trainer in her own company, Juno Speech Training, from 1986.
Levin has been an active freelance writer. She has worked as an employee of the Swedish Women's Left Federation's magazine ''Vi Mänskor'' from 1969. She has also written articles for, among other things, ''Kvinnobulletinen'' and ''Acca'' and has been active as a lecturer. She was an employee of ''
Focus
Focus, or its plural form foci may refer to:
Arts
* Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in South Australia Film
*''Focus'', a 1962 TV film starring James Whitmore
* ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based ...
'' in the 1980s and wrote biographical articles on women for ''
Svenskt biografiskt lexikon
''Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'' () is a Swedish biographical dictionary, started in 1917. The first volume, covering names ''Abelin'' to ''Anjou'', was published in 1918. As of 2017, names from A to S are covered.
Volumes
# ABELIN – ANJOU (1 ...
''.
Levin has been active since the 1970s in the Swedish Women's Left Federation and
Group 8 Group 8 may refer to:
* Group 8 element, a series of elements in the Periodic Table
* Group 8 Rugby League, a rugby league competition
* Group 8 (Sweden), a feminist movement in Sweden
* Group VIII, former nomenclature for the noble gas
The nob ...
.
[Lena Alfredson: Fem frågor till, Dagens Nyheter 28 June 1994, sida 5.] She has also been a municipal political activist for the
Left Party in
Stockholm Municipality
Stockholm Municipality or the City of Stockholm ( sv, Stockholms kommun or ) is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. It has the largest population of the 290 municipalities of the country, but one of the smallest areas, maki ...
as a member of the social district committee in Social District 9 (southern
Farsta
Farsta is a district in the borough with the same name in southern Stockholm. Farsta is located about eight kilometers south of Stockholm city. The district neighbours to Hökarängen, Sköndal, Larsboda, Farsta Strand and Fagersjö. It is al ...
). She is a member of the
Swedish Writers' Association since 1988, and member of the Swedish Women's Left Federation's National Board.
[Hjördis Levin - författare och historiker”. Ebes förlag.]
Levin's 1994 thesis deals with the sexual debate in 1880–1910 and how it led to the so-called Preventive Law in 1910, which prohibited the dissemination of use or knowledge of contraception among the public.
[Eric Boberg (27 June 1994). ”Doktor som lär av dåtida sexualdebatt - "Våldsdåden kunde varit färre"”. Svenska Dagbladet: s. 12.] Levin has since continued to survey and describe the subsequent period 1923–1936 with a women's struggle for sexual equality and gender equality, and which led, among other things, to the abolition of the Prevention Act 1938.
Her husband was Jonny Levin (1926-1955).
Selected works
*Blå safir (dikter, 1965)
*Testiklarnas herravälde: Sexualmoralens historia (1986, utökad upplaga 1989)
*Elisabeth Tamm på Fogelstad: en radikal herrgårdsfröken (1989)
*Masken uti rosen: nymalthusianism och födelsekontroll i Sverige 1880–1910 (doktorsavhandling, 1994)
*Kvinnorna på barrikaden: sexualpolitik och sociala frågor 1923–36 (1997)
*En radikal herrgårdsfröken: Elisabeth Tamm på Fogelstad – liv och verk (2003)
*Kampen mot "vita slavhandeln" : trafficking i historiskt perspektiv (2015)
*Flickebarnet i sävlådan: en tragisk historia från det fattiga Sverige (2017)
References
Citations
Bibliography
*Levin, H Hjördis C in Who is she: women in Sweden: biographical reference book (1988),
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levin, Hjordis
1930 births
Living people
People from Östergötland County
Swedish women historians
20th-century Swedish historians
20th-century Swedish women writers
Gender studies academics
Left Party (Sweden)
Umeå University alumni