The common thread running through Jessica Parland-von Essen’s research is the semiotics of culture theory and its concepts, even though it has been important to her to write all of her articles and books in such a way that they open through the lives and values of people.

‘This has sometimes been very difficult because semiotic theory is highly abstract.’

Parland-von Essen is mainly focused on the 18th century, a period in which a lot of research material on the birth and development of meanings can be found. She has handled the theoretical basis for this cultural analysis in the dissertation, Behagets betydelser. Döttrarnas edukation i det sena 1700-talets adelskultur (‘Meanings of modesty: The education of daughters in aristocratic culture in the late 1700s’). The method is primarily based on the views of Yuri Lotman.

In the natural progress of her research, Parland-von Essen became interested in literature as a part of culture. Literature needs a medium, which in the 1700s was either hand writing or printing. Parland-von Essen has studied letter writing as an educational medium, but also the use of printing in literature.

‘It is important to take into account the effect of the medium on the message. So I am also interested in book history.’

In her LIS studies, Parland-von Essen gained the ability to work with old books, as well as digital methods and materials.

The media’s role in culture and society is a very topical subject which has interested Parland-von Essen in recent years, especially the impact of digital culture on the study of history. The digital world affects culture and research at a very basic level. Many things will change once issues of authority and privacy become relevant.

‘Despite my interest in cultural theory, I have experienced the importance of writing history in a living and captivating way in which readers can gain insight into the past as well as their own time and culture.’