Through my years as associate professor and, from 1996, professor in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Oslo, I have striven to build bridges – between ways of doing linguistics and between places where linguistics is done. I was ideally positioned to do so in the role of coordinator for the doctoral education program in languages and linguistics, which spanned a multitude of departments, in 1997-1999 and 2002.
In the early 2000s, Hans Petter Helland, professor of French linguistics, and I collaborated closely to plan and implement the integrated education program Språkprogrammet (The language program).
This and other efforts to join together what belongs together have not met with unmitigated success. The integrated language program was dismantled after less than ten years, and walls between departments where linguistics is done have been built ever higher. Still, the Forum for Theoretical Linguistics, the seminar series descending from professor Fenstad's late 1970s and early 1980s Seminar i lingvistikk, has at least made it into 2020. +
This and other efforts to join together what belongs together have not met with unmitigated success. The integrated language program was dismantled after less than ten years, and walls between departments where linguistics is done have been built ever higher. Still, the Forum for Theoretical Linguistics, the seminar series descending from professor Fenstad's late 1970s and early 1980s Seminar i lingvistikk, has at least made it into 2024.
-Over the last fifteen years, my closest collaborators have been Atle Grønn, professor of Russian linguistics, and Dag Haug, professor of Classical languages and linguistics. Together with Torgrim Solstad, now assistant professor of linguistics at the University of Bielefeld, they initiated and edited a Festschrift for me which appeared in 2006 – see separate entry under Miscellanea.
In 2007, Atle and I – practically single-handedly – organized the 12th Sinn und Bedeutung conference (SuB12) (see separate entry under Miscellanea).
+Over the last eighteen years, my closest collaborators have been Atle Grønn, professor of Russian linguistics, and Dag Haug, professor of classical languages and linguistics. Together with Torgrim Solstad, now assistant professor of linguistics at the University of Bielefeld, they initiated and edited a Festschrift for me which appeared in 2006 – see separate entry under Miscellanea.
In 2007, Atle and I – practically single-handedly – organized the 12th Sinn und Bedeutung conference (SuB12) (see separate entry under Miscellanea).
Since 2012, I have had five very gratifying experiences professionally.