Christopher Bjarmann of Norway is will begin studying towards a MA in Israel Studies at the University of Haifa in October 2017. With the help of the Thanks To Scandinavia Scholarship he will attend the summer ulpan in Modern Hebrew at Hebrew University. Christopher hopes that the knowledge of Hbrew will help him to better understand the Israeli society and its complexities.
Carl Bradshaw from Gothenburg, Sweden is a graduate student at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Lund University, Sweden. Carl has previously has spent time both in Israel and the West Bank. Carl has a special interest in security studies, nationalism, and identity creation and therefore the course “Conflict Resolution from Theory to Practice: Israel as a Case Study” is a splendid opportunity to combine all these fields of interest. Carl will conduct his Master´s thesis on Kurdish nationalism in the Kurdish region of Iraq this autumn and believes there are several underlying similarities between the Israeli-Palestinian issue and the Kurdish struggle towards independence.
Annakaisa Järvensivu is a graduate student in theater and drama research at University of Tampere, Finland. Her passion is to combine creative, theatrical and therapeutical approaches in helping people to overcome different struggles in intercultural settings. Annakaisa is deeply interested in Israeli culture and the Hebrew language, and will be joining the Summer Ulpan for Hebrew immersion to widen and deepen her understanding both personally and professionally.
Kjell Jostein Langfeldt Lind is a teacher at a senior high school in Norway. He holds a MA from SOAS, University of London, and a BA (Hons) from the University of Cape Town. His academic interests are diverse; from microorganisms as agents in history to ideologies of dehumanization. He has also spent many years as a student of languages; including Arabic, Persian, Chinese and German.
Rasmus Hagemann Pedersen is a Danish scholar of religion from the University of Southern Denmark. He will complete his bachelor degree in December 2017. He has an academic interest in ancient Judaism, early Christianity and the axial age. Therefore, the study of Biblical Hebrew at the Hebrew University was an ideal choice. Rasmus is currently working on a journal called Axis Mundi at the Southern University of Denmark. He believes his study of Biblical Hebrew will be of great use in his future studies and career.
Martha Væggemose will be finishing her BA in Theology and Missions from Fjellhaug International University College in Denmark this summer. During the course of her studies, Martha has become more and more eager to explore the current Israel as she has learned so much about Israel’s past. She is looking forward to meeting the people of today and learning about Israel’s present culture. Martha has spent time with immigrants and refugees coming to Denmark who are facing a lot of difficulties in the process of being accepted or rejected in their new country. She is therefore looking forward to learning from the summer course “Understanding Identities:
Jens Olsson graduated with a BA degree in Intelligence Analysis from the University of Lund, Sweden. He has a great interest in international security and he take the course “Between Hamas and ISIS: Radical Islamic Movements in a Changing Middle East” offered at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to gain a deeper understanding of how ideology influences militant behavior. Jens will pursue a Master’s degree in terrorism studies and intends to conduct academic research on terrorism and ideology.