Karen V. Lykke

Professor
Image of Karen V. Lykke
Norwegian version of this page
Email k.l.syse@sum.uio.no
Phone +47 22858949
Mobile phone +47 97631973
Username
Visiting address Sandakerveien 130 Bygg 2 0484 Oslo

Karen has also published under the surname Lykke Syse.

Academic Interests

  • Food and Sustainability
  • Regenerative Agriculture
  • Cultural and historical dimensions of food
  • Meat consumption in an historical perspective
  • Landscape studies
  • Environmental history and policy
  • Sustainability and Good life
  • Environmental discourse and practice, especially with regard to the use and abuse of natural resources
  • Social and cultural aspects of hunting and angling

Courses taught

Background

  • 2009 PhD Cultural History, University of Oslo
  • 2001 - 2002 Chevening scholar, St. Andrews University. Postgraduate studies in Environmental History
  • 2000 M.Phil. Ethnology, University of Oslo
  • 1992 Agronomist Oslo Agricultural Academy

Awards

  • Norwegian Chevening scholar 2001/2002 at University of St. Andrews. Postgraduate studies in Environmental history under Professor T.C. Smout’s institute of Environmental History and Policy.

Positions held

  • Board member the Norwegian Trekking Association (DNT-Oslo) 2010/2013 and 2013/2016
  • Board member for the academically employed at Centre for Development and the Environment 2009/2013.
  • Research Fellow at the Centre for Advances Studies at The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters in 2008/2009.
  • Board member for the academically employed at Centre for Development and the Environment 2005/2006.
  • Representative for the doctoral students at the Faculty of the Humanities Cultural Programme 2003/2004.

Partners

Ongoing projects

  • RegenRegion is an interdisciplinary network of farmers, consultants, agricultural teachers, academics and local government. Together we co-create research on soil health and regenerative agriculture. 
  • Making Meat a Mystery: Industrial meat production has pivoted, and at the same time our modern relationship with livestock is questionable from a sustainable point of view. This project seeks to understand the historical and ideological changes  in our relation with the animals we use for food in contemporary society.
  • Sustainability and The Good Life: The notion that the good life is lived in proximity to nature has waxed and waned, and the idea is presently being resurrected in diverse locations throughout Western society. What is the cultural and historical anchorage of ideas about The Goodlife, and what are the ethical and environmental issues at stake in modern society?

 

Tags: Nature and Culture, Food, Gender, Landscape

Publications

  • Bonvik-Stone, Dickon & Lykke, Karen Victoria (2024). Whose Expertise and Whose Knowledge Matter? Influencing Wind Power Decisions in Norway. Environmental Communication. ISSN 1752-4032. p. 1–16. doi: Whose%20Expertise%20and%20Whose%20Knowledge%20Matter?%20Influencing%20Wind%20Power%20Decisions%20in%20Norway.
  • Lykke, Karen Victoria & Taylor, Bron (2023). Searching for the Green Man Special Issue Editors' Introduction. Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture (JSRNC). ISSN 1749-4907. 17(2), p. 157–167. doi: 10.1558/jsrnc.25977.
  • Lykke, Karen Victoria & Ohrvik, Ane (2023). The Foliate Mask in Vernacular Material Culture from Medieval to Modern Norway. Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture (JSRNC). ISSN 1749-4907. 17(2), p. 297–316. doi: 10.1558/jsrnc.24300. Full text in Research Archive
  • Ramon, Guillem Rubio & Syse, Karen Lykke (2022). Establishing nationhood through heritage landscapes: Bear biopolitics in the Catalan Pyrenees. In Pettenati, Giacomo (Eds.), Landscape as Heritage: International Critical Perspectives. Routledge. ISSN 9781032046235. p. 102–113.
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2022). Kulturarv i lendet: Beitedyras hug, dug og hevd. Tidsskrift for kulturforskning. ISSN 1502-7473. 2, p. 13–31. Full text in Research Archive
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2022). Hefting the Land: A Locative Heritage of Hooves and Feet. In Svensson, Daniel; Saltzman, Katarina & Sörlin, Sverker (Ed.), Pathways : Exploring the routes of a movement heritage. White Horse Press. ISSN 9781912186600. p. 97–113. Full text in Research Archive
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2022). Tools to Kill and Slaughter. In Ween, Gro Birgit & Lundblad, Michael (Ed.), Control: Attempting to Tame the World. Pax Forlag. ISSN 9788253043609. p. 79–86.
  • Bjørkdahl, Kristian & Syse, Karen Lykke (2022). From ritual loss of life to loss of living rituals: on judicialization of slaughter and denial of animal death. Food, Culture, and Society: An International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research. ISSN 1552-8014. doi: 10.1080/15528014.2022.2083883. Full text in Research Archive
  • Sara, Ravdna Biret Marja Eira; Syse, Karen Lykke & Mathiesen, Svein Disch (2022). Precious blood and nourishing offal: past and present slaughtering perspectives in Sámi reindeer pastoralism. Pastoralism. ISSN 2041-7136. 12(1), p. 1–16. doi: 10.1186/s13570-021-00224-2. Full text in Research Archive
  • Syse, Karen Lykke & Bjørkdahl, Kristian (2021). Ritual Loss of Life and Loss of Living Rituals: On Judicialization of Slaughter and Denial of Animal Death. In Hansen, Arve & Syse, Karen Lykke (Ed.), Changing Meat Cultures: Food Practices, Global Capitalism, and the Consumption of Animals. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISSN 978-1-5381-4265-3.
  • Hansen, Arve & Syse, Karen Lykke (2021). New Meat Engagements: Cultures, Geographies, Economies. In Hansen, Arve & Syse, Karen Lykke (Ed.), Changing Meat Cultures: Food Practices, Global Capitalism, and the Consumption of Animals. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISSN 978-1-5381-4265-3. p. 1–16.
  • Bjørkdahl, Kristian & Syse, Karen Lykke (2021). Welfare Washing: Disseminating Disinformation in Meat Marketing. Society & Animals. ISSN 1063-1119. 37(1). doi: 10.1163/15685306-bja10032.
  • Grusovnik, Tomaz; Spannring, Reingard & Syse, Karen Lykke (2021). Introduction: Introducing Denialism in Environmental and Animal Abuse. In Grusovnik, Tomaz; Spannring, Reingard & Syse, Karen Lykke (Ed.), Environmental and Animal Abuse Denial: Averting Our Gaze. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISSN 978-1-7936-1046-1. p. 1–15.
  • Syse, Karen Lykke & Bjørkdahl, Kristian (2021). The Animal That Therefore Was Removed from View: The Presentation of Meat in Norway, 1950-2020. In Grusovnik, Tomaz; Spannring, Reingard & Syse, Karen Lykke (Ed.), Environmental and Animal Abuse Denial: Averting Our Gaze. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISSN 978-1-7936-1046-1. p. 127–144.
  • Heiberg, Erika & Syse, Karen Lykke (2020). Farming autonomy: Canadian beef farmers reclaiming the grass through management-intensive grazing practices. Organic Agriculture. ISSN 1879-4238. 10, p. 471–486. doi: 10.1007/s13165-020-00291-6. Full text in Research Archive
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2020). "Det er ikkje for hat det er for mat" . Griseliv og grisedød i Norge før og nå. Arr - Idéhistorisk tidsskrift. ISSN 0802-7005. p. 15–29. Full text in Research Archive
  • Bjørkdahl, Kristian & Syse, Karen V Lykke (2019). Kjøtt, fremmedgjøring og fornektelse. Nytt Norsk Tidsskrift. ISSN 0800-336X. 36(3), p. 255–267. doi: 10.18261/issn.1504-3053-2019-03-08.
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke (2017). Histories and Ideologies of Nature in Argyll. In Hartman, Steven (Eds.), Contesting Environmental Imaginaries: Nature and Counternature in a Time of Global Change. Brill Academic Publishers. ISSN 978-9004335073. doi: 10.1163/9789004335080_013.
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke (2017). Looking the Beast in the Eye: Re-animation of Meat Eating in Food Prose. In Lundblad, Michael (Eds.), Animalities: Literary and Cultural Studies Beyond the Human. Edinburgh University Press. ISSN 9781474400022. doi: 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474400022.003.0009.
  • Endreson, Thorunn Gullaksen; Bjørkdahl, Kristian & Syse, Karen V Lykke (2017). "Kli-fi" på villspor: Klimakrisen i norsk samtidslitteratur. Norsk Litterær Årbok. ISSN 0078-1266. 52, p. 157–176.
  • Kildal, Charlotte L & Syse, Karen V Lykke (2017). Meat and masculinity in the Norwegian Armed Forces. Appetite. ISSN 0195-6663. 112, p. 69–77. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2016.12.032. Full text in Research Archive
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke (2016). Blodig alvor: Et dykk ned i slakteskikkens kuriositetskabinett. Fortid. ISSN 1504-1913. p. 30–33.
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke (2015). Celebrity chefs, ethical food consumption and the good life. In Syse, Karen V Lykke & Mueller, Martin Lee (Ed.), Sustainable Consumption and the Good Life. Routledge. ISSN 978-1138013001. p. 165–182. doi: 10.4324/9781315795522-11.
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke (2014). Stumbling over Animals in the Landscape: Methodological Accidents and Anecdotes . Nordic Journal of Science and Technology Studies. ISSN 1894-4647. 2(2), p. 20–26. doi: 10.5324/njsts.v2i1.2133.
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke (2013). The Ebb and Flow of Trees and Farmland: Symbols of Nationhood in Scotland and Norway. Journal of the North Atlantic. ISSN 1935-1984. 4, p. 219–228. doi: 10.3721/037.004.sp413.
  • Bjørkdahl, Kristian & Syse, Karen V Lykke (2013). Death and Meateriality. In Willerslev, Rane & Christensen, Dorthe Refslund (Ed.), Taming Time, Timing Death: Social Technologies and Ritual. Ashgate. ISSN 9781409450689.
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke (2013). Otters as Symbols in the British Environmental Discourse. Landscape Research. ISSN 0142-6397. 38(4), p. 540–552. doi: 10.1080/01426397.2013.784244.
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke (2012). Oslo: A City Framed by Forest. In Luccarelli, Mark & Røe, Per Gunnar (Ed.), Green Oslo : visions, planning and discourse. Ashgate. ISSN 978-1-4094-3896-0. p. 47–69.
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke (2012). Nationhood and Landscape Management: Stories of the Past and Practice in the Present. In Nielsen, Kenneth Bo & Bjørkdahl, Kristian (Ed.), Development and Environment: Practices, Theories, Policies. Akademisk Forlag. ISSN 9788232100330. p. 137–153.
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke (2010). Expert Systems, Local Knowledge and Power in Argyll, Scotland. Landscape Research. ISSN 0142-6397. 35(4), p. 469–484. doi: 10.1080/01426397.2010.486855.
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke (2010). Ideas of Leisure, Pleasure and the River in Early Modern England. In Syse, Karen V Lykke & Oestigaard, Terje (Ed.), Perceptions of Water in Britain from Early Modern Times to the Present: An Introduction. BRIC Press. ISSN 978-82-7453-081-2. p. 35–58.
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke & Oestigaard, Terje (2010). Introduction. In Syse, Karen V Lykke & Oestigaard, Terje (Ed.), Perceptions of Water in Britain from Early Modern Times to the Present: An Introduction. BRIC Press. ISSN 978-82-7453-081-2. p. 9–14.

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  • Bjørkdahl, Kristian & Lykke, Karen Victoria (2023). Hva vi spiser når vi spiser kjøtt. Res Publica. ISBN 9788282262866.
  • Bjørkdahl, Kristian & Lykke, Karen Victoria (2023). Live, Die, Buy, Eat: A Cultural History of Animals and Meat. Routledge. ISBN 9781472471789. 320 p.
  • Hansen, Arve & Syse, Karen Lykke (2021). Changing Meat Cultures: Food Practices, Global Capitalism, and the Consumption of Animals. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 978-1-5381-4265-3. 224 p.
  • Grusovnik, Tomaz; Spannring, Reingard & Syse, Karen Lykke (2021). Environmental and Animal Abuse Denial: Averting Our Gaze. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 978-1-7936-1046-1. 234 p.
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke & Mueller, Martin Lee (2015). Sustainable Consumption and the Good Life. Routledge. ISBN 978-1138013001. 278 p.
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke & Oestigaard, Terje (2010). Perceptions of Water in Britain from Early Modern Times to the Present: An Introduction. BRIC Press. ISBN 978-82-7453-081-2.

View all works in Cristin

  • Lykke, Karen Victoria (2024). Hverdagshakk og festsymboler – arbeidets temporalitet og mentalitet.
  • Lykke, Karen Victoria (2023). Josefin Velander. Hur blir djur mat? En kritisk studie av den etiska djurproduktionen i svenska ekologiska organisationer. Karlstad University, 2023. Doktorsavhandling. Sociologisk forskning. ISSN 0038-0342. 60(3-4), p. 357–361. doi: 10.37062/sf.60.25969.
  • Lykke, Karen Victoria (2023). Hunting, trekking and the commodification of nature in Norway from 1820-2020.
  • Jørgensen, Finn Arne; Fojuth, Marie-Theres & Syse, Karen Lykke (2023). Innledning: Å finne veien – stedsansen som kulturell praksis. Tidsskrift for kulturforskning. ISSN 1502-7473. 21(2), p. 3–11.
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2022). Comparative discussions on re-wilding and soil restoration in Norway and Scotland.
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2022). Direktesending TV2 fra Grøset seter med God Morgen Norge, samtaler om seterdrift og grasbasert kjøtt og melkeproduksjon . [TV]. TV2 God Morgen Norge.
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2022). Restorations: Mending Heritage Landscapes and Biodiversity.
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2022). Med huggorm i bøsseløpet og reinsdyrblod i skjegget: kulturhistorisk forskning på jakt i Norge fra 1865 – 1965.
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2022). Selvberging, selvforsyning og den trojanske ku i Norge.
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2022). «At norsk gjæstfrihed er ikke nogen handelsvare» Om uanmeldte og ubudne gjester i fjell og dal - kulturell motstand 1830-1900.
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2022). Why we walk were we walk: Exploring the particularities of everyday movement.
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2022). Intervju om norsk selvforsyning. [Newspaper]. Nationen.
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2022). Kan Norge bli selvforsynt? God morgen Norge. [TV]. TV2.
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2021). Hva kan du spise med god samvittighet. [Radio]. NRK P1 Ekko - samfunnspodden.
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2021). Menneskers og dyrs vandringer i et kulturhistorisk perspektiv.
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2021). Direktesending fra Hovelsrud gård. Hvordan forstå forskjellen på offisielle matmerker som Debio eller Dyrevelferdsmerket og uoffisielle utsagn/reklame. . [TV]. TV2 God Morgen Norge.
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2021). God morgen Norge. [TV]. TV2.
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2021). Hooves and feet, places and paths: Consensuality in Past and Present Norwegian Landscapes.
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2021). Grisehold før og nå. [Radio]. NRK P1+.
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2021). The Meat Marketing Board: Norwegian Meat Propaganda from 1959 to 2019.
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2021). Hooves, feet and paths.
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2021). Kampen om nærskogenene Hvorfor vekker nærskogen så sterke følelser i oss, det er jo nok av skog i dette landet? . [Radio]. NRK P2.
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2020). Using History as a Lever to Boost Meat Consumption in Norway: Living, killing, buying, eating meat - Environmental impacts and cultural change .
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2020). En grisehistorie. Bondevennen. p. 24–26.
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2020). Turning the animal into the edible in Norway and Sápmi:mincing words, cultures and animals .
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2020). Maten som en lokal brikke i et stort globalt spill: Hvordan kan individuelle valg og kollektive føringer påvirke jordas fremtid?
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2020). Key Note lecture: From farm slaughter to industrial slaughter in Norway 1870-2015: Environmental impacts and cultural change.
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2020). How the animal left the shops:Buying meat in Norway 1920-2020. Environmental impacts and cultural change .
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2020). Mat opp gjennom historien i podcasten Norgeshistorie– Fra steinalderen til i dag. Fortalt av fagfolk. [Radio]. Universitetet i Oslo.
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2020). En grisehistorie. Klassekampen. ISSN 0805-3839. p. 14–15.
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2020). Venn eller Fiende? [Newspaper]. Klassekampen.
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2019). Avstanden mellom dyr og kjøtt Bak maten - en podcast om bærekraft. [Radio]. Landbruk.no.
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2019). Understanding the nature of the native: A quest for authenticity in Norwegian landscapes.
  • Bjørkdahl, Kristian & Syse, Karen V Lykke (2019). Bullshit om gris. Dagens næringsliv. ISSN 0803-9372.
  • Bjørkdahl, Kristian; Syse, Karen V Lykke & Endreson, Thorunn Gullaksen (2018). Kamp om intensjonsrommet, Karlsvik? Klassekampen. ISSN 0805-3839. p. 29–29.
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke (2018). NRK Verdibørsen:Må vi lære oss å se naturen på en ny måte for å redde den? [Radio]. NRK.
  • Bjørkdahl, Kristian; Syse, Karen V Lykke & Endreson, Thorunn Gullaksen (2017). Ut av klima-melankolien! Klassekampen. ISSN 0805-3839. p. 22–23.
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke & Kildal, Charlotte L (2017). Forsvaret ville innføre kjøttfrie mandager. Tiltaket ble stoppet av det de selv kaller «machokultur». [Newspaper]. Aftenposten.
  • Holsten, Hilde Hartmann; Kildal, Charlotte L & Syse, Karen V Lykke (2017). Why Norwegian soldiers didn't approve of 'Meat free Monday'. [Internet]. ScienceNordic.
  • Syse, Karen Lykke (2016). Smak som skjærer i hjertet. Nationen. ISSN 0805-3782. p. 18–21.
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke (2016). Kjøtt er blitt en ingrediens. NRK P2 Ekko 14.03. 2016. [Radio]. NRK P2 Ekko.
  • Syse, Karen Lykke & Mueller, Martin Lee (2015). Introduction. In Syse, Karen V Lykke & Mueller, Martin Lee (Ed.), Sustainable Consumption and the Good Life. Routledge. ISSN 978-1138013001. p. 1–6.
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke (2015). Levende landskap: Landskap for mange sanser. [TV]. NRK1.
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke & Olsen, Jon Anstein (2015). Den sjette utryddelsen. Mime Forlag. ISSN 978-82-93441-02-1.
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke & Bjørkdahl, Kristian (2015). Kjøttet og døden. Utflukt. ISSN 0804-9327. 1, p. 8–25.
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke & Mueller, Martin Lee (2015). Introduction to Sustainability and the Good Life. In Syse, Karen V Lykke & Mueller, Martin Lee (Ed.), Sustainable Consumption and the Good Life. Routledge. ISSN 978-1138013001. p. 1–6.
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke (2014). Naming Nature.
  • Bjørkdahl, Kristian; Syse, Karen V Lykke & Endreson, Thorunn (2013). Skitt og kanel i kjøkkenhagen. Morgenbladet. ISSN 0805-3847.
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke (2013). Vann- og snøscooterstøy - en trussel mot livsverdier? [Radio]. NRK P2, Verdibørsen.
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke (2013). Om skogsarbeiderne og forholdet til naturen. [Radio]. NRK P2, Ekko.
  • Bjørkdahl, Kristian; Syse, Karen V Lykke & Endreson, Thorunn (2012). Selvdyrking er selvdyrking. Morgenbladet. ISSN 0805-3847. p. 20–21.
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke (2011). Landscapes as Material Culture in Flux: Creating Museums and Interpreting Historical Landscapes.
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke (2011). Approaching environmental management and policy issues from a humanistic perspective.
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke (2011). Trees and nationhood in Norway and Scotland.
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke (2011). Fra lende til landskap: En kulturhistorie om konflikt og konsensus i Argyll 1945-2005.
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke (2011). Water, Modernity and Leisure; Using the River in Early Modern England.
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke (2011). Makt og avmakt i kultur- og miljøforvaltningen.
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke (2010). Introduction and Welcome to the Green Oslo Symposium.
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke (2010). Celtic Cultural Perspectives on Ecological Wisdom.
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke (2020). Lokal økologisk kunnskap og naturvitenskap innen forvaltning av Svalbardrøye (RIS-ID 10726) Sluttrapport til Svalbards Miljøvernfond. Universitetet i Oslo.
  • Syse, Karen V Lykke (2010). Svalbardrøye som utgangspunkt for å forstå miljøforvaltningskonflikter på Svalbard. Svalbards Miljøfond ved Sysselmannen på Svalbard.

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Published Aug. 15, 2011 2:53 PM - Last modified Nov. 7, 2023 1:54 PM

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