A Swedish perspective at CUHK from STINT fellow

Dr. Sebastian Mohr (1st right) enjoys the welcoming atmosphere at the Gender Studies Programme.

As part of CUHK’s ongoing collaboration with the Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education (STINT), CUHK’s Gender Studies Programme hosted Dr. Sebastian Mohr, Director of the Centre for Gender Studies and Senior Lecturer in Gender Studies at Karlstad University in Sweden in the first term.

During his visit, Dr. Mohr co-taught the course ‘Qualitative Methods in Gender Studies’ together with Dr. Sonia Wong from CUHK’s Gender Studies Programme and gave guest lectures in other gender studies courses. The co-teaching arrangement has allowed Dr. Mohr to gain valuable insights into the pedagogies and didactics of teaching at CUHK, while at the same time providing space to develop teaching as a collaborative effort. ‘I am especially thankful for the welcoming atmosphere at the Gender Studies Programme and all the support and help I received from my colleagues here. The students’ eagerness in trying out hands-on qualitative methods was a wonderful and invigorating experience for me.’

The period of Dr. Mohr’s visit was characterised by continuous demonstrations and protests across the city. This has added an unexpected dimension to the STINT programme’s objective of establishing exchange and collaboration in teaching. ‘Sonia and I decided to make space in our teaching for a shared reflection on and discussions of the social and political situation in Hong Kong. We wanted students to see and experience teaching not only as a matter of academic knowledge transfer, but also by way of engaging directly with the current societal developments.’

The Gender Studies Programme at CUHK and Dr. Mohr hope to continue their collaboration established with the support of the STINT programme in the future. Plans for a joint PhD summer school between CUHK and Karlstad University and research collaboration are underway, which will hopefully see fruition in the coming years.