Mikael Linnell

Main research areas

• Social resilience
• Sociology of time
• Risk and uncertainty

Current research

In my current research, I study people’s preparedness for - and the social consequences of - transitioning to a sustainable everyday life in a time of economic and energy-related uncertainty. Until August 2025, I am working as a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Sociology. My project, Preparing for degrowth: social resilience, transformation and self-limitation, is carried out as part of the Faculty of Social Sciences' initiative for stimulating interdisciplinary research on social resilience.

In my previous research, I have studied how futures are represented through scenarios and simulations in the area of societal security, with a particular focus on measures to strengthen the public's crisis preparedness. I defended my doctoral thesis, Scenarios we live by: theorizing anticipatory practices for societal security, in the spring of 2020 at Mid Sweden University. In a recent project with the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, I have studied future images related to climate change adaptation and energy transition.

Teaching

I teach sociological theory and qualitative methods at the first-year level. I also teach organizational sociology as part of the department's selection of distance learning courses.