KNUT ØYSTEIN HØVIK

Profile

Biography

BA Languages, MA English (Bergen)

Knut Øystein began as Director of the Norwegian Study Centre in August 2025. He is seconded from his permanent position as Professor of English Literature, Culture and Didactics at the University of Inland Norway, where he researches and teaches cultural studies and didactics. He has also been involved in several internationalisation projects in teacher education. He is also an awardee of Excellent Teaching Practitioner (merittert underviser) at his home institution.

Knut Øystein’s relationship with the Norwegian Study Centre began back in 1997, as a student at the YorkCourse. He has since been accompanying students of English on Short Courses, and from 2019 to 2025 served as Vice-Chair on the NSC Board. 

Departmental Roles

Director

External Activity

Knut Øystein is a member of the research group Literature and Literacy at the University of Inland Norway. He is also an affiliated member of the research group Society and Education in a Global Context (GLOBE) at the same institution. Knut Øystein is widely used by Norwegian higher education institutions for external work. He is the Chair of the Norwegian Society for English Studies and the online encyclopedia Store norske leksikon’s area expert for British and Irish history. 

Research

Overview

Knut Øystein’s research spans English literature, cultural studies and didactics, with a particular interest in the relationship between language, culture and education. His work explores internationalisation and mobility in teacher education, interdisciplinary approaches to sustainability education, and the ways in which literature, popular culture and Indigenous perspectives can enrich the teaching of English. He has also researched environmental issues in literature and music and the history of English teaching in Norway.

Publications

• Heggernes, Sissil Lea; Drange, Eli-Marie D. & Høvik, Knut Øystein (2025). “A small piece of my heart remained”: In-service foreign language teachers’ perspectives on short-term mobility in continuous professional development. Nordic Journal of Language Teaching and Learning (NJLTL). ISSN 2703-8629. 13(1), pp. 95–114. DOI: 10.46364/njltl.v13i1.1375.
• Buseth, Jill Tove; Didham, Robert James; Høvik, Knut Øystein; Martinsen, Marianne & Øyehaug, Anne Bergliot (2025). Exploring teacher educators’ views on interdisciplinary teaching: a cross-disciplinary study of interdisciplinarity for sustainability education. Acta Didactica Norden (ADNO). ISSN 2535-8219. 19(2), pp. 1–23. DOI: 10.5617/adno.11405.
• Høvik, Knut Øystein (2023). From Burning Beds to Rising Seas: Environmental Issues in the Song Lyrics of Midnight Oil. In Amatoritsero Ede; Sandra Lee Kleppe & Angela Sorby (Eds.), Poetry and the Global Climate Crisis: Creative Educational Approaches to Complex Challenges. Routledge. ISSN 9781032508542. pp. 27–40.
• Holander, Stefan Hans Olof & Høvik, Knut Øystein (2023). Urfolksperspektiver i engelskfaget. In Gøril Figenschou; Silje Solheim Karlsen & Helge Christian Pedersen (Eds.), Ávdnet: Samiske tema i skole og utdanning Universitetsforlaget. ISSN 978-82-15-05804-7. pp. 299–314.