Pontus Folkesson

Pontus Folkesson serves as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Stockholm University's Department of History, specializing in early modern Swedish history with emphases on educational systems, social structures, and urban development.

His research centers on 17th-century schooling's role in social mobility, particularly how educational institutions enabled individuals from peasant households to advance into priesthood and civil service despite rigid class structures. Current projects include Social mobility through 17th-century schools, analyzing how schooling conditions affected societal advancement, and historical studies of Sweden's first upper secondary schools as detailed in his dissertation Educating a Great Power: The Rise of the 17th Century School System through Local Community Actors, which examines school reforms under the 1649 regulation.

Folkesson actively communicates historical research to broader audiences through media engagements including the 2024 podcast The Great Power's Successful School Reform (History Now) and Sveriges Radio's 2023 feature Sweden's first upper secondary school.