1.
Jagudina, Zaira, 1959
(författare)
Social Movements and Gender in Post-Soviet Russia. The Case of the Soldier's Mothers NGOs
2009
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
This dissertation provides a study of gender processes in the maternal human rights movement of the Soldiers’ Mothers NGOs, which were created in the arena of the military draft politics in post-Soviet Russia. It also includes an analysis of the depoliticized and gendered civil society of the formalized NGOs, which provides a broader social context for the soldiers’ mothers’ movement. The dissertation is founded on a combination of ideas borrowed from three theoretical perspectives. First, the concept ‘woman’ is approached as an analytical and political category constructed through the social locations by gender, class, region and culture within the framework of a military nation-state. The conventional maternal femininity, ‘naturally’ linked with caring labor, is produced as a part of the modern nation-states’ ideologies of militarism and patriotic duty. Second, participants in social movements create an oppositional sub-universe of meaning and try to deintegrate from the dominant beliefs, social norms, and rules of feeling. Finally, gender processes affect the political opportunities, mobilizing structures and collective identity construction in social movements. The case study´s primary empirical material is 22 semi-structural qualitative interviews conducted in 2000-2005 with 17 members of two organizations of the Soldiers’ Mothers, located in two different large cities. In addition, a participant observation of these two organizations and a discourse analysis of 35 articles in the Russian press were carried out, as well as 36 interviews with members of other human rights NGOs in Russia. The impact of gender processes upon the Soldiers’ Mothers movement is analyzed in relation to three dimensions: institutional and ideological structures, mobilizing social and organizational resources, and collective identity framing. In the context of the ongoing military operations and the depoliticizing trends in civil society, mothers of soldiers were supposed to work in the social serviceoriented NGOs as a helpmate to the military officials. Through the rituals of storytelling and interactions with their allies and their constituency, the Soldiers’ Mothers activists have deintegrated from the mainstream norms of women’s civic duty. The goals of the Soldiers’ Mothers NGOs have been reframed by connecting the maternal frame with the counter-discursive rhetoric of human rights, rooted in the Soviet legacy of political dissent. The feelings of fear, shame and anxiety are managed, and solidarity, pride and hope are instilled among the activists and parts of their constituency. Challenging the post-Soviet traditionalist gender ideology, the activists create a more critical identity of soldier’s mothers based on an anti-draft/military ideology. This ideology varies among local civic groups, depending on their access to material, human and symbolic resources. Relying on informal social networks, the activists sustain the autonomous status of their groups. From the viewpoints of the local grassroots’, the Soldiers’ Mothers activists reframe the concept ‘gender’ in the elitist feminism imported by Western donors in the NGO sector. The key findings in this dissertation suggest different revisions and expansions of earlier empirical research of the Soldiers’ Mothers NGOs and development of theories of gendered social movements.
2.
Larsson, Susanna, 1983-
(författare)
We bang our heads, therefore I am : subculture as laboratory of identity – the case of heavy metal
2012
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
Subculture is a structure against which identities are both created and guarded. These identities are often socially and practically negotiated against an idea of individual authenticity. The thought of nurturing ones uniqueness while striving to fit in is a common duality and a clear cause of friction within subcultures. The fourty year old heavy metal subculture is no exception. It has proven an arena for boundary drawing, exclusivity and alienation, but also for fierce loyalty and a sense of self-fulfilment.This thesis studies how young adults construct their identities in relation to subcultures in general and in relation to the heavy metal subculture in particular. This is brought to the for in four articles concerned with the construction and reproduction of subjective and intersubjective authenticity, the stigma and self-determination surrounding alienation, the practices of different levels of rituals and the construction of female gender identity in a male-dominated subculture.The thesis finds that heavy metal fans construct their identity in relation to the subculture through a life story. This life story is spun around a number of arguments on self and identity, which all aim to position the individual as a long-term, authentic, knowledgeable, self-determined and practically involved heavy metal fan. Furthermore, identity is constructed through a number of practices of which the narration of the subculture and the use of instruments exemplify both abstract and concrete rituals. Alienation is an important aspect of identity creation, especially where heavy metal fans, following an initial feeling of alienation, position themselves and their culture in what is considered a self-chosen manner against an outside society. Alienation can especially accompany the experiences of the female heavy metal fan, both within and outside the subculture. However, endurance and knowledge helps sustain a sense of a self-made identity, which can earn her respect from other heavy metal fans.
3.
Pietilä, Sirpa
(författare)
Tvillingskap genom livet : individualitet och relation i äldre tvillingars livsberättelser
2012
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
Det övergripande syftet med avhandlingen var att utforska, beskriva och förstå upplevelser av tvillingskap utifrån äldre tvillingars livsberättelser. De 35 tvillingarna som ingår i denna avhandling var ett urval av deltagarna i två longitudinella studier av äldre tvillingar, SATSA (Swedish Adoption Twin Study of Aging) och Gender. Studiedesignen är kvalitativ och vid intervjuerna användes narrativ metod och berättelsematerialet analyserades med narrativ analys (studie I och II) och med kvalitativ, latent innehållsanalys (studie III och IV). Enligt tvillingarna i denna avhandling beskrevs tvillingskapet utifrån relationen med tvillingpartnern (I, III, IV) och ur ett identitetsperspektiv (II). Tvillingrelationer är unika men representerar också variationer. Tre slags relationsmönster identifierades, benämnda den närande, tärande och den ytliga relationen som baseras på kvalitativa aspekter (I). De olika typerna av relationer blev särskilt tydliga under viktiga skeden i livet, såsom vid ingående av äktenskap (III) och vid förlusten av tvillingpartnern (IV), vilket innebar att tvillingarna fick anpassa sig till ett mer individualiserat liv. I den närande och den ytliga tvillingrelationen upplevdes inte dessa livsförändringar som särskilt dramatiska, medan de för tvillingarna i den tärande relationen upplevdes som mer dramatiska. Från ett anknytningsteoriskt perspektiv förblev de äldre tvillingarna ankytningspersoner med oförändrade anknytningsmönster genom livet (I). Sammanbundet med den nära tvillingrelationen är hur tvillingar definerar sig själva, då tvillingskapet innebär att hantera både sin individuella identitet och tvillingidentiteten. Självbeskrivningarna med betoning av olikheter, ses mot bakgrund av hur tvillingarna upplevde att omgivningen uppfattade dem som en social enhet och tolkades som en vilja att betona sin individualitet i förhållande till tvillingpartnern och som ett budskap till omgivningen att vilja bli sedd som en egen individ (II). Sammanfattningsvis beskrevs tvillingskap av de flesta som en nära, berikande relation genom livet och för vissa mindre berikande beroende på vilken slags relation de hade till sin tvillingpartner. Parallellt pågick ett identitetsarbete att ta plats som en egen individ i tvillingrelationen och att hävda sin individualitet gentemot den övriga omgivningen i budskapet: ”Vi är inte så lika som ni tror”!
