| 1. |
- Andersson, Oscar
(author)
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Chicagoskolan : Institutionaliseringen, idétraditionen och vetenskapen
- 2003
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The main purpose of my thesis is to investigate how the Chicago School in urban sociology, that was active between 1915 and 1935, developed and why it produced so many classical monographs during a period of about ten to fifteen years. To outline the historical reasons for the School to develop I have chosen to view the historical context as a field with different actors. Another related and overall question in the thesis is how an academic institution goes from being a rather loosely integrated administrative organisation with diverse ideas and areas of interest to become a full-fledged scientific institution with a relatively homogenous subject and field of research. In chapter 1, I deal explicitly with how the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Chicago became institutionalized between 1892 and 1914. One of the reasons why it is relevant to investigate how this department developed is that it was during this period that the institutional and economical foundation was laid for the later establishment of the Chicago School in the 1920’s. In chapter 2 I examine how different traditions of ideas influenced the members of the Chicago School. However, I do not give a complete outline of these different traditions, presenting only the main outlines and showing how they influenced the School’s thoughts about social groups, individuals, societies and the social sciences. In chapter 3 I outline the urban and human ecological research project of the Chicago School between 1915 and 1935. In order to understand the development of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology in Chicago between 1892 and 1935 as a historical field with different actors and for what it takes for an institution to develop into a scientific discipline it is essential to analyze this project. In chapter 4 I present the scientific point of view, ethnographic methods, and epistemology of the Chicago School and also discuss what importance the School and anthropology had for one another in Chicago and the United States. I focus above all on W. I. Thomas’ scientific point of view and approach to method, because it was he who laid the foundation of epistemology, method and scientific field of the Chicago School. I have chosen to regard my empirical study as to form a historical field with actors who in one way or another contributed to the creation of the Chicago School between 1915 and 1935. My empirical study of how the School developed shows that it takes both an administrative and financial foundation as well as traditions of ideas and creative researchers for an academic institution to develop into a scientific discipline.
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| 2. |
- Antoniusson, Eva-Malin
(author)
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Överdosens antropologi : En kontextuell studie
- 2003
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The central theme of this thesis is the nature of heavy drug overdose and its social consequences. The aim of the study is to provide a nuanced ethnographic interpretation on the phenomenon concerning drug overdose, especially among drug users using injections as the principle means of administering the drugs. The field study was localized to institutional milieus, primarily drug addiction treatment centres in three countries; Sweden, the Netherlands and the United States. The field itself contains a number of different kinds of actors: drug users, police, medical staff, social workers; and the thesis goes to some length to describe this field - an institutional setting providing the conditions in which the activities occur. The thesis is organized in such a way as to focus increasingly on the advent of the overdose in the life space of the drug user, and on the way in which the individual's social status and the meaning of the act are constructed after the fact itself. Overdose can be understood as an act that defines the limit of the drug user's life world. Within this field the overdose represents a liminal moment, a crossing over. If surviving, the individual concerned achieves a new social status, that of a real drug user who has experienced the entire gamut of the drug universe. If this can be interpreted as a rite of passage, it is not one that is planned. Its meaning only emerges after the fact. It is suggested that the process of constructing ritual meaning after the event is best understood as a retrospective ritualization.
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| 3. |
- Bourgouin, France
(author)
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The young, the wealthy, and the restless : Trans-national capitalist elite formation in post-apartheid Johannesburg
- 2007
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Contemporary economic landscapes are particularly active with mergers, acquisitions, bankruptcies, and corporate takeovers, and the set of managerial elite who are in decision making positions are inextricably connected to these events. In this thesis I offer an anthropological perspective of these dynamics by considering the possible connection between processes of trans- national capitalist elite formation and identification, and larger transformations in the global system. More specifically, I set out to study the formation and identification of African trans- national capitalist elite living in Johannesburg at a specific historical conjuncture. I seek to analyse the emergence of a new African elite at a time when liberalised capitalist proliferation in Africa, and in South Africa in particular, became not only politically encouraged, but rapid, complex, and unpredictable. I take as my point of departure a time of transition in the identification of a set of African business men and women, as they emphasise their distinction as “ambitious cosmopolitan capitalists” from “others”. I seek to understand their identity practices and discourses as a “trans- national elite”, in connection with simultaneously occurring processes of social, political, and economic transformations in South Africa, and throughout the global system. My aim is to demonstrate the conceptual connection between a set of trans- national socio-political and economic processes which are informed by the predominating neo-liberal ideological discourse, and issues of identification of the people who are considered to incarnate such processes. Through an anthropological understanding and analysis of their activities, their personal histories, their professional projects and ambitions, their social identity and their sense of self, I thus seek to examine the interconnection between the formation and identification of these elite and transformations within the larger global system.
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| 4. |
- Carlbom, Aje
(author)
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The Imagined versus the Real Other : Multiculturalism and the Representation of Muslims in Sweden
- 2003
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Are Muslims so different from other citizens in Sweden, that they have to live in segregation and be separated from the rest of society? What is a Muslim, and who is to define this category? In this thesis, the author presents the main actors in this discussion and their ideological positions. The multiculturalist ideology is hegemonic in Sweden on issues concerned with cultural diversity, and intellectuals in various fields of knowledge subscribe to the main moral dictates of this ideology. In the thesis, it is claimed that the use of multiculturalist ideals when dealing with the Other masks essential cultural and social aspects and processes, and that the hegemony of multiculturalism, as in all ideological systems, is reproduced through various material and symbolic affirmations and sanctions. Actors who criticize the ideology run the risk of being classified as racists, and consequently excommunicated from the community of ideologically right-minded citizens. The statements in this hegemonic multiculturalist discourse about what is and ought to be when it comes to Muslim integration are contrasted to empirical data gathered through anthropological fieldwork in Rosengård, a Muslim neighborhood in Malmö, the third largest city in Sweden. The author shows that the discourse, which is guided by multiculturalist ideals, leaves out important fields of knowledge which are crucial to an understanding of Muslim integration. The hegemony of multiculturalism, it is argued, is an obstacle to understanding multicultural society. The unintended consequences of good intentions, inherent in the multiculturalist ideology, may actually contribute to excluding Muslims from fully participating in Swedish society.
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| 5. |
- Cronehed, Johan
(author)
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Hypens Grammatik informationsteknologi i återberättandet som myt praktiserad verklighet och vetenskaplig analys alternativt IT-hypen åren innan och omkring millennieskiftet i väntan på nästa hype och nästa och nästa ...
- 2004
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The Grammar of The Hype digital information technology -IT- in retelling as myth its experienced reality and in scientific analysis or the IT-hype in the years prior to and at the turn of the millennium waiting for the next hype and the next, and“next”... This is the title of my thesis and it focuses rather on a particular “hype” than deals with the so-called information society as such. What is implied here is a new type of technology - digital information technology - that was generally introduced in the years before and at the turn of the millennium. My thesis could also be applied, I think, to other situations of a similar kind that, might be characterised as hypes or as “periods of irrational exuberance”. What is usually referred to as “IT within information society” I would consider to be an excellent illustration of such phenomena for contemporary times. Chapter 2 - The Myth - deals with IT and technology, and how it was manifested in our society at fairs, exhibitions, lectures and conferences focusing at IT the year 1999 and 2000. Chapter 3 - The Users - deals with seven so-called “IT-users” and their retelling, based on different experiences of IT - in various context, in working life. Chapter 4 - The Theorists – penetrates the views of nine scientists and their different analysis focusing on “technology and IT in the society”. Chapter 5 - The Grammar of The Hype ... - The conclusions of the above analysis are - put in relationship to the “IT-users” counterpart. I also present theoretical thoughts in order to illustrate the main characteristics and functions of a “hype” in the society. The thesis shows how a social anthropological approach can be used to penetrate the phenomena “technology and IT” as an influential force in the society. A quite extensive summary in English, based on the final chapter of my thesis is intended to act as a “highlight” of the main points.
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| 6. |
- Granbom, Ann-Charlotte
(author)
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The second wave : the Urak Lawoi after the tsunami in Thailand
- 2017
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Urak Lawoi är en ursprungsbefolkning i Andamansjön som bl.a. bor på kända turistöar som Phuket, Phi Phi, Ko Lanta Yai och Ko Lipe utanför Thailands västkust. Deras språk och kultur skiljer sig från övriga thailändares, inte minst ifråga om kunskap att navigera på havet. Att bo på eller vid havet är centralt för deras identitet; det är där de fiskar, samlar föda på stränder och utför sina ritualer. I århundranden, ja, kanske tusentals år har Urak Lawoi levt vid stranden och av de resurser som havet kan ge. Andra kallar dem ofta efter de västerländska benämningarna; ”Sea Gypsies”, ”havsnomader” eller, på thailändska, ”Chao Ley”.Den 26 december 2004 drabbades Thailand av den mest förödande tsunamin som noterats i modern historia. Mer än 350 000 människor omkom i Sydostasien. Om tsunamin var ”den första våg” som sköljde över Urak Lawoi, blev hjälpinsatser och reformer som följde efter tsunamin ”den andra vågen”, och den kom att generera betydande sociokulturella förändringar.Syftet med den här avhandlingen är att undersöka hur reformer, hjälpinsatser och den ökade uppmärksamhet som Urak Lawoi fick efter tsunamin har påverkat deras liv, särskilt på ön Ko Lanta Yai. Avhandlingen bygger på 36 månaders etnografiska fältstudier som gjorts under olika perioder mellan 2002 och 2013, alltså både före och efter tsunamin. Monografin ger en empirisk förståelse för hur globala ekonomiska intressen och transnationell migration påverkar lokalsamhällen på de stränder där Urak Lawoi varit bosatta, och som exploaterats för turism. Fallstudier från fältarbetet används för att visa hur en ursprungsbefolkning kan berövas sitt territorium och hur detta påverkar deras identitet och livsföring.När jag träffade Urak Lawoi första gången var det en gåta för mig varför landrättigheter hade en så central betydelse för människor som var kända som ett havsfolk. Här försöker jag finna svar på denna gåta och undersöka vad dessa svar egentligen innebär. Undersökningen visar hur konflikter kan uppstå på grund av det omgivande samhällets ekonomiska intressen och en lokalbefolknings traditionella livsstil. Studien visar hur en naturkatastrof används som en förevändning för att exploatera det drabbade området och bygga upp en turistindustri, och därmed påskynda en förändringsprocess som i själva verket var planerad redan före katastrofen. Analysen visar hur en respons på en naturkatastrof kan påskynda integrationen av en lokalbefolkning i den globala ekonomiska arenan. Uppbyggnadsverksamheter, nya regler och sociala integrationsprocesser blev katalysatorer för den lokala regeringen att genomföra förändringar som passade turismens tillväxt, men inte nödvändigtvis Urak Lawois intressen. Utomstående vill skapa en stereotyp bild av detta ”havsfolk” och ge dem "rätt" att behålla sin identitet under förutsättning att deras traditioner passar in i turistindustrins expandering. Studien visar hur denna utveckling har ökat ojämlikheten i människors levnadsförhållanden och gjort dem som saknar landrättigheter mer utsatta och sårbara. Trots sin utsatthet ser de emellertid inte sig själva som offer. De visar tvärtom stark kreativitet att agera inom det omgivande samhällets normer och regler och att göra motstånd. Slutsatsen är att de som har tillgång till mark är bäst på att integrera med det thailändska samhället, men de är också bäst på att bevara sin identitet.
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| 7. |
- Göransson, Kristina
(author)
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Conflicts and Contracts : Chinese Intergenerational Relations in Modern Singapore
- 2006
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The main purpose of this thesis is to examine the impact of social change on Chinese intergenerational relations in contemporary Singapore. Within only three decades, Singapore has turned into a wealthy and sophisticated metropolis with a highly educated labor force. The massive transformation, however, has been accompanied by the emergence of a deep and complex generation gap. Apart from the leap in education, income and consumption, a generational divide has arisen with regard to language, religion and social memory. Based on ethnographic fieldwork among middle-class Chinese families, the author investigates how intergenerational expectations and obligations are challenged, reworked and/or reaffirmed in relation to the extensive societal change. The thesis argues for the importance of an analytical framework that recognizes processes of both disintegration and consolidation, and the levels at which these processes occur. While Singapore represents one of the most rapidly changing societies worldwide, the family remains a pivotal feature of society and the primary unit of support. In analyzing the continuity of intergenerational support, the author elaborates on the notion of an ?intergenerational contract?. The notion of a contract underlines the standpoint that intergenerational obligations are neither a natural fact nor immune to negotiation, but it is also a contract the parties are socialized into, rather than one that is explicitly agreed upon. The author shows that the idea of a contractual relationship between parent and child is cemented by the government's family politics, which explicitly locates the responsibility of welfare within the family. It is further argued that the intergenerational contract has to be understood not only in relation to the political economy and the state, but also in relation to the specific cultural logic whereby it is represented and interpreted. While the intergenerational contract is being reproduced on many different levels, it is not a static entity. The ethnographic record unfolds how intergenerational relations are being challenged and renegotiated in the context of extensive societal change. In this light, the thesis also examines how intergenerational support is represented and interpreted in relation to the global capitalist economy.
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| 8. |
- Hedlund, Anna
(author)
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Exile Warriors : Violence and Community among Hutu Rebels in the eastern Congo
- 2014
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This dissertation is an anthropological study of war and violence in the volatile eastern territories of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The ethnographic focus is on one of the largest rebel groups currently operating in the Congo conflicts, the Hutu-dominated Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). These Hutu rebels arrived in the Congo in 1994, after the genocide in neighboring Rwanda. Whereas the leadership of the FDLR is implicated in genocide and war crimes in Rwanda, the majority of the combatants and their family members are now second-generation refugees living in exile. For 20 years, the Hutu rebels have lived in the mountainous forests of the Congo, fighting with and against various state armies and local militias, as well as carrying out violence against the Congolese civilian population. Fieldwork with the soldiers in this Hutu rebel camp reveals a long and complex history of violence that begins in neighboring Rwanda and continues in the eastern Congo in various forms. Based on participant-observation and interviews with high-ranking rebel leaders, combatants, child soldiers, and their family members inside a rebel military unit, this study shows how individuals perceive their own life conditions in war and in everyday life. The study is moving beyond stereotypical labels of this group as ‘perpetrators.’ Instead, it describes the rebels’ worldview as exiles and the micro-politics and practices of everyday life in a military camp. By analyzing narratives and experiences of history, war, and violence, this study shows how individual and collective identity is constructed inside the rebel camp. In the social practices of a rebel community, reconfigurations of memory and history, including the memory of genocide, structure the way in which ideologies of war are produced and maintained. The study further shows how a rebel community is socially organized. This organization is more than simple military hierarchy. Social order goes hand in hand with the mundane routines of everyday life. Hence, this study explores religious, political, and military practices, how individuals deal with the surrounding emergencies of war, and how physical violence can explode in specific contexts. Finally, the study shows that although some individuals might profit from procuring and distributing scarce resources in a conflict situation, the majority of the soldiers and their family members are caught up in a political and structural conflict where individuals find few exits. For many of these Hutu rebels, soldiers, and their families, their everyday life is at the most marginal of levels, reduced to a life of war and violence in the forest.
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| 9. |
- Holm, Hilma
(author)
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Knowledge as Action : An Anthropological Study of Attac Sweden
- 2010
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The purpose of this thesis is to examine knowledge production around globalisation and politics in Attac Sweden. As a part of the global justice movement that emerged in the 1990s, the organisation Attac Sweden related to a larger process. Attac Sweden was also central in debates about globalisation in the Swedish political context around the years 2000 and 2001. This study is based both on ethnographic data, such as observations and interviews with active members of Attac Sweden, and archival data from the organisation such as internal documents. The chapters of this study cover the emergence of the organisation in France as well as the development in the Swedish political context. In particular, the general critique against neoliberal globalisation and the possible solutions that Attac lobbies for are examined. These general ideas were also brought forward by Attac in Sweden. An initial phase of public interest was, however, followed by decline. The ethnographic chapters examine Attac Sweden’s way of organising and of acting politically on global issues. Being part of a larger movement has shaped the way that Attac Sweden has chosen to organise and how political action has been negotiated. In the organisational structure of Attac Sweden this has meant that ideas of participatory democracy have been elaborated. The activists interviewed also reflected on the difficulties in translating global political issues into local concerns, and put forward knowledge and popular education as both part of a struggle and as part of a participatory democratic ideal. In conclusion, knowledge and democracy are related to a wider civil society debate.
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| 10. |
- Johansson Dahre, Ulf
(author)
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Det förgångna är framtiden : Ursprungsfolk och självbestämmande i Hawai´i
- 2001
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The sovereignty- and self-determination movements of indigenous peoples are a salient factor on the political agenda in many western world countries. Indigenous peoples in Hawai´i and elsewhere have become increasingly politicised in hope of changing their relationship with the states within which they are located. The discourse of indigenous peoples turn around the concept ”First Nations” whose collective and inherent rights to self-determination have never been extinguished but prevail in international and national law as a basis for constitutional concessions and affirmative action. This claim asserts that indigenous peoples have a special relationship with the state based on a unique set of entitlements. In western countries considerable energy has been spent in redefining indigenousness as a distinctive social and political category with a corresponding set of characteristics and delegated powers that derive from acknowledgement of their historically based status as ”nations within”. Confrontation between indigenous peoples and the state in the last two or three decades or so, has focused around issues such as land and political self-determination. These issues have been seen as essential in establishing control over matters of internal jurisdiction. Without land no self-determination. Without self-determination no control over the economic, social or cultural development and future. This is a study of the political change surrounding self-determination movements of indigenous peoples who are asserting a claim to inherent sovereignty and special political status. I show how these claims have forced western democratic nations to rethink basic asssumptions regarding individual and group rights and the basis of rights in political society. This task requires examining how it has been possible for indigenous peoples to be successful in extracting certain constitutional and legislative concessions leading to self-determination. Within this context I show how structuring political debate around these claims uniquely affects national policy This study is therefore primarily concerned with the factors that have influenced that political change. In order to understand the effect of the claims of indigenous peoples the study concentrates on Hawai´i and the native hawaiian ´kanaka maoli sovereignty movement´. It focuses on how and by which strategic means the movement has been able to extract certain politically significant changes. The intention is to construct a theoretically and empirically informed framework for understanding how indigenous peoples´ movements in the West pursue goals sovereignty and self-determination. Another central concern for this study is the comparative dimension. The anthropological perspective on political change in this field focuses on the political actors and the dynamics of interaction within the arenas of government policy, law and administration. I explore indigenous-state relations as an interplay between structure and agency. Indigenous peoples in the West not only act within the limits set by the state, they also tend to act upon these limits in reworking the political order around them. This is accomplished by employing the political argument of ´inherent sovereignty´ with its content of historically founded political identity and its moral connotations in political and the legal arenas at international and national levels. By connecting political status as indigenous peoples with the argument of inherent sovereignty it has been possible to effect significant political change that generally speaking lies outside the realm of the liberal domain of the Western democratic states.
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