Denna uppsats tar en blick på hur smak och klass speglas i vår samtida medievärld som präglas av populärkulturella referenser. Genom en kvalitativ semiotisk analys har Klarnas reklamfilm Get Smoooth (2019) analyserats utifrån Roland Barthes semiotiska teorier om hur mening tillskrivs genom visuella koder, i samband med Pierre Bourdieus teorier om hur klass och smak reflekteras genom visuella medel. Här riktar även undersökningen fokus på hur färgen rosa kan besitta delade meningar, beroende på frågor kring genus och sexualitet. Klarnas reklamfilm använder den amerikanska rapartisten Snoop Dogg som frontfigur i en fiktiv, luxuös rosaklädd värld som ska representera deras ekonomiska kredittjänster. Med hjälp av den utvalda teorin och relaterad forskning så studeras det valda materialet för att belysa en större förståelse för hur smak och klasstillhörighet blir representerat genom media och dess effekter. Undersökningen visar på flera semiotiska tecken för två klasstillhörigheter: låg och högklass. Här var Bourdieus teorier ett stöd i avkodningen av dessa tecken och hur kampanjen kan kopplas till ett kulturellt kapital och uttrycka av smak som kopplas till det två olika klasstillhörigheterna. Resultatet av undersökningen är att Klarnas reklamfilm kan ses som ett som ett bevis på det Baumann menar med att våra preferenser om smak inom samhällets fält är i konstant förändring. Slutligen förs det en diskussion om hur rosa har central påverkan i hur smak uttrycken kopplas till det populärkulturella samhället vilket kopplas till senare kritik till Bourdieu.

The purpose of this paper was to examine the concept of an individual who hangs an exhibition poster from Moderna Museet on their wall and shares it on Instagram. Questions regarding what that individual wants to tell the audience about themselves, their individuality and lifestyle, through sharing it on a public forum have been the main topic. The material was an image of a poster from Moderna Museet in Stockholm (an Andy Warhol exhibition from 1968) hanging inside someone's home. The picture was found amongst Instagram-posts that had been tagged to connect with the account @modernamuseet_butiken. At the basis of the analysis is the theoretical framework of Pierre Bourdieu concerning capital, taste, beauty and museums. The method was a qualitative social semiotic approach that began by looking at the material on a denotative and connotative level, before branching out to the social semiotic level by applying the theoretical framework. The research found that through the content it is possible to make strong connotative readings concerning the person's education, background and awareness of art and art history. A conclusion is made concerning Bourdieus work in a modern day, which says that it is possible to use it to get a fundamental understanding, but it is at the same time important to approach the theories critically, because of the fact that the lines between different social classes are getting more blurred.

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Can the need for inclusion result in certain social norms remain unchallenged, and over time become hard to identify? To “fit in” and be accepted in different social contexts we have to behave according to the dominating rules and conventions. We accept characteristics and make use of attributes specific for the group we want to be a part of. When we accept these attributes we contribute to keep the concept of them alive. Further on these attributes will be picked up by the next person who wants to become a part of that specific context. This means that in the same moment we are being created, we are also the creators. In the same way, we are the cause of, and a result of, the fact that certain concepts remain unchallenged. Individuals are raised within a fixed structure in society. That structure defines principles of heteronormativity, for example the concept of right or wrong, masculinity and femininity, and good or bad. The fact that we are born and raised within it leaves us with a very narrow space in which we can interpret alternative ways. This does not mean that these alternative interpretations do not exist. To question existing and accepted structures can be a first step away from the safe environment that we are a part of. Awareness of the risks of this could be an explanation of why people refrain from questioning it. In this paper we try to penetrate the problems through the glasses of Pierre Bourdieu, Judith Butler and Berger and Luckmann to mention a few. The reason why this paper focuses on society, and norms in specific, emanate in an interest for invisible and sometimes indistinct structures. By indistinct we mean structures that exist in an extent that makes it hard to identify. The aim of this thesis is divided in two parts. The first part is to critically examine the social construction of heteronormativity. The second part is to examine how plural sexual identities function in relation to the heterosexual norm that we assume exists in society. The distinction in an individual’s hetero- or homosexuality is made difficult because of the spectrum of sexual identities. The grayscale of alternatively interpreted sexual identities that fits between the two poles of sexuality (hetero and homosexuality) are easily forgotten and thus treated as deviant behaviors. The issue of sexual identities is a complex one. To speak of it in a natural way to express sexuality, and not of its moral right or wrong, requires the understanding and acceptance of an individual’s differences as well as similarities. It is through ten interviews, where individuals share their experiences of both heteronormativity and sexuality that we get to know how and in which ways they feel affected by these two.

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Déclenchée par une expérience personnelle – la recherche d’une « robe d’architecte » –, la présente étude gravite autour de l’architecture en Roumanie et se concentre sur le style de vie de ses professionnels. Si les modalités de distinction qui opèrent dans ce champ – encadrées par la théorie de Pierre Bourdieu – sont initialement apparues comme pistes à explorer, ce sont les écrits de Siegfried Kracauer qui m’ont permis de traiter le sujet de façon satisfaisante. En traçant les contours de l’image d’architecte qui, sur son chemin vers une meilleure vie, s’abandonne au souci de s’élever socialement, j’ai découvert avec étonnement les architectes réservés de T. – la ville moyenne de Transylvanie qui a constitué le terrain de mon enquête. Ce qui s’est présenté au début de ma démarche comme obstacle est devenu, au fil de l’analyse, son aspect le plus fécond : dans les hésitations des architectes de T. (les ellipses et rectifications de leur discours), j’ai pu discerner plus de traits de leur réalité quotidienne que je l’avais d’abord anticipé. Grâce aux leçons de Siegfried Kracauer – son œil attentif, son intérêt pour les détails, ses capacités d’étonnement tout comme sa sensibilité aux idéologies et grandes directions de la société et son ouverture aux matériaux offerts à la sociologie – et à son style d’écriture, j’ai pu déceler des indices qui m’ont permis de plonger dans la réalité des architectes de T., une réalité mêlée d’une gloire rêvée et d’incertitudes vécues. C’est cette exploration minutieuse du quotidien et du discours des architectes de T, mis en balance avec leur représentation dans des œuvres littéraires et cinématographiques, qui se reflète dans le présent mémoire et le structure. / Triggered by a personal experience – the search for an “architect’s dress” – the present study revolves around architecture in Romania and focuses on the lifestyle of its professionals. If the modes of distinction operating in this field – formulated in Pierre Bourdieu’s theory – initially appeared as a path to be explored, it is the writings of Siegfried Kracauer that allowed me to capture the subject more aptly. By drawing the contours of the image of an architect who, on his way to a better life, abandons himself to the thirst to raise socially, I discovered the reserved architects of T. – the average-sized city of Transylvania, which was at the heart of my investigation. What emerged at the beginning of the process as an obstacle, soon became its most fruitful aspect: in the architects’ hesitations (the gaps and rectifications in their discourse), I could discern more aspects of their daily reality that I had initially anticipated. Thanks to Siegfried Kracauer’s lessons – his keen eye, his interest in details, his capacities of astonishment as well as his sensitivity to the ideologies and major directions of society and his openness to the various materials offered to sociology – as well as his style of writing, I was able to detect clues, which allowed me to plunge into the reality of architects in T., a reality combining dreams of glory and experienced uncertainties. It is this meticulous exploration of the everyday life and discourse of architects in T, weighed against their representation in literary and cinematographic works, which is reflected in the present memoire and lends it its structure.

Ähnlich wie in den Sozialwissenschaften blieben Männlichkeiten lange Zeit ein blinder Fleck innerhalb einer Gender-orientierten Literaturwissenschaft und die Konstruktionsmechanismen literarischer Männlichkeit im Dunklen. Erforscht wurden zunächst herausragende Modelle von Männlichkeit(en): einerseits dominante Leitbilder, andererseits deviante Alternativen, etwa der Dandy, der Homosexuelle, der Cross-Dresser. Mittlerweile liegt in nahezu allen Philologien eine Fülle von Einzelstudien zur Darstellung von Männlichkeit innerhalb bestimmter Epochen oder Autoren-Oeuvres vor, wiewohl der Stand der theoretischen Reflexion unterschiedlich ausgeprägt ist.

The purpose of the essay is to discuss the power narration has over our gender roles. John Fiske and Pierre Bourdieu´s theoretical texts have been used to discuss the connection between power and culture in A.S. Byatt’s novel Possession: A Romance. Possession demonstrates how male academics take part in shaping knowledge about the past and the present from their perspective. Byatt uses allusions to myth and folktales to emphasise both the romance theme of the novel and how the past has formed us and continues to affect us in our relationships and social roles. The novel reveals how women are trapped by cultural myths about women’s roles in society. The female characters’ fates demonstrate the complexity of heterosexual relationships for independent women in a society where women are supposed to be taken care of by men. The roles imposed on women in romance stories in particular can be seen as a reductionist patriarchal view of women. Byatt emphasizes how women who at varying levels do not collaborate with men are punished for their chosen lifestyles and how some, like homosexual women, have been removed or have chosen to remove themselves from society in different ways. Byatt attempts to demythologize social myths concerning women and men by rewriting traditional myths and fairy tales. Still, Possession does not ultimately challenge the importance of the heterosexual relationship or the male and female characters’ gender roles.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att studera relevansen av Pierre Bourdieus teorier idag genom att undersöka om bakgrunden hos individer påverkar vem som arbetar på ett fint – gentemot ett populärkulturellt museum och om denna distinktion uttrycker sig i museernas organisationsidentiteter. För att samla in empiriskt material genomfördes fyra semistrukturerade intervjuer med personer på ledande positioner från Nationalmuseum och ABBA the museum. Även analys av arbetsannonser utfördes för att nå vilka egenskaper som eftersöks på vardera museum. Utfallet av studien visar att det finns tendenser av det finkulturella på Nationalmuseum och av det populärkulturella på ABBA the museum som vi kan knyta till de intervjuade personernas bakgrund. I ett fall av de fyra intervjuade stämde inte Bourdieus teorier helt, vilket gör att teorierna i det anseendet kan ifrågasättas. Distinktionen återfanns även i arbetsannonserna. Dessa tendenser mot det fin- och populärkulturella lyser delvis igenom i organisationsidentiteten. / The purpose of this study was to investigate the theories of Pierre Bourdieu to capture their relevance today. Does the background of an individual affect whether they choose to work at a high culture museum or a museum of popular culture? Furthermore, if this expresses itself in the organizationalidentity. To collect empirical data four semi-structured interviews were performed with persons in managerial roles at the Swedish Nationalmuseum and ABBA the museum. An analysis of employment advertisements was also carried out to reach which attributes were required at the two museums. The study show that Nationalmuseum have tendencies categorising them as high culture whilst ABBA the museum is of the popular kind. Both findings can be related to the backgrounds of the interviewed managers. However, one of the four cases did not match with the theories of Bourdieu, making the theories in that regard questionable. The distinction was also found in the employment advertisements. These tendencies towards the high – and popular culture partially shines through in the organizationalidentity.

This study is an investigation of the contribution of second language learning experience to the professional knowledge and beliefs of teachers of ESL to adults. The literature reveals that very little has been written about the language background of the ESL teacher who teaches English through English to adult immigrants. The thesis proposes an explanation for this based on the historical development of the profession, and argues that despite vast changes in second language acquisition theory and pedagogy in the last fifty years, an English-only classroom fronted by a teacher who is monolingual or who is encouraged to behave as if he or she is monolingual, has remained the dominant practice in Australia. The research study is not a consideration of the merits of bilingual teaching versus monolingual teaching in English-only. Instead, it seeks to understand whether teachers who do have another language draw on it in ways relevant to the teaching of English, and to suggest reasons why teachers' languages are disregarded in the profession. In doing so, the thesis draws on key bodies of literature in bilingualism, second language acquisition, teacher cognition and critical studies in an attempt to provide a framework for considering the research questions. The study employed a qualitative, interpretive research design involving semi-structured interviews and the taking of detailed language biographies from a total of thirty-one practising teachers of ESL. Language biographies were analysed and categorised along several parameters, and the major distinctions made were between circumstantial bilinguals, elective bilinguals and monolinguals. Three key themes emerged: teachers' beliefs about learning a second language, the contribution made by teachers' language learning experience to their reported beliefs and practices, and teachers' beliefs about the role of the first language in second language learning. Bilingual teachers, both circumstantial and elective, appeared to have more realistic and optimistic beliefs about the nature of language learning than did monolingual teachers. Bilingual teachers appeared to see language learning as challenging but achievable. They recognised the dynamic nature of learning as incorporating progress, stagnation, attrition and re-learning. Monolingual teachers tended to see second language learning as almost impossible, and fraught with the potential for loss of self-esteem. Both groups talked about their own language learning as a private undertaking unrelated in any public way to their professional lives. The contribution made by language learning background fell into two groupings: of insights about language and language use, and about language learning and language teaching. Four key aspects of the former were insights about language in general deriving from knowledge of more than one; insights from contrasting LOTE and English; insights about the language-using experiences of bilinguals and biculturals, and insights about the possibilities of LOTE as a pedagogical tool in the ESL class. The second grouping included insights into learning strategies; insights about the affective aspects of being a language learner; knowledge of different teaching approaches from experience, and insights from different teaching contexts made possible by bilingualism. Overall the broader and richer the language background, the more sophisticated and developed were the insights which appeared to be relevant to teaching ESL. The third data chapter analysed teachers' expressed beliefs about the role of learners' first language(s) (L1) in the ESL class. Here little difference was found between bilingual and monolingual teachers, but overall L1 was characterised as an undesirable element in the ESL class. Teachers' discourse regarding L1 was analysed and found to be heavily characterised by negative and pejorative terms. This finding, combined with the teachers' generally weakly-articulated rationales for the exclusion of L1, led to the conclusion that beliefs and practices regarding L1 are a consequence of the monolingual focus of the ESL profession. The findings of the study in general are that ESL teachers draw on any language learning experience as a resource in teaching, and 'experiential knowledge' seems to be readily available to them in the ways they represent their own knowledge and beliefs in talk. It appears to be important in informing and shaping their conceptions of their practice as language teachers. There are differences between bilingual and monolingual teachers in that the former have much richer resources on which to draw. There are added insights which come from circumstantial or elective bilingual experience, from being a non-native English speaker, and from formal and informal learning experience. In general, the more and varied the language learning experience, the deeper and more sophisticated the resource it is to draw on in teaching. It is argued that the teaching of ESL is constructed as "the teaching of English" rather than as "the teaching of a second language", meaning that the 'experiential knowledge' (Wallace 1991) of bilingual teachers is unvalued. It appears to be accepted and unquestioned that a monolingual teacher can teach a learner to be bilingual. These propositions are discussed in the light of the writings of critical theorists to give a wider perspective on the monolingual discourse of the ESL profession. Bourdieu's notion of 'habitus' as strategic practice which is structured by a sociocultural environment (Bourdieu 1977a) is the basis for Gogolin's (1994) idea of a 'monolingual habitus' in education. Their work, and that of Skutnabb-Kangas (2000a) who refers to 'monolingual reductionism', suggest a social, political and discursal explanation for the invisibility of teachers' languages in the ESL profession. It is suggested that teacher language learning background should become a legitimate topic for discussion and further research.