Denna avhandling tillämpar Anthony Giddens teori om sen-modernitet på gymnasieutbildningen, och i synnerhet dess inverkan på föreställningarna om ’jaget’ och självidentiteten. Den ger svar på den didaktiska frågan ”till vem?”. Dess avsikt är att förstå eleverna på en existentiell nivå, och att förstå hur de påverkas av den samtida världen. Giddens bok från 1991, Modernity and Self Identity: Self and Society in the Late Modern Age, används som teoretiska ramverket. Denna avhandling har två delar. I den första delen genomför jag ett läroplansanalys av den svenska gymnasieskolan från 1970 till 2022 och tolkar läroplanerna genom sen-modernitetens teoretiska ramar. Detta visar hur villkoren för ’högmodernitet’ återspeglas i läroplanen, vilket motiverar att överväga hur dessa förhållanden påverkar våra elevers självidentitet och vad detta betyder för undervisningen. I den andra delen utvecklar jag en didaktisk modell som kan vara till hjälp i vår undervisning då den ger klarhet om eleven under sen-moderniteten. / This thesis applies Anthony Gidden’s theory of late modernity to upper secondary school education and, in particular, its impact on the notions of the self and self-identity. It provides an answer to the didactic question “to whom?”. The intent is to understand the students at an existential level, and to understand how they are affected by the contemporary world. Giddens’ 1991 book, Modernity and Self Identity: Self and Society in the Late Modern Age, is used as the theoretical framework. This thesis has two parts. In the first, I carry out a curriculum study of Swedish upper secondary school from 1970 to 2022 and interpret the curricula through the theoretical framework of late modernity. This shows how the conditions of ‘high modernity’ are reflected in the curriculum, which justifies considering how these conditions impact on the self-identity of our students and what this means for teaching. In the second part, I develop a didactic model that can assist in our teaching as it provides clarity on the student in late modernity.

Esta obra aponta questões de ordem metodológica e epistemológica na teoria da estruturação de Anthony Giddens, problemas reconhecidos e debatidos por vários de seus comentadores. Seguindo pistas encontradas nos próprios textos de Giddens, ela analisa com maior detalhe alguns livros de Mary Hesse e Roy Bhaskar, em busca de elementos que ajudem numa reconstrução metodológica da teoria de Giddens. Finalmente, ela argumenta em favor de uma maior atenção ao modelo de redes de Hesse, como uma ferramenta muito mais fértil para a análise de Giddens do que o realismo crítico de Bhaskar, para tentarmos resolver os dilemas que Giddens enfrenta. Como anexo, temos traduções de vários textos dos comentaristas mais importantes de Giddens, e também dois artigos do próprio, inéditos em português. / This work raises methodological and epistemological questions regarding Anthony Giddens theory of structuration, issues that have been acknowledged and debated by several of his critics. Following clues found in Giddens own texts, it analyses more deeply some works by Mary Hesse and Roy Bhaskar, searching for elements that would help with a methodological reconstruction of Giddens theory. Finally, it argues for greater attention towards Hesses network model, as a much more fruitful tool for analyzing Giddens than Bhaskars critical realism, in order to attempt to solve the dilemmas that Giddens faces. Also included are translations of several articles written by Giddens most important critics, and two papers by Giddens himself, previously unavailable in Portuguese.

Esta obra aponta questões de ordem metodológica e epistemológica na teoria da estruturação de Anthony Giddens, problemas reconhecidos e debatidos por vários de seus comentadores. Seguindo pistas encontradas nos próprios textos de Giddens, ela analisa com maior detalhe alguns livros de Mary Hesse e Roy Bhaskar, em busca de elementos que ajudem numa reconstrução metodológica da teoria de Giddens. Finalmente, ela argumenta em favor de uma maior atenção ao modelo de redes de Hesse, como uma ferramenta muito mais fértil para a análise de Giddens do que o realismo crítico de Bhaskar, para tentarmos resolver os dilemas que Giddens enfrenta. Como anexo, temos traduções de vários textos dos comentaristas mais importantes de Giddens, e também dois artigos do próprio, inéditos em português. / This work raises methodological and epistemological questions regarding Anthony Giddens theory of structuration, issues that have been acknowledged and debated by several of his critics. Following clues found in Giddens own texts, it analyses more deeply some works by Mary Hesse and Roy Bhaskar, searching for elements that would help with a methodological reconstruction of Giddens theory. Finally, it argues for greater attention towards Hesses network model, as a much more fruitful tool for analyzing Giddens than Bhaskars critical realism, in order to attempt to solve the dilemmas that Giddens faces. Also included are translations of several articles written by Giddens most important critics, and two papers by Giddens himself, previously unavailable in Portuguese.

The aim of this thesis is to analyze the fictional and non-fictional literary works of two Taiwanese eco-environmental writers Liu Kexiang and Wu Mingyi in the context of the transformation of interpersonal sphere. Eco-environmental literature represents a significant literary trend that has been pursued in Taiwan at the end of the 20th century. It develops Taiwanese literary tradition in a new way through the reflection of Western and Eastern theories in the domestic context and Taiwanese cultural specifics from the perspective of natural history and scientific knowledge. The first part of the thesis summarizes academic discussions on the topic of eco- environmental literature. This is characterized by the initial insufficient theoretical basis of Taiwanese environmental studies, the desire to maintain this trend beyond purely literary criticism, the assumption of Western environmental discourse theories, and the involvement of writers themselves in theoretical discussions and the gradual shift to ecocriticism. It also puts it in a historical context and explores its dominant topics. The analytical part of the thesis is based on the theory of modernity of British sociologist Anthony Giddens. It analyzes works based on the sources of modernity, which are time-space distanciation, disembedding of...

In der soziologischen Theoriebildung besteht ein weitgehender Konsens darüber, dass die theoriebildende Leitdifferenz von Handlung und Struktur nicht mehr dichotom konzeptualisiert werden kann, sondern analytisch überwunden werden muss. Die vorliegende Arbeit konzentriert sich auf die Arbeiten von Anthony Giddens und prüft, inwiefern der hierin entwickelte Ansatz eines strukturierungstheoretischen Theoriemodells die bestehenden Defizite der soziologischen Theorie überwinden kann. Hierfür werden Kategorien für einen Theorievergleich entwickelt, auf Grundlage derer die Kernannahmen der Strukturierungstheorie in sozialtheoretischer, soziologischer und analytischer Hinsicht systematisch rekonstruiert werden. Angesichts der zentralen Thesen von Giddens, wonach das bislang dualistisch bestimmte Verhältnis von Handeln und Struktur in eine wechselseitige Dualität überführt werden müsse, die soziologische Ordnungsproblematik von ihrer Norm- und Wertzentriertheit auf eine Formzentriertheit, die die Kategorien von Raum und Zeit in die Analyse mit auf nimmt, umgestellt wird und sich damit auch die Bestimmung der Grunddimensionen der Moderne grundlegend ändern, lässt sich die Theorie der Strukturierung als eine Theorie mit Allgemeinheitsanspruch charakterisieren. Zwar finden sich in Giddens Arbeiten theoretisch weitreichende Vorschläge, die soziologischen Grundprobleme neu zu bestimmen, gleichzeitig zeigt sich aber auch, dass er es versäumt hat, die Relationen zwischen den einzelnen Problemebenen ausreichend zu reflektieren. Es wird aber auch deutlich, dass auf der Grundlage der bisher vorliegenden strukturierungstheoretischen Begriffe und Methoden ein analytisches Modell entwickelt werden kann, auf dessen Basis sich konkrete soziale Prozesse und Felder aufklären lassen. Strukturierung stellt somit kein neues Paradigma im Sinne einer Metatheorie dar, sondern umfasst eine Vielzahl von grundlegenden Einsichten und analytischen Möglichkeiten für ein soziologisches Forschungsprogramm, das es noch deutlicher auszuarbeiten gilt. / In the sociological theory formation, there is a far-reaching agreement that a theory forming difference between action and structure cannot be conceptualised bipartitely but has to be overcome analytically. This paper is concentrating on the works of Anthony Giddens and examines to what extent the developed approach of a theoretical concept may overcome the existing deficits of the sociological theory. For a theory comparison, categories have been developed which systematically reconstruct the central acceptances of the theory of structuration in theoretical, sociological, and analytical regard. In view of Giddens’s major theses, according to which the relationship of action and structure determined till now dualistically must be convicted into a mutual duality, the questions of sociological order must change from a concentration on standards and values to a category which includes in its analysis both scope and time and thus fundamentally change the basic dimensions of the modern age, the theory of structuration can be characterized as a theory of general validity. However, in Giddens’s work we find far-reaching theoretical suggestions for a determination of the sociological basic problems, however, it turns out that he failed to reflect the relation between the individual problem levels sufficiently. On the other side, it is evident that on the basis of the theoretical concepts and methods existing till now an analytical model can be developed which contributes to the solution of concrete social processes and fields. Therefore, the theory of structuration doesn’t represent a new paradigm in the sense of a metatheory but contains a variety of basic insights and analytical possibilities for a sociological research program which has to be worked out still more considerably.

This case study investigates modernity and its emergence with mortality and health service measures as starting point during the period between 1895 and 1917 in Karlstad. The studies investigation material comes from source material from The Statistical Central Bureau, The Health Service Board in Karlstad, and from Karlstad Municipality ́s Technical Board. The material has through a quality, and quantity based work and production method made it possible to answer the case studies questions. To be able to understand the study ́s result from a modernity point of view, Anthony Gidden ́s modernity theory is being used. The studies results show that in Karlstad there has been a densifying development in several of the modernity ́s fields during the years that have been researched. This densifying development has lead to that the every day life of the population has in some extent changed. This period of time is also characterized as a time with an evolved sense of responsibility regarding the health service profession. During this time of modernization there was a decline of the public and the gender specific death rate in the city in the same time as tuberculosis developed into the most common cause of death for the rest of the population. However the change of this cause of death group looked somewhat different between the divided aged based groups that were examined. These results also give indications on certain individual health service measures positive affects on mortality in the city. Even here it seems that de development has been quite different between the different aged based groups that were examined. This case study ́s result both contradicts and strengthens earlier research in this area. / Denna fallstudie undersöker modernitetens framväxt, med dödlighet och hälsovårdsåtgärder som utgångspunkt i Karlstad under perioden 1895-1917. Studiens undersökningsmaterial utgörs av källmaterial från Statistiska Centralbyrån, Hälsovårdsnämnden i Karlstad samt från Karlstads kommuns tekniska nämnd. Materialet har genom både ett kvalitativt och kvantitativt arbets- och framställningssätt möjliggjort att besvara studiens frågeställningar. För att förstå studiens resultat utifrån ett modernitetsperspektiv nyttjas i studien Anthony Giddens modernitetsteori. Studiens resultat visar att det i Karlstad skedde en förtätning på flera av modernitetens områden under de år som undersökts. Denna förtätning bör ha bidragit till att det vardagliga livet för befolkningen i viss mån förändrades. Perioden kännetecknas även av en ökad medvetenhet och ansvarskänsla kring det hälsovårdande arbetet. Under denna tid av modernisering skedde en nedgång av det allmänna och könsspecifika dödstalet i staden, samtidigt som olika former av tuberkulos utvecklades till den vanligaste dödsorsaken för den totala befolkningen. Dock såg förändringen av denna dödsorsaksgrupp något olika ut mellan de skilda åldersindelade grupperna som undersökts. Resultatet visar även att finns indikationer på vissa enskilda hälsovårdsåtgärders positiva inverkan på dödligheten i staden. Även här verkar utvecklingen ha skilt sig något mellan de olika åldersindelade grupperna som undersökts. Denna studies resultat både problematiserar och bekräftar tidigare gjord forskning.

As today’s most commonly used Self-portraits, this essay analyses the Selfie as a modern andvisual phenomenon which for its users contribute a reflexive project of the Self-Identity. Thepurpose of this paper was to systematical study specific features of the Selfie, according tovisual studies.Through the methods of semiotics, theory of sociology about the Self and theory about theSelfie phenomenon, the result shows that selfie users make use of biographical depictions – asposes next to elements – to revise and create new meanings, which is important for thereflexive project of the Self-Identity.

The aim of this Master's thesis is to study how generational identities are conveyed in the reception of two debut novels, Jack by Ulf Lundell and Allt by Martina Lowden. Both novels have been considered literary and social expressions of their generations. The empirical material consists of 14 reviews in Swedish daily press from the time of publication of Jack and Allt, respectively. The thesis revolves around the following questions: How is the generational identity defined in terms of lifestyle practices, milieus and other social circumstances? To what extent are structured factors such as gender and class considered? How are the critics considering the reflexive project of the self? I base the theoretical framework on Anthony Giddens' theories about identity creation in the late modern society. Idea analysis is used in the classification and analysis of the textual material. The model of analysis is based on factors that by Giddens are considered to affect the identity process. The result of the analysis shows that the generational identities expressed in the two novels appear very different. In the reviews discussing Jack, the identity is based on destructive lifestyle practices and is closely related to the political environment. In the reviews of Allt the identity is connected to a literary main theme that is constructed in relation to mediated influences. The conclusion suggests an increased understanding of the individual identity as a result of a reflexive process. / Uppsatsnivå: D

Tidningens personporträtt är en journalistisk genre som skiljer sig från konventionell nyhetsjournalistik genom en artig och hyllande, snarare än kritisk och granskande karaktär. I den här uppsatsen har jag för avsikt att undersöka hur personporträtt i två svenska tidningars söndagsbilagor, Dagens Nyheters ”DN söndag” och Aftonbladets ”Söndag” konstrueras. I uppsatsen studeras 8 personporträtt utifrån frågeställningen: vad i de valda personporträttens livsbeskrivningar väljer journalisten att se och hur beskrivs det?  Syftet är att placera frågeställningen i en sociologiteoretisk kontext av moderniteten som tillstånd och media som viktig social kunskapskälla och förmedlare av erfarenhet. Metoden som används är Norman Faircloughs kritiska diskursanalys. Analysens resultat visar att det är inre processer och inre utveckling som lyfts fram och problematiseras. Beundran för huvudpersonen konstrueras utifrån hur huvudpersonen övervunnit psykologiska svårigheter. En diskurs där den porträtterade beskrivs i en ödmjuk jantediskurs kombineras med journalistens beundrande röst i texten, en hyllningsdiskurs. I kombinationen av dessa konstrueras en bild av den porträtterade som framgångsrik och beundransvärd. Samhället och omgivningen som eventuellt hinder eller möjlighet i livet utelämnas till förmån för porträttet som beskrivning av ett ”själsliv” snarare än ett ”liv”.   Slutligen argumenterar jag för att den funna problematiseringen av inre processer tar fokus från yttre processer och individen i en samhällellig kontext. Då porträtten konstituerar inre kamp som mer central än strävan efter att förändra yttre faktorer som kan tänkas utlösa ångestkänslor eller nedstämdhet lägger detta stort ansvar på individen att själv lyckas hantera en samhällskontext vars struktur framstår som naturgiven.

This thesis is about global catastrophic risks and the conscious effect of such risks at the level of everyday life. Utilising R. D. Laing's concept of "ontological security", this thesis questions the extent to which risks that loom in the global environment cause a sense of ontological insecurity amongst individuals at the local-level. In addressing this question, this thesis responds to the theories of Ulrich Beck and Anthony Giddens who maintain that the contemporary age is marked both by the emergence of global risks that exist as the unintended consequences of modernisation and a greater sense of risk owing to how information about such risks is disseminated by the media. While no objection is made to the argument that the global environment has become more objectively threatening, this thesis questions whether individuals in fact perceive such threat in their daily lives. This argument rests on the view that global risks, in the main, lack a tangible dimension needed to elicit a sense of urgency. Seeking to ground the risk literature from the level of theoretical abstraction to that of lived experience, this thesis presents a case study of how risk is perceived in the tourist-dependent township of Akaroa. Despite the fact that New Zealand is generally seen as "safe" and "secure" and removed from the vicissitudes of global events, its economic reliance on international tourism ensures a susceptibility to external forces that disrupt global tourism flows. Given the recent publicity as to how such risks as climate change and peak oil may undermine international tourism in New Zealand, it is clear that areas that are particularly reliant on the international visitor market, like Akaroa, are significantly exposed to global events. This not only makes Akaroa an ideal case study in which to establish the extent to which global risks undermine ontological security in daily life, it also helps measure how seriously individuals in tourist-dependent areas consider the possibility of a substantial tourist decline.