Festungsschleifungen haben in der Geschichte der abendländischen Städte eine große Tragweite: Sie sind der Endpunkt jeglicher Stadtbefestigungen. Welche Veränderungen der Gesellschaft dazu führten, weshalb und an welchem Punkt der Entwicklung man aufhörte, Städte zu vefestigen, wird beispielhaft an der Stadt Gießen mit Hilfe der "Dichten Beschreibung" nach Clifford Geertz nachvollzogen.

Den här masteruppsatsen handlar om hur kiropraktiken togs emot och utvecklades i Sverige från det att de första kiropraktorerna kommer under mellankrigsperioden, med början runt år 1921, och fram till dess att organisationen Diplomerade Chiropractorers Förening inregistreras år 1936. Syftet med uppsatsen är att studera processer för görandet av professionsidentitet och professionskultur med utgångspunkt i en kulturanalytisk studie av skrifter, artiklar, brev och publikationer som kiropraktorerna själva producerat och/eller figurerar i. Min huvudfrågeställning är:•Vilka vägar och strategier för att uppnå erkännande och organisering som profession valde de första svenska kiropraktorernas under perioden 1921-1936 och vilka bakomliggande processer, konflikter samt orsaker var det som ledde fram till dessa val? Den teoretiska ansatsen i uppsatsen grundar sig i ett aktörsorienterat och socialkonstruktivistiskt perspektiv. Bourdieus begrepp fält, doxa och symboliskt kapital används som verktyg för att förklara de processer och maktstrukturer som är i spel, medan Thomas F. Gieryns begrepp boundary-work, (gränsdragningsarbete) beskriver hur olika aktörer ”gör” sina motståndare mindre trovärdiga genom användandet av diskursiva verktyg som på sikt också ”definierar bort” dem. Uppsatsen visar hur kiropraktorerna går från att vara enskilda aktörer till att bli delaktiga i kollektiva identitetsprocesser, präglade av polemiska strider och grändsdragningar. Den visar också hur läkarna använder kiropraktorerna som en viktig motvikt för att slå vakt om sin egen identitet och hur detta motstånd i sig skapar en stark motkultur som kiropraktorer förenas i tillsammans med andra så kallade kvacksalvare. I denna process tar också kiropraktorerna själva de första stegen i form av professionell organisering mot att definiera kiropraktiken och den kiropraktiska yrkesrollen. När ett nytt kiropraktiskt subfält växer fram omorganiseras den kiropraktiska gruppen och interna konflikter uppstår. De polemiska strider och gränsdragningar som tidigare utspelats mellan läkare och kvacksalvare på det övergripande fältet, sjukvårdens fält, sker nu mellan kiropraktorer. Slutsatsen är att maktförhållandet på fältet aldrig är statiskt. Vid olika tider kan makten utmanas och nya aktörer kan ta över tolkningsföreträdet. Samtidigt kan nya subfält skapas, fält kan överlappas och nya gränser kan uppstå inom olika fält.

La religion est un phénomène culturel universel et un sujet d'étude central en anthropologie. Pourtant, on constate un manque flagrant de consensus sur sa définition et son origine dans les manuels d'introduction et les dictionnaires d'anthropologie. Des hypothèses et des modèles explorant cette question sont toutefois disponibles depuis une vingtaine d'années du côté de la psychobiologie. Le présent projet cherche à déterminer si la définition et les explications de la religion que propose l'anthropologie sont compatibles, en tout ou en partie, avec les données et modèles de la psychobiologie. Une synthèse des hypothèses psychobiologiques est d'abord présentée; elle sert de point de comparaison analytique avec les théories anthropologiques de la religion. Deux de ces théories, celles de Edward Burnett Tylor ([1874] 1889) et Clifford Geertz ([1966] 2010), sont résumées et ensuite analysées en rapport avec leur définition de la religion, leurs éléments universels (explicites et implicites) et leurs principes théoriques. Ces deux auteurs sont reconnus pour leur influence majeure dans ce domaine et ils s'appuient sur des fondements théoriques opposés. L'analyse démontre que seule la théorie de Tylor confirme l'hypothèse de ce mémoire, à l'effet que certaines conceptions et explications anthropologiques de la religion sont compatibles avec les explications psychobiologiques. Malgré tout, une conciliation de l'ensemble des sources analysées et l'esquisse d'un modèle sur la nature et l'origine évolutive de la religion semblent se dessiner. / Religion is a universal cultural phenomenon that is central to anthropology, yet a lack of theoretical agreement about its definition and origin is obvious when comparing dictionaries and introductory handbooks. Hypotheses addressing this question have been available for the past two or three decades in the field of psychobiology, and this thesis explores whether anthropological theories of religion can offer a definition and explanations as to the origin of religion that are, at least in part, in agreement with psychobiology. First, a summary of the hypotheses offered by psychobiology is presented. This will serve as an analytical benchmark with which to compare anthropological theories on religion. Two such theories are summarised and analysed in terms of their proposed definition of religion, their universal elements, and their theoretical bases, that of Sir Edward Burnett Tylor ([1874] 1889) and that of Clifford Geertz ([1966] 2010). Both are influential theories, but have opposing theoretical foundations. The analysis shows that only Tylor’s theory supports the hypothesis of this thesis, which states that some anthropological conceptions and explanations of religion are compatible. Regardless the discrepancy between all the analysed sources, these could be conciliated, in a preliminary model of the nature and the evolutionnary roots of religion.

The study deals with the problem of applicability of two anthropological theories, structural functionalism and interpretive anthropology of Clifford Geertz. By applicability is meant what concrete difference using of one or the other theory brings about in ethnography. Each of the theories is at first thoroughly examined with emphasis on its possible aims, assumptions, and consequences for an ethnographer. Then each theory is put to test in examination of one particular ethnography associated with the theory. Evans-Pritchard's The Nuer serves as an instance of structural functionalism. Clifford Geertz's Negara as an example of interpretative analysis. Structural functionalism is shown to provide an ethnographer with a much more definite guidance which contributes to better possibilities of verification and comparability of the results than interpretive anthropology. Apart from the main subject, the study is concerned with more general questions, especially related to non-existence of a paradigm in anthropology and some of its causes.

Within the field of Disability Studies, research on cognitive and developmental disabilities is relatively rare in comparison to other types of disabilities. Using Clifford Geertz's anthropological approach, "thick description," autism can be better understood by placing both fiction and non-fiction accounts of the disorder into a larger theoretical context. Applying concepts from existing works in Disability Studies to the major writings of Jacques Derrida, Julia Kristeva, Jacques Lacan, and Donna Haraway also proves to be mutually enlightening. This ethnographic approach within the context of analysis of literary texts provides a model by which representations of individuals who are cognitively or developmentally disabled can be included in the academy.

La religion est un phénomène culturel universel et un sujet d'étude central en anthropologie. Pourtant, on constate un manque flagrant de consensus sur sa définition et son origine dans les manuels d'introduction et les dictionnaires d'anthropologie. Des hypothèses et des modèles explorant cette question sont toutefois disponibles depuis une vingtaine d'années du côté de la psychobiologie. Le présent projet cherche à déterminer si la définition et les explications de la religion que propose l'anthropologie sont compatibles, en tout ou en partie, avec les données et modèles de la psychobiologie. Une synthèse des hypothèses psychobiologiques est d'abord présentée; elle sert de point de comparaison analytique avec les théories anthropologiques de la religion. Deux de ces théories, celles de Edward Burnett Tylor ([1874] 1889) et Clifford Geertz ([1966] 2010), sont résumées et ensuite analysées en rapport avec leur définition de la religion, leurs éléments universels (explicites et implicites) et leurs principes théoriques. Ces deux auteurs sont reconnus pour leur influence majeure dans ce domaine et ils s'appuient sur des fondements théoriques opposés. L'analyse démontre que seule la théorie de Tylor confirme l'hypothèse de ce mémoire, à l'effet que certaines conceptions et explications anthropologiques de la religion sont compatibles avec les explications psychobiologiques. Malgré tout, une conciliation de l'ensemble des sources analysées et l'esquisse d'un modèle sur la nature et l'origine évolutive de la religion semblent se dessiner. / Religion is a universal cultural phenomenon that is central to anthropology, yet a lack of theoretical agreement about its definition and origin is obvious when comparing dictionaries and introductory handbooks. Hypotheses addressing this question have been available for the past two or three decades in the field of psychobiology, and this thesis explores whether anthropological theories of religion can offer a definition and explanations as to the origin of religion that are, at least in part, in agreement with psychobiology. First, a summary of the hypotheses offered by psychobiology is presented. This will serve as an analytical benchmark with which to compare anthropological theories on religion. Two such theories are summarised and analysed in terms of their proposed definition of religion, their universal elements, and their theoretical bases, that of Sir Edward Burnett Tylor ([1874] 1889) and that of Clifford Geertz ([1966] 2010). Both are influential theories, but have opposing theoretical foundations. The analysis shows that only Tylor’s theory supports the hypothesis of this thesis, which states that some anthropological conceptions and explanations of religion are compatible. Regardless the discrepancy between all the analysed sources, these could be conciliated, in a preliminary model of the nature and the evolutionnary roots of religion.

(in English) The main topic of this thesis is both analysis and interpretation of the relationship between funeral rites, political power and society. Funeral rites are understood as a complex of performative, symbolic social acts, which are themselves comprised of various distinctive phases and signs. The meaning of these acts and signs is important because it can change the features and practice of the collective it is assigned to. The main purpose of this thesis is not only to perform a thick description of different kinds of communist funeral rite in the given time period but to interprate it in the wider social and cultural context as well. The concept of political religion as a heuristic tool was used in the thesis in order to distinguish an ambivalent nature of communist ideology which manifested itself in funeral rites. Funeral rites are analyzed as models for human behavior, which represent key values and norms of communist ideology. At the same time, funeral rites are analyzed as forms of cultural management. That is the reason, why are put under scrutiny not only the rites which are significant for society as a whole but also the funeral rites of individual actors.

By research and interpretation of official documents published by the Swedish Ministery for Foreign Affairs and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), this thesis aims to understand and shine a light on the symbols that shape the Swedish public aid culture and how these symbols function in a narrative of what Swedish aid to the Democratic Republic of Congo is and is not. The theoretic framework leans on both the symbolic/interpretative anthropology of Edward Bruner, Clifford Geertz and Sherry Ortner; Omar Lizardo's more contemporary writing on the power of symbols; and Jerome Bruner's psychological perspective on symbols. The conclusion is that Swedish public aid appears to use a set of symbols and a narrative anchored in arbitrary parts of Sweden's and Congo's mutual history to conjure up the image of a dark and dangerous Congo in contrast to the knowledgable and good Sweden.

ENGLISH ABSTRACT This thesis deals with the specification of bazaars and the bazaar economy. Bazaar [bāzār] is a Persian word for marketplace, also used in Turkish- çarşi [čarši]. Like the Arabic term souk وسق [súq], bazaar is both the concrete trading place, where many people meet and interact but like the English word market or the French le marché is also understood as a more abstract notion of buying and selling in the sense of demand and supply and it involves small shopping stalls, modern shopping and business avenues and shopping malls as well. Bazaar can refer to a single shopping unit or a street in the frame of the marketplace or outside its boundaries or to the whole business complex. The marketplace has symbolic and social importance indicative of its urban centrality. The souk is seen as one of the quintessential oriental spaces. Clifford Geertz and his own studies of Moroccan and Indonesian rural markets inspired many economic anthropologists to examine the structure of marketplaces in the developing world as products of informational scarcity. The bazaar economy was defined in Clifford Geertz' extremly influential anthropological study on the bazaar economy in Sefrou (1978), a quite small town in Morocco with about 600 shops. Geertz was the first to emphasise the important difference...

This study explored the lived experience of Gen Z adults in a liminal life-stage crisis where the symbolic meaning of health, identity and brands are in transition. Sixteen ethnographic in-home interviews with college students were conducted and analyzed using Geertz's interpretive and Turner's symbolic anthropology. A hermeneutic textual analysis was used to interpret three types of phenomenological data: text, pictures and collages. An "incubation" step was key in the creative interpretation process where the leap from data to abstract themes was made. Environmental circumstances like money, time, resources and social networks change the quality of health, but the fundamental health explanatory system of a young person is a reflection of their family of origin experiences. Women associate health with mental health-independence and empowerment. Men define health as physical health-food and cooking. Skills such as cooking and shopping as well as the consumption of water, cannabis and other complementary products impact health and identity. Three health worldview themes emerged: health as negotiating identity; creating home; and taking responsibility. Implications for branding and public information campaigns to change the health beliefs and practices of young adults are offered. This thesis closes with a reflection on the "research study," the dominant symbol in the practice of research as a way to analyze the fluid role of consumer anthropology in a capitalist system.