Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The focus of the thesis is conceptually-based and problematizes the notion of a transformed society while addressing and evaluating its meaning in the multicultural post-apartheid neighbourhood of Observatory, Cape Town. Confluent concepts such as ‘multilingualism’, ‘hybridity’ and ‘community’ are discussed within the historical and contemporary context of a newly established democratic South Africa. Through a poststructuralist discourse analysis, the study endeavours to explore discourses of language and identity in the previously predominantly English-speaking community of Observatory. It is hoped that this research will build upon knowledge of inter alia social interaction, translocations and community membership, identity, language and integration in Observatory. Focus therefore rest on issues such as hybridity, identity options, translocal and transnational cultural flows, localization and globalization. All these issues fall under the broader theme of discourse of transformation and integration in multilingual spaces. The study strictly works within the framework of a qualitative approach with the focus resting on a discourse analysis of generated narratives supplied by informants during interviews and temporal and spatial descriptions of research sites. Arising from this study it is hoped that a deeper understanding of migration, transnational and transcultural flows, hybridity and identity will be reached. Critically, this study delves into two ‘new’ areas which subsume sociolinguistics, specifically semiotic landscape and place branding. Exploration into the appropriation of space by ‘newcomers’ and the subsequent reimaginings of space into place are of keen interest here. In this respect, this study aims at shedding light on recurrent, contesting and and new imaginings of diversity in post-apartheid living.

I analyze the historical and cultural processes by which American racism is reproduced, approaching the issue through the lens of "imagined voodoo" (as distinct from Haitian Vodou). I posit that the American Marine occupation of Haiti (1915-34) was crucial in shaping the American racial imaginary. In film, television, and literature, imagined voodoo continues to serve as an outlet for white racist anxieties. Because it is usually found in low-brow entertainment (like horror) and rarely mentions race explicitly, voodoo is able to evade critique, disseminating racism within a culture that is now largely--albeit superficially--intolerant of overt racism. / African and African American Studies

Curriculums define what a nation deems as valuable skills and values to be taught to the young individuals that will be entering society. The aim of this study is to analyse which type of nationalism that can be found in Swedish curriculums for higher education from 1935-2011 and how the nationalism is expressed. By applying Benedict Anderson’s theory of imagined communities in conjunction with Anthony D. Smith’s ethno-symbolism, we did a text analysis of four selected Swedish curriculums. These curriculums were chosen based on being the four that suited the chosen era as well as being designed for nonobligatory higher education.Results showed that each curriculum has its own type and form of nationalism with distinct features and means of creating imagined communities between individuals. Metodiska anvisningar för rikets allmänna läroverk has a nationalism based upon the individual’s love for the motherland Sweden. Lgy 70 displays a nationalism centered around the mentality of ‘us versus them’. Lpf 94 shows nationalism defined by cultural understanding and shared values. Gy2011 exhibits a nationalism characterised by equal understanding and shared points of reference. Some of the features and means of creating imagined communities are shared and evolved over time between the different curriculums and the later three aim to avoid being nationalistic. Nonetheless, they still have an element of nationalism in them that dictates their stance on valuable skills and knowledge for their respective contemporary era.

Languages are not just systems for communication, they are also often a marker of ethnic and/or national identity and sometimes a politically contentious issue. A country where this is the case is Latvia, which has a large Russian-speaking population. During the Soviet occupation of Latvia, Russian became the dominant language in public life. Since regaining independence, Latvia has pursued language policies aimed at strengthening the position of the Latvian language, at the expense of the Russian. Latvian is the single official language and over the last decades, the bilingual education system inherited from the Soviet Union has moved towards an increasing share of Latvian as the language of instruction. In 2018, the Latvian parliament amended two educational laws, meaning the share of subjects being instructed in Latvian in so-called minority schools increased markedly. The decision was controversial and was opposed by parties with a large Russian-speaking voter base. The purpose of the thesis is twofold. The first is to describe and analyse the arguments of political actors[1] regarding mono- and multilingual education, focusing on the reform of 2018. The arguments will be analysed in relation to theory regarding the connection between nationalism/nationhood and language, and theory on linguistic minority rights. The second part of the purpose is to advocate normatively and constructively for an approach regarding two different areas of policy: 1) Whether Russian should be an official language or not. 2) Language policy in education. The point of departure for the analysis is the aspiration to create a sense of national belonging, where both Russian-speakers and Latvian-speakers are seen as a part of the Latvian imagined community. In order to create this sense of inclusive imagined community, the approach seeks to be impartial in relation to the “pro-Latvian” and “pro-minority” positions with regards to language policy. The normative argumentation also seeks to include and balance the values of linguistic minority rights and preserving small languages (such as Latvian). For the first part of the thesis, a descriptive idea analysis is applied. The arguments are analysed in relation to my theoretical framework, which consists of various concepts relating to the relationship between language and nationalism and models regarding linguistic rights. The main analytical tool is the concept of an imagined community, where a sense of national belonging and social cohesion can be based on either mono- or multilingualism. In the second part, a normative and constructive method is used to argue for my position in a systematic fashion.   The arguments of the proponents of the 2018 reform can be described as based on the idea that Latvian is the common and unifying language of all the Latvian residents and one of the foundations of the imagined Latvian community. At the same time, the proponents claim wanting to ensure that members of linguistic minorities can preserve their language, and that the reform provides the right to learn a minority language. The opponents of the reform argue that, while it is important that students learn the Latvian language, drastically decreasing the level of instruction is an assimilatory policy that will weaken rather than strengthen the national unity.   In the second part, the author suggests that Latvian will remain the single official language since granting the Russian language official status may cause the language decline of Latvian, and because the issue is very divisive. In terms of language in the school system, the author concludes that Latvian ought to have a special position in Latvia and should therefore be the dominant language. Therefore, Latvian should be the main language of instruction, in the proportions prescribed by the 2018 reform. Another conclusion is that all students, regardless of mother tongue, should learn Russian on at least an elementary level. [1] Specified under “Delimitations”.

The purpose of this essay is to get an understanding of how the Swedish Democrats have such a prosperity in the countryside. The aim is also to see if, and in that case how, the Swedish Democrats uses religion as a tool to increase their voter support. This will be especially focused, and compared with, what the respondents have to say about the countryside. To achieve this a qualitative interview study will be used to establish the information needed. The use of a qualitative interview study is essential due to the need of profound and complex information from the respondents. The respondents sit on a big knowledge because of their close relationship with the village and the Swedish Democrats. Further on the study will be set in a small town where the Swedish Democrats have a strong support. In this small village three out of the four Sweden Democrats who sit in the municipal council lives. The study will be in close proximity with words as xenophobia and islamophobia and it aims to supplement the research previously focused on the Swedish Democrats as ideology, with its actual representatives in the countryside.

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Utifrån syftet att belysa historiekulturens betydelse för individens känsla för delaktighet idet svenska klassrummet har arbetet tagit form. Med fokus på eleven har en kvalitativstudie gjorts genom att elever och lärare från en högstadieskola i västra Skåne intervjuats.Intervjuerna ämnade ge ett resultat som kunde svara på den övergripandeforskningsfrågan: Hur ställer sig historien som berättas i skolan mot elevernas egnaupplevda tillhörigheter? Tillsammans med en teoretisk dykning ner i identitet, upplevdatillhörigheter, interkulturell pedagogik och hur det står i förhållande till den svenskahistoriekulturen kunde den besvaras. Studien visade att många elever, oberoende avhärkomst, upplevde att den egna historien inte berördes tillräckligt i undervisningen.Utefter de teorier som presenteras om identitet, där den egna bakgrunden är en del, såställer sig detta resultat dåligt gentemot historieundervisningen. Vad som ses som ennaturlig progression från denna undersökning är hur den svenska historieundervisningenstraditionella innehåll kan utmanas och förändras. Genom att ha ett intersektionelltförhållningssätt, med globalt fokus, ses möjlighet att många av de tomrum eleverupplever i historien kan fyllas igen.

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