The aim of this thesis is to deepen our knowledge about the value of the Swedish Public Library as expressed in the local press during the corona pandemic. The empirical material consists of 54 articles published in December 2020 and January 2021. Debates and discourses regarding the public library are analyzed with Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe’s discourse theory and Åse Hedemarks formulated library discourses. The study finds that Hedemarks discourses all appear to various extent. The book discourse and the community centre discourses are more visible yet the information mediation discourse is also notable. The complexity of the Public Library is further highlighed during a period when access to the physical library space is limited. The meeting place is a common way to describe the library and a function that, at the time of the study, was unavalible. The findings show that the concept is not clearly defined or fixed in one specific discourse and therefore concludes that the Public Library is far more than a meeting place and serves many purposes.

(in English): Main goal of this diploma is to analyze the relationship between populism and representative democracy. The theoretical part of my work is researching populism as a vague concept and determining its minimal definition and esential constituents (I have declined the possibility that populism is only anti-essentialy formed attitude/phenomenon). In the analytical part I've studied the relationship between populism and representative democracy, and defined drawbacks of this uneasy coexistence. However I believe that representative democracy can't be successfully fulfiled without this phenomenon and I have also found not only positive moments of this relationship - I assume that populism is necessary supplement of representative democracy.

(in English): Main goal of this diploma is to analyze the relationship between populism and representative democracy. The theoretical part of my work is researching populism as a vague concept and determining its minimal definition and esential constituents (I have declined the possibility that populism is only anti-essentialy formed attitude/phenomenon). In the analytical part I've studied the relationship between populism and representative democracy, and defined drawbacks of this uneasy coexistence. However I believe that representative democracy can't be successfully fulfiled without this phenomenon and I have also found not only positive moments of this relationship - I assume that populism is necessary supplement of representative democracy.

This study aims to problematize racialized and sexualized discursive constructions of the"immigrant" within the political conversation in Sweden. Discursive constructions of the“immigrant” often depict the “immigrant” through words such as "child marriage", "rape" orother implied meanings of patriarchal gender relations. Thus, the discursive constructions of"immigrants" construct and reproduce both racialized and sexualized images of the"immigrant". These depictions are problematic especially when they, as categories, becomefixed or are used to legitimize oppression. The empirical material, that consists ofparliamentary debates november and december 2015 as well as march and april 2022, isstudied through an application of discourse theory as well as a collection of postcolonial andfeminist theories about how sexualization and racialization are produced and reproduceddiscursively. The study concludes that the "immigrant" is often depicted through aEurocentric perspective as “the other” in relation to the west. These constructions of “us” and“them” are often based upon racialized and sexualized constructions of the “immigrant”.These findings align with the previous studies within the field. The main contribution of thisstudy is an empirically proven connection between discursive constructions of the"immigrant" and racialized and sexualized representations of them.

Denna uppsats syftar till att undersöka den svenska debatten omsurrogatmödraskap där metod och teori utgörs av diskursanalys. Det textmaterialjag valt att undersöka består av tre artiklar med medföljande kommentarer från desvenska tidsskrifterna Bang och Ottar. Debatten om surrogatmödraskap i Sverigeär polariserad, antingen är man för eller så är man mot. Mitt syfte med dennauppsats är att redogöra för och analysera de argument och föreställningar somkommer till uttryck inom dessa två motsatta positioner. Min teoretiskautgångspunkt är Laclau & Mouffes diskursteori. Denna teori utgörs av begreppsåsom nodalpunkter och ekvivalenskedjor. I mitt material har jag kunnat urskiljatre centrala nodalpunkter. Dessa är kvinnans kropp, barn och mänsklig rättighet.Beroende på position har jag kunnat urskilja olika former av ekvivalenskedjorknutna till dessa tre nodalpunkter. I positionen mot surrogatmödraskap har jagkunnat urskilja ekvivalenskedjor vilka består av begrepp såsom exploaterande,biologism, handelsvara och moderskap. Medan jag i positionen som är för harkunnat urskilja begrepp såsom frivillighet, självbestämmande, efterlängtade ochsocialt föräldraskap. I mitt avslutande kapitel problematiserar jag dessa tvåpositioners föreställningar av surrogatmödraskap utifrån ettsocialkonstruktivistiskt perspektiv. Här menar jag på att motsidan i allt för höggrad ser människan som endast en biologisk varelse och bortser ifrån attmänniskan även konstrueras i en kulturell kontext. Försidan kan i sin tur kritiserasför att utgå ifrån att alla människor oavsett kön och etnicitet har lika möjligheter.Avslutningsvis finner jag det intressant, utifrån ett diskursanalytiskt perspektiv, attförsidan vill använda ordet värdmamma istället för surrogatmamma. / The present study is a discourse analysis of the surrogate motherhood debate inSweden analyzing three articles with supplied comments from Internet of theSwedish magazines Bang and Ottar. The debate of surrogate motherhood inSweden is characterized by polarization, with strong pro- and con-positions. Theoverall objective is to analyze the arguments and conceptions that are constructedin these two opposing positions. The combined theory and method applied isErnesto Laclau & Chantal Mouffe's discourse theory. In this theory, concepts likenodal points and chains of equivalence are dominant. Three nodal points areidentified in the analysis: women´s body, children's and human right. Dependingon the position, I have found different kinds of chains of eqvivalence that areconstructed in relation to these nodal points. In the position against surrogatemotherhood I found chains of equivalence that was constructed in relation toconcepts like exploitation, commodification, biologism and motherhood. In theother position I discerned chains of equivalence which consisted of concepts likevoluntary, self-determination, longed-for and social parenting. The discourseanalysis applied is in turn, based on a social constructionist view and in the finalchapter I examine how these constructions, that I have discern in the empiricialmaterial, can be problematized. I argue that the con-position can be critizised fordescribing women as biological beeings and disregard that humans also arecultural beeings. The pro-positions in turn can be critizised for assuming that allpeople regardless of gender and ethnicity, have equal opportunities. From adiscourse analysis perspective, it is interesting to note that the pro-position forsurrogate motherhood suggests the word “host motherhood” instead of surrogatemotherhood.

Studiens mål är att undersöka hur läroplanens hänvisningar om att demokratiska värden ska genomsyra undervisningen påverkar läroböckernas innehåll kring demokratibegreppet. Studien bygger på en diskursanalytisk metod och resultatet bygger på läroböcker för samhällskunskap på gymnasiet som material. Den teoretiska utgångspunkten i studien grundar sig i diskursteori men även teori kring begrepp demokrati. Chantal Mouffe, William Connolly och Mats Lundström har alla en del i den teoretiska bakgrund mot analysen är gjord. Resultatet påvisar att de analyserade läroböcker tenderar att använda sig av demokratiska fri- och rättigheter för att förklara hur en demokrati konstrueras. Genom detta kommunicerar läroböckerna de demokratiska värdena i termer av vilka fri- och rättigheter det demokratiska samhället ska ha. Det har även påvisats att de demokratiska värdena är odefinierade och därmed görs tolkningar av vad de kan innefatta. / This study aims to present how the democratic values in the curriculum are exposed in the education and content about the democratic concept in textbooks. The study is based on and uses a discourse analysis as a method. The results of the study is based on textbooks for social science in the upper secondary high school. The theoretical point of view for this study is based on discourse theory but also theories about democracy as a concept. Chantal Mouffe, William Connolly and Mats Lundström have contributed to the theoretical background for the analysis in the study. The result showed that textbooks have a tendency to use democratic right and freedoms to legitimize and explain how the idea of democracy is constructed. Through this the textbooks tend to communicate the democratic values in terms of which democratic freedom and rights a society will have. It has also been demonstrated that democratic values ​​are undefined and thus interpreted by what they can include.

Introduction: This is a two years master's thesis in Museum and Cultural Heritage Studies. The purpose of this thesis was to critically examine discourses of sustainable cultural tourism, and how different sustainability dimensions and ideals can coexist and be applied in practice. The starting point was a case study of the World Heritage Site “The Hanseatic town of Visby”, where the relationship between the conservation and the availability of the world heritage site was investigated. The research questions that were formulated were which actors and agendas that cooperate in the production of sustainable heritage tourism, how global and national guidelines for sustainable cultural tourism correspond to the local development work of the Visby world heritage city, which are the prominent discourses in the documents on sustainable heritage tourism in the world heritage city of Visby and how they are described as well as whether there is opposition between the conservation and the availability of cultural heritage, and what potential solutions to such opposition can look like. Theory: Prior to the study, previous research on sustainability, sustainable heritage tourism and the world heritage site Visby has been studied and used as a springboard for the thesis research questions. The theoretical perspectives that were used in the analysis consisted of theories regarding sustainable tourism, posthumanism, system theory and authorized heritage discourse, AHD. Method: The method chosen for the study was Laclau & Mouffes discourse analysis. This enabled a closer examination of the development plans and documents on sustainable heritage tourism produced by local, national and global actors. This was complemented with short interviews with thirteen stakeholders. Results and analysis: The result and analysis showed that several different actors and agendas are involved in the production of sustainable heritage tourism. However, there are difficulties in letting all actors get their voices heard and being part of the decision-making process, such as the local population, which are often disregarded. In addition, interaction between different actors could get better with more clearly defined areas of responsibility. The result also showed that, in particular, the concepts of sustainability and sustainable develop-ment were used in the documents about the development of the world heritage city of Visby, but the concept of sustainable heritage tourism was rarely used. The Swedish National Heritage Board and the region of Gotland are currently working on developing sustainable tourism strategies. At present, however, there is unclear correspondence between global guidelines and local application, where it is up to the municipalities to interpret and apply Unesco’s guidelines themselves, which may be difficult since the guidelines are quite general and vague. The study also showed that there are three clear discourses in the documents about sustainable heritage tourism. Under the overall discourse of sustainable tourism in Visby there is an ecological discourse, an economic discourse and a social discourse. In all documents, sustainable tourism is described as consisting of three discourses, but there is great freedom of interpretation in the use of the term. The discourses are also prioritized and described differently in different documents. Conclusion: The study's conclusion is that there are both oppositions and solutions. Both documents and interviews show that there are oppositions between ecological, economic and social interests in a place like the world heritage site in Visby. At the same time, there are also various suggestions for how the different dimensions can coexist and the actors were generally optimistic. Basically, it is about finding a balance between conservation and accessibility, taking into account both contemporary and future interests. Suggested solutions are to work further with information and knowledge, improve interaction between different actors, work with conservation-based development, productize heritage, better interaction with the local society, develop creative industries in historical buildings, and include visitors in the conservation work. However, most voices agree that the issue is difficult and complex and requires more knowledge and research.

<p>In this essay I try to find out how the local political climate in the Swedish Municipal Örebro looks like through the eyes of Michel Foucault. I’ve been focusing on the concept power, knowledge and politic. I’ve been applying the discourse theory on the study and the founder of that theory is Chantal Mouffe and Ernesto Laclau, the discoursetheory is a refinement of Foucaults thoughts about discourse. The object of study is the Mayor of Örebro, Staffan Werme and the position connected to that post. I’ve used the method “shadowing”, and I’ve been following the Mayor in every physical room that he appears in for nearly two weeks. The aim is too see which subject-position that the Mayor ascribes to in those different rooms, and also how the concept of power is used.</p>

From an institutionalized conception of contemporary intellectuals as silent or absent, the aim of this thesis is to analyse how the representation of the intellectual changed from a hero of reason to a more or less absent actor. Descriptions of intellectuals that were initially analysed which showed that the representation of the intellectual, besides being linked to modernity, contained a relationship between the individual actor and political power, a relationship which could be traced back to ancient myths. Using discourse theory and concepts primarily from Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, the dissertation demonstrates how the discourse of intellectuals changed the representation content in relation to the myth of the postmodern and to the myth of the modern society. In relation to the modern intellectual, the discourse linked the representation with elements as reason, freedom and politics. Texts written after the linguistic turn or the myth of the postmodern describe intellectuals as specific, bourgeois, academic and politicized. This makes the representation impossible in relation to the initial establishment. The main contribution of the thesis to research on the discourse of intellectuals is the myths bearing on how intellectuals can or should act and how the representation can be described. The notion of the intellectuals can only be understood in an already existing discourse based on what an intellectual should do or be.

In our thesis we will discuss political philosophy of Slavoj Žižek. Our aim is to explore his thoughts in the context of searching for an emancipatory strategy for 21st century. In first par of our thesis we will concentrate on the analysis of functioning of capitalism from the perspective of Lacan's discourse of university. Then we will move to the criticism of static subject in Marxism and dispersed subject in thoughts of post-Marxist radical democrats. We will continue to so called communist hypothesis. In second part of our thesis we will discuss how Žižek's theoretical approach affects his position to the three selected social conflicts and movements. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)