Transnationalism as a theory has explained the causal nature of migration over time, against the backdrop of an ever-changing globalised world. The movement of people and their motivating factors have been deeply researched within migration literature and other surrounding fields. However, the intricacies of transnationalism among migrants have remained fairly unexplored, with little being written specifically on the topic of intersecting identities and othering experienced by transnational migrants. In South Africa, xenophobia has been a strong issue connected to migrants, whereby those from other African countries face discrimination based on their nationality, ethnicity, and economic disparities. However, there is a dearth in understanding how othering as a concept manifests beyond the overt forms of violence, and how it links to systemic forms of exclusion. The term ‘West-a-phobia' explores a more specific phenomenon of xenophobia, whereby West African migrants living in South Africa face discrimination based on specific national, cultural, and economic characteristics of their identity. By using this concept, and by providing the historical context of othering, this dissertation explores transnational identities through unpacking concepts such as ‘othering', ‘transnationalism', ‘identity', and critiquing the nationstate. A qualitative approach was implemented by interviewing six respondents residing in Cape Town and Stellenbosch, South Africa. Respondents' contributions were collected via online response sheets and face-to-face interviews from August to November 2019. This was followed by critical analysis and concluded with evidence-based nuances surrounding the intersecting tenets of the aforementioned concepts. The key findings from this study conclude that West African migrants that have lived in South Africa over a certain period of time experience a lack of cohesion and integration into society. This takes place through processes of othering through physical differentiation and cultural characteristics. Furthermore, West African migrants maintain a connection to their country of origin through engaging in what Crush and MacDonald (2000) characterises as transnational activities. Finally, this study concludes that there are stratified layers to the conceptualisation of citizenship, and that the qualitative research done corroborates with certain aspects of transnationalism theory.

In 2022 the Russian invasion of Ukraine took place, which caused millions of Ukrainians to flee their homes. The refugee crisis occurred seven years earlier in 2015, and millions of refugees fled their home countries as the Ukrainian refugees did in 2022. However, during the refugee crisis of 2015 people commonly fled from countries like Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq. During these refugee waves, people have searched for asylum in Sweden. However, the political measures have differed between these two refugee waves. Therefore, research regarding Sweden’s three biggest political parties’ construction of refugees during these two events is significant.  This essay examines how the construction of refugees differs between the refugee crisis of 2015 and the Ukrainian refugee wave of 2022 within the Swedish parliament. To do so, a critical discourse analysis has been applied while analyzing protocols from the Swedish parliament. The findings show that the three political parties constructed refugees differently depending on their geographical origin. Ukrainian refugees were constructed in more positive terms and often as victims in need of help compared to non-European refugees, who were constructed in more negative terms and often as a burden or a threat. Additionally, this might be the explanation regarding why refugees were securitized in 2015 and why they were not in 2022, which this essay showed.

In the globalized world, border regimes are ambiguous, withdrawn or reinforced based on who approaches them, where and how. Borders are equally the boundaries that permeate spaces of nation-states and cut across them through racialized, gendered, and classed divisions. Following the so called "migration crisis" in Europe of 2015, there has been a wave of research documenting how practices of bordering and othering dehumanize asylum seekers, violating their rights. In this thesis, I proceed from similar observations to see how such practices, together with experiences resulting from them, affect the possibilities of agency and imagination of a common space on behalf of people with migratory background. Employing the idea of hybridity, I maintain that while the responsibility for atrocities related to migration and bordering should always remain on violators, whether official institutions or individuals, their persistence should not be seen as foreclosing agency, imagination, or practices of building a future common space on behalf of people with migratory background. The hybrid position that these people occupy does not necessarily only sustain their disempowerment, but it also equips them with unique possibilities for agency. Neither seems there to be any predefined path from exposure to harsh violations of one's rights to disempowerment. The possibilities for common and welcoming places to which everyone has a right appear through an engaged and equal attention to migrants' own agency, imagination, and capabilities, rather than through an exclusive attention to their vulnerability or a neoliberal celebration of multiculturalism.

In this paper I present a discourse analysis on the narrative and depiction of the Russia developmental, diplomatic, and military cooperation advancements in the African continent in Western media, and its consequences on the general public. Through the analysis of 31 articles from 8 different newspapers from Italy, Sweden, the UK, and the US, and through the theoretical lens of theories of Western media and the phenomenon of othering and orientalism, I reach the conclusion that Western narrative regarding Russia’s advancements in Africa changes based on whether Russia is perceived as succeeding or failing, with a constant undertext that the West is not happy about eventual deepening relations between Russia and the continent. This narrative is reinforced by the use of othering, however othering is used in a strategical way, based on what the author wants to convey.

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There are more refugees in the world than ever. There seems to be differences in reactions towards refugees depending on where they are fleeing from. The war in Ukraine shines a light on this issue. This study aims to increase knowledge of what contributes to the conceptions that sets the foundation for how refugees are represented. The questions answered are: How do Swedish political parties represent refugees in the beginning of the Ukraine refugee situation 2022 and the refugee situation in 2014 - 2016? How can differences over time and between political parties be understood through theories of othering, securitization and welfare chauvinism? This is answered through a text analysis using material from the three biggest Swedish parties from the two different time periods. A WPR-method is employed to analyze both different representations of refugees over time and how refugees are framed by different political parties. The results show that the parties express more solidarity towards Ukraine refugees and more distrust towards non-European refugees. There are clear signs of othering, securitization and welfare chauvinism especially from the Sweden Democrats but also from the Moderate Party while the Social Democrats tend to focus more on concepts of solidarity.

“Where the Shadows Lie: Finding the Other in the Spatial Depictions of the Underworld in The Book of Enoch, Inferno and Paradise Lost” answers a question of spatial behaviour in the three texts, in terms of the portrayal of the characters of Fallen Angels, who have been Othered from Heaven, in each text within the spatial context of their respective heterotopias. The spatial behaviour refers to how these characters are portrayed to act within a certain space, with that behaviour directly shaped and influenced by the space and place that the characters are depicted in. The question of spatial behaviour in this study revolves around whether the behaviour within the Othered space is that of acceptance, or of rebellion. The narrative of each text is analysed as a whole, in order to be contextualised through a Narratological analysis, as well as a Hermeneutic reading and a contextualisation within the realm of Social-Scientific Criticism. The texts are then analysed in more detail, with particular focus given to 1 Enoch 6-21, lines 1-9 and 22-57 in Inferno, and lines 33-45, 52-55, and 64-110 in Paradise Lost in order to Deconstruct their base similarities and then to answer the research question of spatial behaviour through Critical Spatiality. This analysis investigates the aspect of Thirding-as-Othering, in terms of how the Othered space is represented, and how the (Othered) Fallen Angels inhabit that space, based on the choices available to them: either, accept the imposed differentiation and division, or to resist their own “Otherness” and the Othered space that they were sentenced to. These spatial behaviours depict the choices taken by the author of each text, based on the cultural and religious values of their times and cultures, to represent the spatial behavioural options of their narratives’ characters. These options are the choice to fight against the banishment and make a space of Power out of the Othered space, or to accept being Othered and accept the Othered space for the prison it is meant to portray. This study incorporates a Narratological Analysis of The Book of Enoch, Inferno and Paradise Lost, followed by a Hermeneutical Interpretation and Social-Scientific reading. The texts are then analysed in terms of the focal points of 1 Enoch 6-21, lines 1-9 and 22-57 in Inferno, and lines 33-45, 52-55, and 64-110 in Paradise Lost, and are Deconstructed in terms of the spatial depictions of the Underworlds in order to determine the similarities in conditions, both physical and emotional, that are created by the Thirding, which is ultimately investigated, in terms of Critical Spatial Theory, in order to answer the aforementioned research question. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Ancient Languages / unrestricted

This essay explores how different forms of othering are applied in the novel Shadow  and Bone compared to the tv-series adaptation. The essay will focus on how differ ent forms of othering are used to characterize the main character Alina Starkov as well as the community called Grisha. In order to compare the changes this essay uti lizes adaptation theory and Gérard Genette’s hypertextuality. To further understand  the different forms of othering the essay relies on studies of racism and its connec tion to the fantasy genre. The essay concludes that different forms of othering are used in the novels compared to the tv-series. The novels use othering to characterize  Alina based on her Grisha identity. As the tv-series has given Alina a whole new  identity as multiracial, it is rather her ethnicity that is the foundation for her other ing. While the tv-series displays a more diverse cast than the novels, it also fails to  provide a rich presentation of Grisha culture and history.

Master of Arts / Department of Communications Studies / Timothy Steffensmeier / Due to a rising interest for degrees in higher education, more students with disabilities have enrolled in the university system. Still, accessibility issues on campuses suggest institutions are not meeting the needs of students in the classroom or through curricula. This study examines current academic adjustments and the lived experiences of students with disabilities in order to understand the ableist Othering phenomenon in higher education. Qualitative research methods have been commonly used to investigate the “disabled voice”; however, triangulation of such methodologies has been criticized for reinforcing Otherness. This study used a phenomenological design implementing rhetorical agency for disabled students to answer open-ended questions in semi-structured interviews about their lived experiences. Consequently, such interviews created a platform for social change. The author also reflects on his own lived experiences as a deaf student in higher education. Findings include major themes such as a percolation of institutional hegemony, a re-appropriation of stigma through “voice,” and a call for inclusive strategies. Results indicate disabled students experience discrimination likely due to organizational tension in their university institution. Further, this study elaborates on proposed policy changes to college classrooms on large university campuses. Contributions of this study lie in implications for the future of qualitative inquiry, including how current research practices could undergo methodological reinvention to examine the ableist Othering phenomenon.

The title of this essay is ”A place forgotten by the world – the image of the Other and the Elsewhere in Forty Days Without Shadow by Oliver Truc”. Olivier Truc is a French-born journalist living in Stockholm, where he works as a correspondent for Le Monde and Le Point. He has also produced TV documentaries and non-fiction books. Forty Days Without Shadow is his first fictional work, a crime novel published in 2012. The story is settled in the Norwegian and Swedish parts of Lapland, and Sami people are in focus. In this essay, a postcolonial reading is used to interpret the novel, based mainly on the fact that the Sami are or were victims of Scandinavian colonization. The aim of the essay is therefore to examine whether the novel comprises colonialist or anti-colonialist attitudes, or perhaps both, and whether it contains exoticism and othering of the Sami. In particular it is examined how Lapland as a geographical place is described, and how Sami people are depicted compared to people of other origins in the novel. Another fact that is discussed, is how stereotypical characterisation is a common trait of crime novels, an aggravating circumstance for the analysis. The conclusion is that the novel has a strong anti-colonialist perspective, seen mainly in the treating of themes like the colonization of Lapland and its effects on some of the characters. At the same time, the physics of the Sami are described in recurring terms such as “high cheekbones”, whereas the faces of the normative Norwegian and Swedish characters are not described in the same way. In certain places in the novel there is a colonialist focalization which contributes to exoticism and othering of Sami people.