Uppsatsen bygger på en fältstudie utförd bland 10 gifta, brahminska kvinnor i området Assi i Benares (Varanasi)i Indien. Avsikten med fältstudien var att ta reda på om och i sådana fall vad, hur och varför kvinnorna i undersökningsgruppen utför några dagliga religiösa handlingar. Varje kvinna har intervjuats vid två tillfällen. Intervjuerna har skett med hjälp av tolk som översatt från engelska till hindi och hindi till engelska. Uppsatsen besvarar tre inledande frågeställningar: 1. Utför kvinnorna i undersökningsgruppen några dagliga religiösa handlingar? 2. (I sådana fall) Vilka religiösa handlingar utför de dagligen? (Tillvägagångssätt? Finns det några likheter/olikheter?) 3. Varför utför kvinnorna dessa handlingar? (Hur förklarar de ritualerna de utför?) Resultatet av undersökningen visar att alla kvinnor i gruppen varje dag utför en puja ("gudstjänst") på morgonen och att en majoritet även utför en puja varje kväll. Fokus kom därmed att hamna på just pujan och dess utförande. Vissa små skillnader finns i de olika kvinnornas tillvägagångssätt när de utför sina pujor, men det finns också en tydlig stomme, eller kärna, som återfinns hos alla. När det gäller morgonens puja består denna stomme av sex steg, upacaras, och hos kvällens puja, som oftast är mindre, hittas en stomme av två steg. Stegen redovisas och diskuteras utförligt i uppsatsen. Kvinnorna förklarar sitt tillvägagångssätt med att de olika stegen utförs för att ta hand om gud och göra gud nöjd. För att förstå detta resonemang bör man ha kunskap om det hinduiska gudsbegreppet, synen på gud som personlig och närvarande. Synen på gud diskuteras ingående i uppsatsen. Kvinnornas tillvägagångssätt är också ett resultat av traditionsförmedling. Ingen i undersökningsgruppen har läst sig till hur hon ska göra utan har lärt sig av sina föräldrar och svärföräldrar och ibland har hon också lagt till egna inslag. För kvinnorna i undersökningsgruppen är det viktigt att varje dag utföra sina pujor. Den vanligaste förklaringen till detta är att pujorna skänker dem frid i sinnet, "mann ki shanti". Uppsatsen är beskrivande och den är fokuserad på den empiriska undersökningen. Resultatet av fältstudien diskuteras och fördjupas av litteratur med anknytning till innehållet.

In this thesis, I assert that the mikvah, a Jewish purification ritual, can be understood as a queer ritual in that it has the potential to destabilize the knowledges and structures that it has traditionally been understood to uphold. I draw on queer theory in order to establish Victor Turner’s liminality as a productive analytical tool and then utilize this new queer liminality to illuminate the mikvah’s latent potential for producing new meanings and modes of resistance for its participants.

This thesis explores the changing approach of the Chosŏn state to subjects with foreign lineages in the period between the Imjin War (1592-98) and the early nineteenth century. Chosŏn Korea underwent considerable upheaval during the Imjin War and the wars of the Ming-Qing transition. Many Jurchen subjects of the Chosŏn court were forced from their homes in the Tumen Valley into the banner armies of the rising Qing state, with only a remnant persisting in Chosŏn. Additionally, large numbers of Ming Chinese entered Chosŏn either with the Ming army or as refugees from war in Liaodong. Initially, the Chosŏn state responded to its Jurchen and Ming Chinese subjects primarily through pragmatic concern about the loyalty of these subjects to the Chosŏn and the burden they imposed on the agricultural economy. As a result, the Chosŏn court welcomed and even defended the Jurchen as established Chosŏn subjects but was cautious of the more alien Ming deserters and refugees. Ming migrant status did not improve during the remainder of the seventeenth century. Ming Chinese lineages were considered, along with Jurchen and Japanese, within the same invidious submitting foreigner tax category. During the same period fraudulent Ming migrants became a focus for sedition among non-elites. The eighteenth century rise of Ming Loyalist ritualism transformed the response of the Chosŏn court to such foreign lineages as Ming migrant lineages were encouraged to participate in court-sponsored Ming loyalist rituals. Along with this ritual participation Ming migrant status was transformed from that of submitting foreigners to that of imperial subjects, while Jurchen and Japanese lineages disappeared. At the same time, hagiographic biographies were written of the original Ming Chinese refugees which praised them for coming to Chosŏn because of Neo-Confucian loyalty to the Ming. The Chosŏn state responded to foreign lineages according to changing circumstances. Neo-Confucian ritualism only played a role in response to Ming lineages in the eighteenth century when earlier concerns about disloyalty and social disruption had largely passed.

This thesis explores the changing approach of the Chosŏn state to subjects with foreign lineages in the period between the Imjin War (1592-98) and the early nineteenth century. Chosŏn Korea underwent considerable upheaval during the Imjin War and the wars of the Ming-Qing transition. Many Jurchen subjects of the Chosŏn court were forced from their homes in the Tumen Valley into the banner armies of the rising Qing state, with only a remnant persisting in Chosŏn. Additionally, large numbers of Ming Chinese entered Chosŏn either with the Ming army or as refugees from war in Liaodong. Initially, the Chosŏn state responded to its Jurchen and Ming Chinese subjects primarily through pragmatic concern about the loyalty of these subjects to the Chosŏn and the burden they imposed on the agricultural economy. As a result, the Chosŏn court welcomed and even defended the Jurchen as established Chosŏn subjects but was cautious of the more alien Ming deserters and refugees. Ming migrant status did not improve during the remainder of the seventeenth century. Ming Chinese lineages were considered, along with Jurchen and Japanese, within the same invidious submitting foreigner tax category. During the same period fraudulent Ming migrants became a focus for sedition among non-elites. The eighteenth century rise of Ming Loyalist ritualism transformed the response of the Chosŏn court to such foreign lineages as Ming migrant lineages were encouraged to participate in court-sponsored Ming loyalist rituals. Along with this ritual participation Ming migrant status was transformed from that of submitting foreigners to that of imperial subjects, while Jurchen and Japanese lineages disappeared. At the same time, hagiographic biographies were written of the original Ming Chinese refugees which praised them for coming to Chosŏn because of Neo-Confucian loyalty to the Ming. The Chosŏn state responded to foreign lineages according to changing circumstances. Neo-Confucian ritualism only played a role in response to Ming lineages in the eighteenth century when earlier concerns about disloyalty and social disruption had largely passed.

Als anys seixanta sorgeix un teatre profundament transgressor, que abandona els edificis convencionals a la recerca de llocs buits, pobres, flexibles. Rere aquesta actitud hi ha una crítica a la societat del moment, considerada elitista, alienadora i passiva. Gran part dels arguments que caracteritzaven el teatre fins aleshores perden la seva validesa. El concepte d'espectacle és substituït pel de ritual; el d'espectador, pel de participant; el d'entreteniment, pel de compromís. El teatre s'immisceix en l'agitada vida política, social i espiritual d'una dècada revolucionària. Finalment, i amb mig segle de retard en relació amb les altres arts, el teatre agafa el relleu de les avantguardes teatrals i entra en la modernitat.L'estudi del recorregut artístic de Peter Brook, Jerzy Grotowski fundador del Teatre Laboratori i la parella Julian Beck i Judith Malina fundadors del Living Theatre ens permet analitzar l'intrincat context dels seixanta en països com França, Anglaterra, Itàlia o Polònia. Es tracta de directors revolucionaris i alhora interessats pel sagrat, creadors d'un teatre ritual que sacseja els espectadors i els demana una implicació autèntica.A la introducció de la tesi ens preguntem per la permanència del sagrat en el teatre dels seixanta. Resseguint la biografia dels nostres directors, hi descobrim un profund coneixement de les tradicions religioses i una voluntat d'adaptar els seus principis i les seves tècniques psicofísiques al teatre. El teatre es mostra així com un receptacle laic de rituals que pertanyien a les religions. En el desig de regenerar-lo, la gent del teatre reclama una litúrgia col·lectiva capaç d'apropar actors i espectadors en un acte total. Volent unir l'art i la vida, directors i actors s'aïllen en petites comunitats per experimentar unes relacions humanes vertaderes i inventar nous processos de creació.La primera part de la tesi, més panoràmica, situa el teatre dins els corrents de pensament i els moviments artístics de l'època. Mentre els antropòlegs i sociòlegs constaten un retorn de la festa i la ritualitat, els estudiants es revolten pels carrers de París. El Maig del 68 marca un abans i un després també en el teatre: abandonant les obres dramàtiques, el vestuari especial, les escenografies i fins i tot els edificis, el teatre surt al carrer, es desteatralitza i es revesteix de ritualitat. Aquest rebuig de les institucions i les convencions té paral·lelismes amb el land art, l'arte povera, els happenings o el body art, sintonitzant també amb els situacionistes, el guerrilla theatre o el street theatre.La segona part de la tesi incideix sobre la ritualitat del teatre dels seixanta i l'espai que se'n deriva. Analitzant el nou paper atorgat a l'actor, el director i el públic, hi descobrim un mateix procés de despullament, de renúncia a les tècniques apreses i eliminació dels obstacles personals. El teatre respon així a una via negativa que cerca la seva purificació i un retorn a l'essencialitat. Les mediacions escèniques, massa mundanes, esdevenen obstacles a la trobada viva entre actors i espectadors. Ara importa l'element humà, el sacrifici de l'actor que regenera tota la comunitat, el ritual que aplega i connecta amb un passat compartit. El teatre es converteix en una realitat molt més corporal, cinètica, dependent de l'actor.L'espai d'aquest teatre passa a definir-se a partir dels moviments, les dinàmiques i les relacions que s'estableixen en escena. No depèn ja exclusivament de l'arquitectura ni de l'escenografia, sinó fonamentalment d'un ordre humà on compten les distàncies, les orientacions, les fronteres, la configuració i disposició de tots els participants. En certa manera, es tracta d'un espai sagrat que cal descobrir i potenciar. Un espai ritual, consagrat en cada actuació. Un espai real, que no preten simular res. Un espai simbòlic, que recupera les formes geomètriques primordials. Un espai unitari, sense barreres de cap tipus. Un espai buit, expectant, disponible. / There emerged in the nineteen sixties a deeply defiant theatre that deserted conventional buildings in search of empty, poor but flexible places. Behind this attitude there was a critique of the society of the times, that was considered to be elitist, hostile and passive. The majority of the scripts that characterised theatre up to that moment became obsolete. The concept of performance was substituted by ritual, spectator by participant, entertainment by compromise. Theatre became mixed up in the restless political, social and spiritual life of a revolutionary decade. Finally, half a century later than other arts, theatre seized the prominence of the theatrical vanguards and entered modernity.The study of the artistic careers of Peter Brook, Jerzy Grotowski - founder of the Teatr Laboratorium - and the couple Julian Beck and Judith Malina - founders of the Living Theatre - provides an opportunity to analyse the intricate context of the sixties in France, England, Italy or Poland. It involved revolutionary directors who were simultaneously interested in the sacred, creators of a theatre ritual that perturbed spectators and required their authentic participation. In the introduction to the thesis, we question the permanence of the sacred in sixties theatre. Revisiting the biography of our directors, we discover their knowledge of religious traditions and their desire to adapt their psycho-physical techniques to theatre. Theatre thus presented itself as a lay performance of rituals that belonged to religions. In the desire to regenerate it, theatre people sought after a collective liturgy capable of bringing actors and spectators together. With a desire to unite art and life, directors and actors isolated themselves in small communities to test true human relations and invent new creative processes.The first part of the thesis is an overview, locating theatre in the artistic thought and movements of the time. While anthropologists and sociologists were proclaiming the return of feast and ritual, students were revolting on the streets of Paris. May 68 marked the before and after of theatre too, by forsaking dramatic composition, special costumes, stage backdrops and accessories and even the theatre buildings. Theatre took to the street, shed its conventional theatrical hallmarks and overlaid itself with rituality. This rejection of institutions and conventions has affinities to land art, arte povera, happenings or body art, and remains in tune also with the situationists, guerrilla theatre or street theatre.The second part of the thesis focuses on the rituality of the theatre of the sixties and its ensuing space. Analysing the new role given to the actor, the director and the public, we discover a same process of deprivation, of rejection of learned techniques and of elimination of personal obstacles. The theatre thus responded to a via negativa that sought its purification and a return to the essential. The scenic mediations, that were far too mundane, became converted into obstacles in the living encounter between actors and spectators. Now what mattered was the human element, the sacrifice of the actor that regenerated a whole community, the ritual that congregates and connects with a shared past. Theatre became a more corporal reality, kinetic, and dependent upon the actor.The space of this theatre came to be defined out of the movements, the dynamics and the relations that were established on stage. It no longer depended upon architecture or scenery except that of a human order where distances, orientations, borders, configurations and the dispositions of all the participants counted. To a certain extent, it was a sacred place that needed to be discovered and strengthened. A space of ritual, consecrated at each performance. A real space, that did not try to simulate anything. A symbolic space, that revived basic geometrical forms. A unitary space, without barriers of any type. An empty space, eager and available.

This project exposes the problems with the dominant conception of agency in secular liberal discourse. The main critique is that the dominant conception of agency tends to attribute value to certain aspects of action that are not necessarily the most telling or valuable in terms of what constitutes agency. I use Saba Mahmood’s Politics of Piety to aid in this critique. Her project uses the Muslim rituals performed by women of the mosque movement in Egypt to demonstrate the need for a more nuanced conception of agency in academics. I use CLR James’ Beyond a Boundary to support the approach offered by Mahmood and demonstrate the applicability of such an approach outside of typical considerations of “ritual”. In this case, the approach is applied to cricket.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att studera vilka högtider som uppmärksammas i förskolemiljöer, varför just dessa lyfts fram samt att diskutera detta i förhållande till förskolans läroplan och Konventionen om barnets rättigheter. Uppsatsens empiri består av tjugo intervjuer med pedagoger verksamma i Stockholm med omnejd, vilka förmedlar att det är de så kallade ”svenska högtiderna” som uppmärksammas och även firas. Andra religioners och kulturers högtider kommuniceras mest enskilt, med de barn som tillhör dessa. Den läroplan som förskolan sedan 1998 lyder under, talar om att överföra ett kulturarv till barnen. Vad det däremot innebär är informanter och forskare osäkra över. Uppsatsen diskuterar också, med stöd i empirin, den delaktighetsformulering som finns i läroplanen. Barnen skall göras delaktig i andras kultur men vilka som ska göras delaktiga i vad och hur det ska ske, råder delade meningar om. Texten avhandlar också rituella uttryck på förskolorna och diskuterar dessa, i förhållande till barnens lek. Kanske är ritualer vuxenlek, som liksom barnens lek, syftar till att skapa mening.

I min undersökning studerar jag elevernas interaktion face-to-face på raster där den bärbara datorn finns med. Syftet är att undersöka hur den bärbara datorn påverkar interaktionen mellan eleverna på raster. Mina frågeställningar är hur och när elever är socialt responsiva respektive asocialt responslösa på raster samt hur elevernas interaktionsritualer ser ut?   Jag har använt en kvalitativ metod för att kunna besvara mitt syfte och mina frågeställningar. Jag intervjuade fem elever i årskurs ett på en gymnasieskola i Karlstad och genomförde tre observationstillfällen.   Studien visar att den egna datorn både kan ses som en tillgång och hinder på raster för elever på gymnasiet vid interaktion. Många av eleverna använder datorerna för att visa varandra saker som de sen diskuterar kring. Den sociala responsiviteten visade sig tydligt vid dessa tillfällen. Datorn som en gemensam symbol och en gemensam aktivitet verkade vara en betydelsefull interaktionsritual för eleverna. Vid andra tillfällen verkade datorn istället vara ett hinder för interaktionen. Eleven uppträdde då passivt i interaktionen och deltog i mindre utsträckning eller inte alls. De blev asocialt responslösa. Interaktionsritualen blev i dessa fall misslyckad.   Nyckelord: Bärbar dator, raster, social responsivitet, asocial responslöshet, interaktionsritualer / In this study I examine pupils´ face-to-face interaction when the laptop is there. The purpose is to see how the laptop impacts the interaction between students at breaks. My research questions are how and when pupils are social responsive respectively asocial responseless and also what the rituals of interactions look like.   I have used a qualitative method to answer my purpose and questions. I interviewed five pupils in year one of upper secondary school in Karlstad and also conducted three observations.   The study shows that the laptop is an impediment but also an asset in the interaction between students at breaks. Many pupils use their laptops to show each other things which could start a discussion. Social interaction was very evident at these moments. The laptop as a symbol and a common activity seemed to be an important interaction of ritual for the pupils. At other occasions the laptop seemed to be an impediment for the interaction. The pupils then became passive and participated less or not at all. He or she became asocial responseless. The interacion ritual then failed.   Keywords: Laptop, breaks, social response, asocial responseless, interaction ritual

This paper analyses the existence and nature of the sacred landscape Olands härad during the Bronze Age and Iron Age. Olands härad is located in Northern Uppland, onthe way to Östhammar, about 30 km northeast of Uppsala. The interpretations are done with help of place names studies as well as archaeological finds. The results indicate that different types of cult locations can be found in the area.

This paper deals with the question of whether the symbolic language of the late Neolithic and middle Bronze Age was transferred from ceremonial monuments and barrows into the domestic sphere in the late Bronze Age. I will consider such elements as doorway orientation, the significance of boundaries and depositional practices to see if Early-Middle Iron Age settlements were indeed a major scene for ritual behaviour.