This thesis deals with the characterization of Japan and Japanese people by Swedish travelers during the Meiji period. It seeks to answer what aspects of Japanese people two Swedish travelers chose to highlight, and how these aspects were presented in their travelogues. This thesis also has a second aim. By applying Edward Said’s theory of orientalism, it wants to answer if Swedish travelogues were influenced by western 19th century ideas of colonialism and imperialism. Finally, the third question deals with the question if these travelogues fit the general European discourse regarding Japan. The results show that the two Swedish travelers present many different parts of the Japanese; topics such as nature, industry and the character its inhabitants were all accounted for. Most of these different aspects were presented in a positive light, and this seems to hold true for the general perception of the country. It also shows that the travelogues fits in with the general Swedish perception of Japan; that it is a country inhabited by intelligent people that are considered to be highly civilized. However, it is still implied that the Japanese are not considered to be true equals, despite the travelers' claim that they are excelling in many areas compared to Europeans. The Japanese discourse is therefore one of admiration and also of a subtle feeling of superiority, though the latter is not as overt in its presentation as it was with orientalism.

Diss. Stockholm : Stockholms universitet, 2005. / S. 298-311: Bibliografi.

In the 1700’s, natural history played an essential part in constructing the western view of the east and its inhabitants. Based on this assumtion, the primary aim of this study has been to examine how two of Carl Linaeus’ apostles (Petrus Forsskål and Fredric Hasselquist) wrote about their specific cultural encounters while travelling.   In its essence, the results of the study has been that Mary Louise Pratts  previous writings are applicable also on the travel writings of Forsskål och Hasselquist. Altough with a few significant deviations. For example it seems that the apostles considered the native history more relevant than what Pratts theory would give them credit for.

Frihet är ett viktigt tema under nittonhundratalet, kanske särskilt decennierna omkring 1970 med allt vad den tiden innehåller av frigörelsekamp, uppror mot gamla traditioner, individualism och kollektivism. Den här avhandlingen spårar det temat genom tre genrer i den svenska litteraturen, från sextiotalet och framåt: den självbiografiska barndomsskildringen, reseskildringen och science fiction-romanen. De olika genrerna erbjuder olika möjligheter för en författare att diskutera och gestalta frihetstemat, explicit och implicit. Skilda narratologiska utgångspunkter skapar skilda förutsättningar. Genomgående frågeställningar är vilka hinder som finns för att friheten ska kunna uppnås, vilka utvägar mot friheten som ändå existerar och vilka innebörder frihetsbegreppet ges. Avslutningsvis diskuteras resultaten i förhållande till de skilda genrevillkoren men även till det som texterna har gemensamt, exempelvis utopiska drag, mötet med det obekanta och främmande, sökandet efter en subjektiv sanning eller 1968-årens tidsanda. På så sätt kan något sägas om den sköna litteraturens särart jämfört med andra slags texter. / Freedom is an important theme of the twentieth century, perhaps particularly during the decades around 1970, that time of struggle for liberation, the rebellion against the old ways, of individualism and collectivism. This thesis traces that theme through three genres of Swedish literature, from the sixties onwards: the autobiographical childhood novel, the travelogue and the science fiction novel. The different genres offer different possibilities for an author to discuss and depict the theme of freedom, explicitly and implicitly. Different narratological starting points create different conditions. Some returning issues are which restrictions on, opportunities for and meanings of freedom are visible in the texts. Finally, the results are discussed in relation to the different conventions of genre but also in relation to what the texts have in common, such as features of utopia, the encounter with the unfamiliar and strange, the search for a subjective truth or the zeitgeist of the year 1968. In that way, something can be said about the specific nature of fictive or partly fictive texts compared to other kinds of prose.

Denna uppsats syftar till att utforska den emotionella dimensionen av att resa genom fyra kvinnors ögon över hela världen under mitten av 1800-talet. De utvalda svenska kvinnorna var från medel- och överklassen. De frågor som ställdes var följande: Vilken känslomässig laddning har reseberättelserna om platser / kultur / människor? Med användning av William Reddy's Emotive och Barbra Rosenweins Emotional communities som en teoretisk ramverk visade resultaten att platser relaterade till naturen var extremt positiva. Stadsort var däremot inte lika positivt skildrade i Europa. Detta relaterade till den pågående industrialiseringen i Europa, vilket skapade tätbefolkade och orena miljöer som sågs med starkt missnöje och laddade med negativa känslor. Kultur var en kategori av emotionell konflikt för alla fyra resenärer. Det visade att den svenska och protestantiska bakgrunden var stark när det gällede värden och normer för dessa kvinnor och gjorde det möjligt för starka, negativa känslomässiga upplevelser av kultur. Kombinerat fanns en pågående utveckling av tankar med nationalistiska och eurocentriska element. Människor fick positiva attribut och känslor kopplade till dem på individuell basis och separerades från sin kultur i de fallen. Istället kopplades negativa känslor till grupper av människor som stred mot dessa kvinnors bakgrund och intressen. Sammantaget var den emotionella dimensionen en blandning av starka positiva och några starka negativa upplevelser. En avgörande faktor var bakgrunden och en övergripande komplexitet i den emotionella dimensionen var avgörande. / This essay aims to explore the emotional dimension of travelling through the eyes of four women across the world during the middle of the 1800s. The chosen Swedish women were collectively of middle- and upper-class status. The questions asked were the following: What emotional charge do the travelogues have regarding locations/culture/people? With the use of William Reddy’s Emotive and Barbra Rosenwein’s Emotional communities as a theoretical framework, the results showed that locations related to nature were extremely positive. Urban locations, on the other hand, were not as positive to see in Europe. This related to the ongoing industrialization of Europe, creating densely populated and unclean environments that became was seen with strong displeasure and charged with negative emotions. Culture was a category of emotional conflict for all four travellers. It showed that the Swedish and protestant background was strong in determining values and norms for these women and made it possible for strong, negative emotional experiences. Combined there was an ongoing evolution of thoughts with nationalistic and Eurocentric elements. People had positive attributes and emotions connected to them on an individual basis and were separated from their culture. Instead, negative emotions were connected to groups of people that conflicted with these women’s ideas and interests. Overall, the emotional dimension was a mix of strong positives and some strong negatives. A determining factor was the background, and an overall complexity to the emotional dimension was conclusive.