This essay begins with an anecdote about a child in school who in my opinion displayed introverted behavior. This child seemed to prefer playing on its own rather than with friends. These children often become less visible due to their extrovert peers who have a greater tendency to actively seek attention from adults. The purpose of this essay is to get a wider understanding about these introvert children. What are their needs and how can we best support them in school?  In this essay I have tried to see my own actions in relation to the school’s rules and regulations concerning introvert children. I have also studied literature, how playing can support extrovert children, what a teacher can do to help and support and what the norm in today’s society is. To reflect and learn I have read books on this topic and my aim is to gain a better understanding and deeper knowledge. / Den här essän börjar med en berättelse som handlar om ett av de barn i skolan och fritidshemmet som av mig som pedagog upplevs som tyst och inåtvänt. Ett barn som verkar föredra ensamlek framför lek med klasskamrater. Ofta hamnar dessa barn i skymundan i förmån till de mer extroverta och utåtagerande barnen som aktivt söker kontakt med oss vuxna. Syftet med denna essä är att få en större förståelse för varför de tysta barnen är tysta och inåtvända. Vilka behov har de och vilket förhållningssätt bör jag som pedagog ha gentemot dem? Jag har granskat mitt agerande i berättelsen utifrån skolans och fritidshemmets styrdokument samt litteratur som tar upp blyghet, lekens betydelse, pedagogens betydelse för de tysta barnen, dagens samhällsideal och ämnet praktisk kunskap. Jag har även använt skönlitteratur för att reflektera över mitt agerande för att på så sätt få en djupare förståelse för vad jag kunde gjort annorlunda.

Den här kvalitativa textanalysstudien syftar till att undersöka vad det finns för ideal i samhället och vilka normer som motiverar dessa. Ur debatter på internet blottlägger jag samhällsideal om makt och politik och de normativa gränser som finns mellan privatliv, arbetsliv och svensk partipolitik. På så vis lyfter jag upp vad det är som upprör människor i Maxgate. Genom att visa vad som skapar den kollektiva upprördheten kommer det som tidigare var osynliga samhällsideal och normer i öppen dager. Studien syftar också till att visa på spänningar inom samhällsidealen och hur normer tolkas olika, men ändock beskrivs på samma sätt. För att ta mej an detta utgår jag från Durkheims moralsociologi, och hävdar att det finns en kollektiv moral, som har sin grund i samhälleliga ideal och normer. I analysen och diskussionen av materialet framgår det vilka samhällsideal och normer som aktualiseras i skandalen och hur dessa tolkas av de som skriver i debattkedjorna. En slutsats som kan dras av studien är att även om man ställer sej bakom idealen och normerna som framkommer i denna studie, är det inte säkert att man tolkar dem lika eller att man kommer atthandla på liknande sätt. / The purpose of this qualitative text analysis is to investigate the ideals of society, and the underlying norms. In web-based public debates social ideals concerning power and politics as well as the normative boundaries between private life, working life and Swedish party politics are made clear. Looking into said debates therefore makes it possible to see which aspects of “Maxgate” are upsetting to the public. By showing what creates the collective outrage, what was formerly invisible social ideals and norms can be revealed. This study also aims to cast light upon tensions within social ideals and how norms are interpreted differently, although described in the same way. The theoretical foundation of the study is Durkheim's sociology of morals, and I work on the supposition that there is a collective morale with a based on social ideals and norms. In the analysis and discussion of the material it is revealed which social ideals and norms are brought up in the scandal, and how these are interpreted by the participants in the debates. A conclusion that can be made from this study is that, although people endorse the ideals and norms investigated in the study, it is not given that they interpret them the same way, or that they would act similarly.

This literary study examines the formulation of masculinity in Syrian novels authored by women. The thesis covers the period between 1959 and 2000, corresponding to both the development of the female-authored novel in Syria and the creation of the modern Syrian state. This research engages with studies of masculinity in general and literary masculinity studies in particular. Drawing on the seminal work of Raewyn Connell as well as engaging with studies on masculinity and feminine narratology in Swedish, English and Arabic, the thesis analyses the formulation of literary masculinity through the fictional societies’ ideal masculinity on the one hand, and the female characters’ views and reactions to masculinity on the other. From a general survey of the field, 34 novels undertaking the formulation of gendered relations were identified and chosen for this study. From this selection, five themes emerged, forming the foundation of this thesis’ main chapters. The five themes explore, in turn, how stereotypes are utilised to critique gender roles, ways in which male and female characters collaborate to formulate gender norms, how female characters capitalise on patriarchy in order to enhance their lives, male characters as symbols for social and political change and finally, the difficulties included in the performance of masculinity. Each theme is exemplified through one novel, which is analysed in detail. Throughout the five chapters, the main novel chosen for analysis is put into conversation with other novels with similar themes but from different decades. This allows for an examination of changing ideals of masculinity in addition to the theme itself. The first theme, how stereotypes are utilised to critique gender roles, is studied through a close reading of al-Ẓahr al-‘ārī (The Naked back) by Hanrīyit ‘Abbūdī. The analysis illustrates how the expected normative behaviour of men and women is utilised in order to comment on the formulation of gender roles. The chapter further demonstrates ways in which what is seen as gender specific behaviour can be appropriated by the opposite gender. This is further developed through the examination of female writers taking over the male voice through a first person male narrator. The second theme, ways in which male and female characters collaborate to formulate gender norms, is discussed through a close reading of the novel Khaṭawāt fī al-ḍabāb (Steps in the fog) by Malāḥa al-Khānī. This chapter illustrates the similar expectations that both male and female characters have on their sons and fellow male characters. This includes taking on the role of provider and protector, even in the cases where the female characters are able to look after themselves. The third theme, how female characters capitalise on patriarchy in order to enhance their lives, is elaborated through a close reading of Ayyām ma‘ahu (Days with him) by Kūlīt Khūrī. This theme demonstrates how the female character constructs herself and her world around the idea of a perfect male, whom she thinks will save her. The analysis examines what is seen as ideal traits in a man. It further discusses the change of the female character and how her initial utilisation of patriarchal structure transforms into a critique of the same structure. The fourth theme, male characters as symbols for social and political change, is seen through a close reading of Dimashq yā basmat al-ḥuzn (Damascus, o smile of sadness) by Ulfat al-Idlibī. The chapter connects between changing social ideals and ideal masculinity. Through Bayrūt 75 (Beirut 75) by Ghāda al-Sammān, the fifth theme, the difficulties included in the performance of masculinity, is studied. The problematic masculinity presented is then put in contrast with what appears to be a suggestion that a performance of femininity could be an alternative to unsuccessful masculinity. Whereas the novels differ in their presentation of masculinity and the utilisation of ideal masculinity, they agree on a set of core traits summarised in a hegemonic ideal of masculinity as an ability to provide and protect. The ways in which this should be performed is however closely connected to the female characters’ ideas of emancipation and women’s rights. The female writers’ formulation of masculinity can hence be said to mirror the development of the female characters and their awareness of women’s rights. The thesis hopes that its original contribution to knowledge is the identification and examination of constructed masculinities in Syrian female-authored fiction. Moreover, this thesis studies a body of Syrian fiction previously largely unstudied in Western academia, and in a framework of Swedish, English and Arabic secondary sources.