O presente trabalho visa estabelecer um exercício de perspectiva entre arte e loucura. Atentando para aquilo que é outro, heterogêneo, estrangeiro, constrói- se o terreno para perguntar o que pode a loucura dizer e revelar sobre a arte e a história da arte, e o que pode a arte dizer sobre a loucura. Paralelamente, pergunta-se pelo potencial da antropologia em relação a ambas: como a etnografia e a atitude antropológica podem se construir como paradigma para a teoria e a crítica de arte? A partir da imersão etnográfica em um contexto de reclusão onde arte e loucura se encontram - a oficina de criatividade de um hospital psiquiátrico -, pergunta-se o que podem a antropologia e a etnografia diante da loucura, suas obras e processos. Discute-se, então, uma “virada etnográfica” na arte contemporânea e uma “virada antropológica” ou “etnográfica”, ainda por realizar, na crítica de arte, situando-a enquanto experiência vivida, imersão e criação. Como transformar essas experiências em paradigma para pensar não só as artes dos outros, mas outras artes, outras possibilidades e modos de ser da arte? A partir de visões de diferentes formas pelas quais a busca e o contato com a alteridade se fizeram nas artes visuais, chega-se a indagar pela arte dos loucos. Nesse percurso são mobilizados diferentes referenciais como o Surrealismo, Jean Dubuffet, Arnulf Rainer, Bispo do Rosário, Michel Foucault, entre outros. Nesse exercício, não se perdeu de vista a dimensão política da exclusão dos atores sociais tidos como loucos. A escrita foi vista enquanto tarefa ética frente à memória do sofrimento dos excluídos. A todo o instante, é retomado o questionamento sobre como seguir a linha que liga arte e loucura, sem confirmar compromissos policiais e asilares com as instituições intoleráveis e repressivas de nossa cultura. / This thesis intends to undertake an exercise of perspective between the fields of art and madness. Focusing on what is heterogeneous, stranger, other respect to ourselves and our culture, it puts forward the question about what can madness reveal about art and the history of art, and what can art tell us about madness. This thesis also asks about the potential of anthropology on relating to both art and madness: how can ethnography and an anthropological attitude constitute themselves as a paradigm to art criticism and to the theory of art? Departing from the ethnographic immersion into a universe of reclusion where art and madness meet – the creativity workshop of a psychiatric hospital -, this dissertation investigates the potentialities of anthropology and ethnography in face of madness, its works and processes. An “ethnographic turn” in contemporary art is, then, discussed, as well as an “ethnographic turn”, yet to accomplish, in art criticism, figuring it as intensive experience, immersion and process of creation. How to transform these experiences into a paradigm not just to think the arts of the others (“outsider arts”), but also to think other kinds of art, different possibilities and alternative concepts of art? Departing from several different ways by which the quest and the contact with alterity and otherness were made in the visual arts, the thesis approaches the art of the insane. Along this path, different artistic and philosophical references are mobilized such as Surrealism, Jean Dubuffet, Arnulf Rainer, Bispo do Rosário, Michel Foucault, among others. In this exercise, the political aspects regarding the process of exclusion of social actors categorized as mad are never out of sight. The act of writing was assumed as an ethical task before the necessity of remembering the suffering inflicted to the mad by society. The text constantly reiterates the questioning about how to follow the path that connects art and madness without confirming compromises with intolerable and repressive institutions of our culture.

Asylum seekers in the U.S. have faced a plethora of impediments leading to some of them abandoning their applications, which may deny them their rights under the United Nations convention on refugees. Despite the abundance of literature on the plight of these persons, no study has examined the lived experiences of asylum seekers in the U.S. from the time they apply for asylum to the time their applications are adjudicated. Using Benet's polarities of democracy as the theoretical framework, the purpose of this single participant narrative study was to explore these experiences in order to provide policy makers with a better understanding of the impacts of US Asylum policies on the rights of asylum seekers. The study's single participant was an attorney from the Congo who sought and received asylum in the U.S. Thematic analysis was applied to her responses using hand coding. Cultural challenges were identified as the dominant negative theme in the asylum-seeking process. These cultural challenges generated fear in the face of survival issues such as joblessness, poor housing, hunger, and lack of health care. These interrelated sub-themes, analyzed through the lens of the polarities of democracy, suggest that policy makers might improve the asylum-seeking process by using the theory to better understand the impacts that the process has on the rights of asylum seekers. This may allow policy makers to develop strategies to maximize the positive aspects of the polarities of democracy pairs while minimizing the negative aspects, particularly for the pairs of freedom and authority, justice and due process, and diversity and equality.

This thesis examines the uses and implications of historical and self-imposed asylums in several of Samuel Beckett's works, most notably Murphy, Malone Dies, and "First Love." The first half of this study compares several historical Irish and British asylums to Beckett's frictional institutions in order to illuminate the recurring motifs of sanity, asylums as retreats for the wealthy, and the links between prisons and asylums. I also examine Michel Foucault's theory of the Panopticon guards as an alternate reading of Beckett's views on sanity. In Murphy and Malone Dies, for example, Beckett questions what it means to be sane through his role reversals of nurses and patients. His often under qualified and sadistic nurses are depicted as the real lunatics while their patients seem quite sane in comparison. In the second portion of this study, I suggest that the self-imposed asylums in Murphy and "First Love" are in fact the protagonists' attempts at both erasing society and becoming physically invisible. Through and extended analysis of each text, I explore the various "cells" created by each hero as well as their social implications. By ostracizing themselves, for instance, I argue that the protagonists of Murphy and "First Love" gain a form of power that the protagonists of Molly and Malone Dies lack. Murphy's and "First Love"'s demands for "imprisonment" under their own terms once again reverse the roles of helpless patient and powerful nurse.

<p>This is a qualitative research study utilising a theoretical framework of democracy theory, human rights and theories on migration and irregular migrants. The purpose of this research is to explore how the new Swedish Regulation on Labour Immigration, in relation to the harmonization of migration policy within the European Union, represents and effects the perception of asylum seekers and irregular migrants on a socio-political level in Sweden. Through four semi-structured interviews this study seeks to explore the following areas: the reasons behind the compromise concerning asylum seekers in the Regulation; the exclusion of irregular migrants in the Regulation; and the correlation between the Regulation and the harmonising of migration policy within the EU. The theoretical framework, together with the statements by informants and the grounding information concerning human rights and the migration policy within the EU, constitutes the analysis. The analysis shows that the perceptions of asylum seekers and irregular immigrants as an undesirable solution to demographical challenges represent a relativistic approach to human rights. By legitimating this perception those concerned become even more vulnerable and at a higher risk of exploitation. The correlation between the contemporary democratic welfare state, international human rights law and the Regulation, together with increasing and irreversible migration flows, visualises an incompatible and diffuse organisation, which have to transform into cosmopolitan democracy and global solidarity if to survive.</p>

<p>This paper focuses on the Swedish migration discourse and investigates if and to what extent it is dominated by a security perspective. Analysing a number of official texts and documents I want to show how the discourse describes migrants and what implications this carries with it for the migrants and for the Swedish migration politics. Through discourse analysis I have analysed whose security that is prioritised, the Swedish or the refugees, who is the refugee and the asylum seeker, and who is the illegal migrant in the Swedish official migration discourse. As a theoretical frame for the analysis I have used theories on migration and security. These include theories on the securitisation of politics, the globalisation and the creation of political identity from the nation state perspective and theories on the connection between migration and security.</p><p>My results show that a security discourse is dominating the Swedish official migration discourse and is therefore defining our reality and the identities of refugees, asylum seekers and illegal migrants. Migration is in this discourse seen from a national security perspective where migrants in different ways are perceived as threats to Sweden. The perhaps main and most surprising find is the way that the migrants are described as part of the reason why generous refugee politics are not possible, and also indirectly why the public support of the right to seek asylum should decrease.</p><p>I have found that several of the theories on migration and security are important to be able to understand and analyse the Swedish official migration discourse.</p>

The aim of this study is to highlight problems regarding the status of children in determining the granting of residence permits. Central to the study are the rules contained in the Swedish Aliens Act (2005:716) about hearing children in the course of proceedings and the child’s best interests. The rules are based on Articles 3 and 12 respectively, in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). They were introduced into the Swedish legislation in 1997, after an intense debate questioning whether Sweden was meeting its obligations under the Convention. The application in aliens matters has, however, continued to be criticized after the revision of 1997, especially in matters concerning children. In 2006 a new Aliens Act came into force, involving a shift in the handling of such matters from administrative authorities and the Government to a system where appeals are tried in administrative courts. The legislation also involves comprehensive changes concerning the material legislation. The question has been raised, however, as to whether these changes have had any vital impact concerning the general construction of the material regulation. The apparent gap between the legislator’s intentions and the application of the law raises questions about the limitations of law and how the spirit and intentions of the CRC have been implemented in the Aliens Act, and, in view of this, the limits of law. The study involves an analysis of the fundamental premises that the legislation and application rest on, the general provisions of the proceedings and the technical formulation and also the material content of these rules. There is also an analysis of the impact and function of the legislation in practical applications. The conclusion is that the legislation allows extensive scope for assessing the circumstances in each case. This is the case, particularly in matters concerning children. Nevertheless, in practical applications, children often become irrelevant; children are simply not the real focus of the laws that affect them. Key words: Children’s rights, residence permit, asylum, immigration, equality, feminist perspectives. Eva Nilsson, Juridiska institutionen, Umeå universitet, 901 87 Umeå.

This is a qualitative research study utilising a theoretical framework of democracy theory, human rights and theories on migration and irregular migrants. The purpose of this research is to explore how the new Swedish Regulation on Labour Immigration, in relation to the harmonization of migration policy within the European Union, represents and effects the perception of asylum seekers and irregular migrants on a socio-political level in Sweden. Through four semi-structured interviews this study seeks to explore the following areas: the reasons behind the compromise concerning asylum seekers in the Regulation; the exclusion of irregular migrants in the Regulation; and the correlation between the Regulation and the harmonising of migration policy within the EU. The theoretical framework, together with the statements by informants and the grounding information concerning human rights and the migration policy within the EU, constitutes the analysis. The analysis shows that the perceptions of asylum seekers and irregular immigrants as an undesirable solution to demographical challenges represent a relativistic approach to human rights. By legitimating this perception those concerned become even more vulnerable and at a higher risk of exploitation. The correlation between the contemporary democratic welfare state, international human rights law and the Regulation, together with increasing and irreversible migration flows, visualises an incompatible and diffuse organisation, which have to transform into cosmopolitan democracy and global solidarity if to survive.

This thesis aims to bring to light the perceptions of mentalities of government through the eyes of unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors in Sweden. It also seeks to offer some insight and reflections from a custodian perspective. Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children that come to Sweden are entitled to the same rights as the children holding citizenships in Sweden. The right to be heard and listened to is enshrined in the Convention of the Rights of the Child and holds great value during the asylum-process. Thus, the enforcement of these rights, among other rights, shows to be challenging in practice when scrutinizing the asylum process. With a pluralistic theoretical approach, leaning on the works of Hannah Arendt and Jacques Derrida, along with the narratives shared by the informants, this study aims to uncover the probabilities of feeling helpless during the asylum process, it also seeks to explore how mechanisms of power relations and control are configured according to the informants. Most laws regarding securing rights for refugees are formed by international organizations and constituted by national politicians. These laws operate to gain control at the hand of legality, thus the restrictiveness has been at the expense of the child’s best interest. As I believe more initiatives should be taken within the field of migration policy, by having unaccompanied asylum-seeking children as the point of departure, this study is an endeavor to help give them a voice.

The Cork Good Shepherd Magdalen Asylum opened in the summer of 1872, and was abandoned in 1994. The number of women who passed through its walls remains unknown. Ireland’s Magdalen Laundries, a system of religious-run female penitentiaries founded to incarcerate society’s so called ‘fallen’ women, is a part of the country’s past traditionally met with reticent silence. For the atonement of their perceived sins, the inmates worked in the Magdalen laundries for no pay. The arduous labour was symbolic; the washing of soiled linen, for the purging of one’s soul. The inmates were held under no legal authority, had committed no crime, and were assigned no sentence; many women, unaware of their rights, were held in the laundries until they died. These institutions existed in Ireland over the span of three centuries, the last closing in 1996. Though a dialogue has begun to surround this chapter of Irish history, the issue remains far from resolved. The government has made no official acknowledgment or apology for their role in perpetuating such a shocking stance on social policy, while the Catholic orders responsible will not recognize the suffering caused at their hands. The Church refuses to release archival records that document the identities and numbers of the Magdalen women who worked in the laundries during the twentieth century. It is estimated that 30 000 ‘fallen’ women were put through this system - women who, with no records of their lives available, remain erased by anonymity. This lack of archival information has rendered the laundries, in Ireland’s collective consciousness, more in story than in history. The architecture that witnessed this past has since fallen victim to time. Whitewashed over with redevelopments, or left to fall into decay, the laundries, and their stories, are disappearing. Their place in the collective memory hangs in the balance, dwindling in the walls of their ruins. The sense of place, or memory, that is recorded in architecture, lingers in the folds of the ruin. Hovering like a ghost over its ashes, it becomes orphaned. As such, the preservation of place becomes laden with a sense of urgency. It becomes a problem of representation. Taking what remains of the Cork Good Shepherd Magdalen Asylum as a point of entry, I have endeavoured to decipher the fragments of the ruin as a reference to the whole, to, as Victor Hugo writes in Notre-Dame de Paris, turn the mountain of architecture into the imperishable flock of birds – the petrified memory into the narrative one. This is done in three parts. The first introduces the site’s historical and social context, composing a portrait of the building through the ephemera of its past. The second addresses the presence of absence in the return to the ruin, focusing its investigation on the imaginary space that stretches out between the shadow of the past-self, embodied in the built world, and the return of the present-self to this embodiment once it has fallen into ruin. This is followed by a series of meditative narratives constructed from the historical, latent, and projected memories contained within the ruin of the Magdalen Asylum in Cork. Part three is a rumination on the ruin, speculating on its role within human consciousness. The ruin of the Cork Good Shepherd Magdalen Asylum testifies to a dark history - one that remains largely unresolved, one that many would rather forget. This history has yet to find its place in Ireland’s collective memory and, with the vestiges of its past rapidly dissolving, it is in danger of erasure.

The purpose of this study was to highlight LGBT asylum-seekers experiences of expressing their sexual identity or gender identity in the country of origin and in the asylum process in Sweden. By interviewing people who got permanent residence in Sweden because of gender or sexual orientation in Utlänningslagen (2005:716) we have been able to explore their own experiences from expressing themselves. This study analyse these experiences from a social psychological perspective, from this analysis we aimed to obtain a deeper understanding of how the experiences from the country of origin affects on the experiences in the asylum process. This study shows that LGBT asylum-seekers often is facing negative reactions from the environment in the country of origin, these reactions can limit their possibilities to express their sexual identity or gender identity in the asylum process in Sweden. The negative reactions they experience in the country of origin have contributed to that many LGBT people internalize feelings of fear to express themselves, feelings that often stays when they come to Sweden to seek asylum. We hope that this study will contribute to a better treatment and reception from social workers and other professionals who meet these people in their work, by increased knowledge of the conditions under which LGBT people are coming to seek asylum in Sweden.