James Connolly (1868-1916), Socialist leader, labour union organiser and Irish Republican general, pursued an active career of over thirtyfive years duration in left-wing politics during the period of the Second International. During this time, he played an influential role in the Social Democratic and Labour movements in Ireland, Scotland and the United States. This stuy examines his relationships with the activists and organisations of left-wing labour in Scotland in the period 1890-1916 and moreover, seeks to establish his significance as a "Marxian Syndicalist"; an activist working in a Marxist tradition distinct from both the state socialism of the Social Democratic International and the Marxism - Leninism of the Comintern. Connolly's formative years in the Social Democratic and labour movements of his native Edinburgh (1890-96) are examined in some detail, and an attempt is made to delineate some characteristics both of the mainstream of British Marxism and of the uniqueness of the situation in Edinburgh, which were important for his personal development. Subsequently, his importance in the secession of the Scottish 'impossibilist' faction from the all-British Marxist movement in 1902-3 is analysed. At this point, there is some emphasis on the theories of the Alrerican Marxist, Daniel De Leon, and of their importance both in Connolly's further theoretical development and of the Scottish Left generally. The American contribution to Connolly's thought - and his mature response to it - is then followed up, some consideration being given to his work in the American socialist movement in 1903-10. In the light of this experience, Connolly's further influence on Scottish leftwing labour in the period 1910-15 is traced; particular emphasis is laid on the Syndicalist elements in his thought and on the Scottish responses to it. Finally, there is some discussion of the relationship between the themes of Nationalism, Marxism and Syndicalism within the history of the Scottish Left in the period 1890-1920, and the concrete failure of Marxism within the Scottish working class movement is assessed against the background of the manifest advances of the nontheoretical parliamentary Labour Party.

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The purpous of this master’s thesis is to explore how the swedish public library evolved between 1890-1911, before the state implemented the library reform in 1912. The material used to cunduct the study concists mainly of texts published during the time frame of the thesis in the form of books, booklets and articles from Folkbiblioteksbladet, a journal dedicated to the subject of the swedish public library. Drawing upon Habermas theory of the structural transformation of the public sphere and Bourdieus theories about taste as social distinction and symbolic capital, the thesis seeks to show how the public participated in the evolvement of the public library and which aspects of society that contributed to the public library’s establishment as an institution. The findings are also discussed in relation to previous research of the history of the Swedish public library. In summary, the study shows that the public library evolved as part of a larger aim to educate the masses with help from what was seen as ”good” litterature. It also shows that even though the higher classes decided the premisses for public education and the public library, some of the ideas were shared by the working class despite their different political goals.

Denna uppsats har berört Ivar Johnssons verk ”Arbete och Livsbejakelse” (1939) som finns placerad på fasaden av Östergötlands museum. Uppsatsens syfte är att beskriva verkets tillkomsthistoria samt undersöka dess relation till arbetartematiken och ideologi. Tillkomsthistorien har kunnat skrivas genom en redogörande genomgång av museibyggnadskommitteens protokoll samt samtida press. För undersökningen av verkets innehåll och motivbild har en analys gjorts med utgångspunkt från Erwin Panofskys och Jan- Gunnar Sjölins metoder. En diskussion görs efter analysen och resultatet visar att man kan se ideologiska tendenser i verket och att motiven kan ses följa arbetartematiken. / This essay has touched Ivar Johnson's works "Arbete och livsbejakelse" (1939) which are placed on the facade of Östergötlands museum. The purpose of this thesis is to describe the history about the origin of the artwork and examine its relationship to the working-class themes and ideology. The history about the origin of the artwork has been written by a narrative review of protocol, from the comittee of museum building and the contemporary press. For the survey of the work's content and motives image, an analysis has been made based on Erwin Panofsky and Jan-Gunnar Sjölins methods. A discussion is made after the analysis and the results show that one can see the ideological tendencies in the work and that the motives can be seen following the work themes.

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

published_or_final_version / abstract / Sociology / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Psychology / Master / Master of Philosophy

This thesis combines an academic investigation and creative writing practice in an attempt to understand the politics at work within mainstream notions of working-class masculine identity, and the role of literature in these discourses. Beginning with an academic analysis, the formulations and intersection of class and masculinity are outlined, explicating how systems, implemented by the middle-class creation of values, form social narratives whereby men of certain settings with associative lifestyles and practices, are privileged over other less valued groups of men. In this respect, its concerns are primarily with the socio-symbolic. Locating this discourse within an Aristotelian dichotomy of the mind and the body, this theoretical position is then applied in the scrutiny of six mainstream fictional narratives of two historic periods, each originally held to be politically subversive. In calling to question the validity of these original claims, further questions are raised regarding the nature of the mainstream fictional narrative at large, and whether it is an effective way of representing the politics of working-class identity, or whether, by its nature, it serves to reproduce its working-class characters as fixed subjects, immovable from their positions in a stable class system. This line of inquiry is then further explored in the deconstruction of my own creative work, in which I initially sought to represent the concerns of my own working-class heritage. The resulting issues raised with respect to mainstream, linear narrative leading to the investigation of other potential forms of representation for the working-class male, culminating in the exploration of my own shifting identity in a non-linear, multi-directional collection of poetry.

D.Phil. / The purpose of this study is to investigate the situation of the white labourer in the secondary industries during the years 1924 to 1933 on the Witwatersrand. This research is, however, not limited to working conditions such as wages, working hours and physical circumstances, but it also takes a look at the daily living conditions of the labourer. In the first place the study focuses on the secondary industries as milieu within which the labourer functioned. The development and growth of the secondary industries were to a large extent inspired and encouraged by the First World War, the mining industry and also urbanisation. These factors led to certain demands on the secondary industries that had to be met. The above factors not only contributed to increased production and: markets, but, also created much needed job opportunities for the inhabitants of the Witwatersrand. During and after the war the industrial growth was to a large extent without direction. The labourer also had only the labour union which he could appeal to. To provide the necessary order and direction, important legislation had been introduced since 1918 to serve as framework within which employer and employee could act. When the Pact Government assumed power in 1924 industrial growth was therefore not only further stimulated, but the government made a conscious effort to eliminate problems between employer and employee. Then a look is taken at the men, women and youth labourers.