This study examines imagined boundaries between Swedes and non-Swedes. Rather than using pre-determined definitions as a starting point, the attempt is to examine the discursive construction of difference. The purpose is not to study the portrayal of immigrants per se but to examine how the “immigrant-ness” is constructed. The result shows the perception of “immigrant-ness” is linked more to a person’s origin than to the act of immigration itself.  The selected newspapers are Dagens Nyheter (DN) and Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) for the period of 15th November – 21st November, 1999. The theoretical frame is based on discourse analysis, myths, representation and construction of whiteness and blackness (e.g. Hall, Foucault, Barthes, Fanon, Dyer, Ristilammi). News coverage of ethnic minorities is also discussed (e.g. Dijk, Campbell).  The methodological approach is based on semiotics and critical linguistics.  The result shows mainly that people of non-Western origin are presented as Others (immigrants). Eastern Europeans fall into a more ambiguous category, being both different and similar. However, both groups are linked to “suburbs”, a racialized sign connoting non-Swedish populations and socio-economic problems, thus closely linking those problems and segregation to “immigrant-ness”. On the other hand, white, well-educated non-Swedes are described as cosmopolitan, i.e. persons whose “non-Swedishness” is a positive feature.

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<p>This essay examines a small selection of Swedish newsreel and documentary short films, primarily travelogues, produced shortly before and after the second world war. The general aim is to expose differences in the representation of “The Other” and the “ethnic Swede” by applying a critical discourse analysis. The purpose is to illuminate how the material positions the latter as the norm and then contextualize this with xenophobic currents that had developed up until the middle of the twentieth century. Theoretical and methodological framework is drawn from the field of cultural studies as well as the nonfiction film. The analysis shows that the Swedish newsreel and travelogue indeed, to a high degree, possessed these currents even though part of them, mainly the anti-Semitic ideas, seems to relapse after the Holocaust.</p>

This essay examines a small selection of Swedish newsreel and documentary short films, primarily travelogues, produced shortly before and after the second world war. The general aim is to expose differences in the representation of “The Other” and the “ethnic Swede” by applying a critical discourse analysis. The purpose is to illuminate how the material positions the latter as the norm and then contextualize this with xenophobic currents that had developed up until the middle of the twentieth century. Theoretical and methodological framework is drawn from the field of cultural studies as well as the nonfiction film. The analysis shows that the Swedish newsreel and travelogue indeed, to a high degree, possessed these currents even though part of them, mainly the anti-Semitic ideas, seems to relapse after the Holocaust.

It is vital that feminist theory and critical white studies be combined in order to form what I call critical white feminism. Both critical white studies and feminist studies are often limited in their ability to adequately address the complex interconnectivity of racial and gender privilege and oppression. In general, feminist scholarship produced by white feminists excludes and oppresses women of color and is therefore inadequate. I refer to this problem as white feminist racism and argue that white feminists are ignorant of the ways in which whiteness and privilege facilitate problematic theorizing. Unlike white feminist theories, the emerging field of critical white studies provides a foundation for exploring whiteness in a racist society. However, critical white theories often examine racism and whiteness without attention to gender, and are therefore inadequate, as well. Consequently, another approach is necessary for the development of liberatory theories that sufficiently conceptualize social change. As a solution to the limitations of both feminist studies and critical white studies, I propose critical white feminism, which encourages white feminists to interrogate whiteness and privilege. The purpose of critical white feminism is to a) conceptualize an inclusive and transformative antiracist feminist framework and agenda, b) challenge white feminist racism and white feminist hegemony, c) encourage open and honest communication between feminists across differences, and d) facilitate feminist solidarity and mobilization.

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