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In february 2017 the maternity ward in Sollefteå was shut down. The citizens of the surrounding area, Ådalen, thus have more than two hours - with private transportation on narrow roads without phone connection - to the nearest maternity ward. The shutdown is a result of various developments in society, connected to larger structures of power that present these changes as natural and inevitable. This qualitative study explores the relationship between individual and structure by examining the area of Ådalen and its inhabitants’ access to maternity care. The emphasis lay on power dynamics within - and between - different structures and how these come to influence people’s everyday life. With ethnographic material collected through in depth-interviews and observations, the impact of these power structures are exemplified and discussed from the perspectives of a few individuals. The relevant structures are examined through three norms; a male norm, a neoliberal norm and an urban norm. The analysis problematize how the norms, through the conceptions of women, rurality and human values they reproduce, influence access to maternity care and limit the agency of the study’s participants. The analysis is based on power theories of both Foucault and Bourdieu. Foucault’s theories of subject and resistance are used to examine structural exercise of power and the informants’ collective actions and experiences. While Bourdieu’s theories of habitus, capital and field are used to analyze the informants’ individual perceptions of power. The power structures discussed are tied together by an intersectional framework, which enables a broader analysis of how these structures cooperate and strengthen each other. The study shows the complexity of power where the local movements challenge prevailing structures through mobilization and resistance. / I februari 2017 stängdes Sollefteå BB. Invånarna i det omgivande området, Ådalen, har därmed över två timmars bilfärd - med privat transport på smala vägar utan telefontäckning - till närmaste förlossningsvård. Nedstängningen av Sollefteå BB kan förstås som en konsekvens av olika samhälleliga förändringar, vilka är kopplade till större maktstrukturer som får denna utveckling att framstå som naturlig och oundviklig. Denna kvalitativa studie utforskar relationen mellan individ och struktur genom att undersöka Ådalen och dess invånares tillgång till förlossningsvård. Fokus ligger på makt-dynamiken inom, liksom mellan, olika strukturer och hur dessa påverkar människors villkor. Maktstrukturerna exemplifieras och diskuteras utifrån ett antal individers perspektiv, med etnografiskt material insamlat genom djupintervjuer och observationer. De för studien relevanta strukturerna undersöks genom tre normer; en manlig norm, en neoliberal norm och en urban norm. Utifrån dessa normer diskuteras hur informanterna relaterar till makt i kontexten av nedstängningen av Sollefteå BB. Analysen problematiserar hur de olika normerna genom den uppfattning om kvinnor, landsbygd och mänskliga värden som reproduceras påverkar tillgången till förlossningsvård, liksom handlingsutrymmet för studiens deltagare. Analysen utgår från teorier om makt av både Foucault och Bourdieu. Foucaults teorier om bl. a. subjekt och motmakt används för att analysera strukturellt maktutövande och informanternas kollektiva handlingar och upplevelser. Medan Bourdieus teorier om habitus, kapital och fält används för att förstå informanternas individuella erfarenheter av och uppfattningar om makt. De maktstrukturer som diskuteras knyts samman genom ett övergripande intersektionellt ramverk, vilket möjliggör en bredare analys av hur dessa strukturer samarbetar och stärker varandra. Studien visar en komplex bild av makt och maktutövning där de lokala rörelserna i Ådalen utmanar rådande maktstrukturer genom mobilisering och motstånd.

This thesis analyses the notion of so-called “Invandrartäta förorter” [“Immigrant-dense suburbs”]. The aim of the study has been to analyse the haunting imagery of the Suburb and the Immigrant as portrayed in the Swedish media. The notion of a fantasy-frame is related to the “Invandrartäta förorten” [“Immigrant-dense suburb”] which is, in the main, a fantasy. Nevertheless, the study shows that the imagery is powerful in its racialised and discriminatory practice. In the first part of the study the main focus is on the media narratives of the suburbs. Illustrations of how the idea of the “Invandrartäta förorten” [“Immigrant-dense suburb”] was created and how this place was, and still is, made to perform Otherness, are described. In the latter part of the study, the interwoven relationship between the fantasy-frame of the suburb and the mediated immigrant-made subject is in focus. Here the focus is on studying the attention and space of appearance that the media imposes on the immigrant-made individual when she or he is presented as representing this space. By taking into account the media's editing techniques in press material, ways of inter­pretation and the recurring themes concerning this space of appearance, the analysis tries to shed light on the conditions of attention for the one who is portrayed in relation to this fantasy space. Such representations mix fear with enticing elements of the exotic. The imagery of the suburban fantasy-frame materialises in the individual portraits and daily life of the people who are depicted in relation to this space. In the final part of the thesis, the notion of mime is used to describe a form of subversive strategy in relation to the imagery that the portrayed is evoked to display.

This bachelor’s thesis is an ethnological study with focus on examining conditions for and navigation between different subject positions in Swedish everyday life. The study problematizes the nature of Swedishness and examines the relationship between Swedishness, whiteness, and Jewishness. Who is Swedish and when is examined, and in which situations Jewishness is brought to light and made note of. The essay discusses the boundaries of the act of passing and what strategies Jews in Sweden use to navigate between Swedishness and Jewishness and adaptations to live as smooth a daily life as possible. Based on the theory derived from phenomenology and post-structuralism as well as interviews with six Jews resident in Sweden, the paper highlights the complicated ways in which norms interact and how identifications arise through deviation. Whiteness is examined in relation to Jewishness and Swedishness and appears, similarly to other social positions, depending on context, time and place. The empirical evidence shows how Jews in Sweden try to pass as (white) Swedes while at the same time trying to keep their Jewish identity. That Jewish bodies act differently and feel at home dependent on place is made clear by an account of the importance of the diasporic experience for Jewish life in Sweden.

<p>This thesis deals with questions concerning ongoing constructions of heterosexuality as a norm in the Swedish church. Empirically the study is based partly on interviews with thirteen homo- and bisexual priests, one district visitor and one church politician and partly on some of the church’s own inquiries and documents concerning the question of Christianity and ”deviant” sexuality.</p><p>The aim for this study is to examine how norms for sexuality, coexistence and gender are repeated in the documents created by the Swedish church itself about homosexuality and Christianity and to discern how these norms are present and have sense – are reproduced, challenged and transformed in life stories of Christian homo- and bisexual individuals. To be able to see how the notion of homosexuality as abnormal is reproduced, secured and challenged I have chosen to interpret texts, observations and life stories from a critical discourse perspective. In this theoretical tradition it is central to stress how, or rather to investigate what strategies are used to produce and maintain notions of ”abnormality”.</p><p>One dominating view in the discussions within the church is that homosexuals and heterosexuals have equal value but that partnership cannot be equated with marriage. This understanding is expressed in my examples of formations of heteronormativity within the church.</p><p>In the interview persons’ narratives there are discourses represented that are articulated in the church’s own inquiries but the narratives also express counter discourses. They speak about themselves in relation to, for example, imperative heterosexuality, homosexual ideals, core family ideals, theological way of thinking and dichotomizing understanding of gender. I have identified several ”uses” in the narratives and all of them are contained in an overall Christian homosexual ”us”.</p><p>Instead of viewing themselves as being ”wrong” some of the interview persons have moved the problem to the heteronormativity. Experiences of not being part of the norm have made them strong and willing to struggle and fight for their rights. This position, outside the norm, is by some viewed positively. The homosexuals’ experiences of oppression have led to a desire to liberate the church from homophobia and show ”the true” church, where no one is discriminated.</p><p>Homosexuals are accepted within the church, but only as deviants. This way heterosexuality is being made the superior category. Its meaning and superior position cannot be questioned according to many of the church’s representatives. Still, this is exactly what is happening when homosexuals are increasingly visible to the public and when they challenge the heterosexual norm. This provocation makes the heterosexual norm visible and forces representatives of the norm to deal with it!</p>

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<p>Numera Nette Wermeld Enström.</p>

Abstract This ethnological bachelor level essay investigates how suicide is looked upon amongst the Sámi people (in Sweden) from cultural perspectives. The subject is studied by interviewing ten respondents who have experienced suicide in their closeness, mainly within their family at some point between 1980- 2020. Most respondents and all their deceased relatives are of Sámi origin.  The study found that suicide has occurred amongst people with vastly different living conditions, all over the Swedish parts of Sápmi. The deceased consists of 7 men and 3 women, ages 20 – 60. The study analysis focuses upon how the respondents explain their relative’s mental ill-health and suicide, because from an ethnologic perspective a lot of knowledge about the cultural understanding of suicide can be found within their model of explanation.  The results of the study show that the respondents first explanation on the direct question vary widely, it can be mental illness, alcoholism as well as a fragile persona. But by analysing the explanation in it´s cultural context a more complex picture evolves, where their shared experiences as Sámi occur. The study found potential reasons for mental ill-health amongst the Sami such as different postcolonial scars that still today occur in many contexts, ethnic discrimination as well as other difficulties as a minority population. The main issue why Sámi who experience mental ill-health do not seek professional help nor help from within their own group is explained by a tradition of silence within the Sámi culture.

This study focuses on the attitudes of museumgoers toward the exhibition of human remains in modern Swedish museums. More specifically, it deals with how their attitudes toward remains are shaped and informed by museums’ materiality and institutionalized authority, whether they think of remains as humans or objects, as well as how these dead bodies ultimately become culturally meaningful to us who are still alive. Through the use of ethnographic field methods including go-along interviews and participant observation, the behaviors and opinions of museumgoers are recorded. With the help of Emmanuel Levinas’ ethical phenomenology and Annemarie Mol’s theory of multiple ontology, the cultural background against which these attitudes have taken shape is examined. The study shows that museumgoers are generally positive toward the exhibition of human remains in museums—an attitude which is influenced by the history, scientific authority, and carefully designed materiality of the museum. Among the perceived benefits of exhibiting human remains, visitors cite the ability of the remains to arouse their curiosity and serve as links to the past, as well as provide material proof that validates the museum’s claims to knowledge. However, this positive attitude is dependent on whether the remains are treated and displayed with respect. This call to treat the dead respectfully can be seen as a universal reaction to the ”face-to-face encounter” as described by Emmanuel Levinas, but at the same time, museumgoers’ interpretation of respect is culturally contingent and heavily influenced by contemporary values such as individuality, scientific objectivity, and equality. Furthermore, the perceived need to treat remains respectfully is directly tied to the perceived humanity of the remains. This is in turn dependent on how close the remains are to us in terms of appearance and temporal distance. By focusing on museumgoers instead of professionals, and through using ethnographic fieldwork to note opinions and their cultural backgrounds, this study attempts to add a fresh perspective and new knowledge to what is currently one of the hottest debates in museology: whether remains even belong in museums. Further, by recognizing that no opinion is formed in a vacuum, the narrow question of displaying death can tell us something bigger about the norms and values of Sweden today.

In the Swedish peasant society, the church was an important venue. In areas were the church in the parish was located nearby a lake, the easiest way to reach the church was by boat. This was the case in several parishes around the lake Siljan in the province Dalarna, which is the focal point of this study. The villages were large, and the villagers would organise themselves in large boats, so called church-boats. Due to technological innovations, as one important aspect, there were no longer any need for the church-boats at the time of the turn of the 20th century. Some decades into the new century the old boats were once again taken into use and new boats of the same type were taken into production. In 1936 an organized racing competition with church-boats was initiated, and this still lives on today. This study examines the contemporary customs surrounding church-boats on Siljan in the character of competition as well as journeys to the church. The main part of the material is collected through ethnological fieldwork, conducted through interviews and observation/participant-observation, supplemented with a wide range of other material such as internet sources as well as textual and visual material. Aspects that are highlighted is the different characters of the custom, how the custom today is expressed in relation to the past, how local identity is expressed through the custom and what role its performers see for the custom today and for the future. One aspect that is highlighted is the stagnated interest in the usage of the church-boats but narratives with a positive tone are given room as well. A crucial proposition of the study is how the custom in its era as revitalized cultural heritage is filled with new values. Its historical purpose is no longer of relevance and today the usage of the church-boats comes with other purposes such as a cultural historical interest, tourism and sport. It is also shown how changes and preservation both serves as necessary components for the further existence of the cultural heritage. Crucial theoretical frameworks that is used, apart from cultural heritage and revitalization, are performance and nostalgia.