In this analysis of Terry Pratchett’s Wyrd Sisters, I argue that performance of the witch is the most important part of witchcraft on Discworld, and, indeed, what drives the story. To underpin this position, I understand Wyrd Sisters as a work of metafiction and parody, examine witch tropes and stories on Discworld and draw parallels to the weird sisters of Shakespeare's Macbeth. Using Pratchett's own theory of narrative causality and Judith Butler's theory of performativity, I show that there is no witch essence on Discworld, but that the witches' performances are imitations of imitations. I also show how the witches' performances of themselves and theatre performance interact and amplify each other, as theatre is a key theme in the novel. / I den här analysen av Terry Pratchetts Häxkonster argumenterar jag för att de roller häxorna ikläder sig är den viktigaste aspekten av deras magi på Skivvärlden, och att iscensättandet av häxan i sig är vad som driver berättelsen framåt. Som bevis för min tes läser jag Häxkonster som metafiktion och parodi, går igenom stereotyper av häxor på Skivvärlden och drar paralleller till de tre häxorna från Shakespeares Macbeth. Jag använder Pratchetts egen teori om narrativ kausalitet och Judith Butlers teori om performativitet för att visa att ”häxan” inte har någon essens på Skivvärlden; häxornas iklädande av roller är istället imitationer av andra imitationer. Jag visar också hur teateruppträdande och häxornas iscensättande av sig själva samspelar och förstärker varandra, då romanen har ett starkt teatertema.

This essay explores how different forms of othering are applied in the novel Shadow  and Bone compared to the tv-series adaptation. The essay will focus on how differ ent forms of othering are used to characterize the main character Alina Starkov as well as the community called Grisha. In order to compare the changes this essay uti lizes adaptation theory and Gérard Genette’s hypertextuality. To further understand  the different forms of othering the essay relies on studies of racism and its connec tion to the fantasy genre. The essay concludes that different forms of othering are used in the novels compared to the tv-series. The novels use othering to characterize  Alina based on her Grisha identity. As the tv-series has given Alina a whole new  identity as multiracial, it is rather her ethnicity that is the foundation for her other ing. While the tv-series displays a more diverse cast than the novels, it also fails to  provide a rich presentation of Grisha culture and history.

Who wants to live forever? Jeder. Keiner. Die Suche nach irdischer Unsterblichkeit ist als Gegenstand von Erzählung so alt wie das Erzählen selbst: Seit Anbeginn der Überlieferung bildet diese Suche einen zentralen Stoff menschlicher Fantasie, der sich bis in die aktuellen Formen auch audiovisuellen Erzählens fortgesetzt hat. Ihre Narrative begleiten dabei ein ganz reales Streben um die Verlängerung des Lebens, das sich vom Okkultem zum Religiösen, vom Magischen zum Wissenschaftlichen und bis in die rezenten Life-Science des Silicon Valley an immer neue Kontexte zu heften verstand. Dem Wechselspiel beider Sphären widmet sich die vorliegende Arbeit: Sie verfolgt, wie sich im fortlaufenden Gespräch über die Unsterblichkeit Legenden und Beobachtungen, Geschichten und Untersuchungen, Visionen und Studien, kurz Fiktion und Forschung annähern. Gerade an der entstehenden Schnittstelle kann Erzählung ihr ganzes Potential entfalten: Wo sie zum Simulationsraum einzig in der Fiktion durchzuspielender Phänomene wird, da ist ihr Zugang exklusiv. Ihre Unsterblichen stecken den Rahmen für ein zukünftiges Operieren mit realen Lebensverlängerungsangeboten ab. Ihre Aushandlung von Unsterblichkeit generiert Deutungsangebote, die mit Philosophie, Publizistik und auch Naturwissenschaft um die Legitimität auch einer Interpretation bereits gegenwärtiger Konflikte konkurrieren.:1. Der Wunsch nach ewigem Leben 5 2. Konzepte der Unsterblichkeit 16 2.1 ›Der unsterbliche Sterbliche‹ 19 2.2 Gegenbilder – Weitere Unsterblichkeitskonzepte 22 2.3 Zwischenfazit 33 3. Tücken der Unsterblichkeit 36 3.1 Der Horizont der Religion 37 3.1.1 Unsterblichkeit im antiken Mythos 37 3.1.2 Abrahamitische Legenden – Der wandernde Jude und Al Chadhir 46 3.2 Vom Glaubensrahmen zum Erzählexperiment 64 3.2.1 Aufklärung über die Ewigkeit – Jonathan Swifts »Struldbruggs« 64 3.2.2 Provokation und Ermächtigung – Robert Maturins »Melmoth der Wanderer« und Mary Shelleys »Der sterbliche Unsterbliche« 72 3.2.3 Philosophie der Ewigkeit – Karel Čapeks »Die Sache Makropulos« 82 3.2.4 Die ewige Wiederkehr – Simone de Beauvoirs »Alle Menschen sind sterblich« 91 3.3 Moderne Fantasy – Die Elben des Tolkien-Universums 107 4. Trotz und Trost 118 5. Life-Science und third culture: Fortschritte zur Unsterblichkeit? 127 5.1 Eine Alternative zum Tod? 129 5.2 Annäherungen an die Unsterblichkeit 139 5.3 Mediale Inszenierungen des Lebensquells 153 5.4 Die neuen Herren des Todes 159 6. Narrative Reflexionen des Fortschritts – Neue Tücken der Unsterblichkeit 172 6.1 Leib, Seele, Identität 179 6.2 Distribution und Apartheit 195 6.3 Überbevölkerung 209 6.4 Gerontokratie 219 6.5 Stagnation 228 7. Vision und Warnung 237 8. Popularisierung und Medien 248 8.1 Trost und Trotz im Bild 252 8.2 Vision und Warnung im Bild 263 8.3 Transfer in weitere Erzählräume – Anime, Graphic Novel, Kinderbuch, Gaming 281 9. Fazit 296 10. Quellen- und Literaturverzeichnis 307 10.1 Erzählungen 307 10.1.1 Literatur 307 10.1.2 Audiovisuelles 312 10.2 Forschung und Forschungsquellen 316 10.2.1 Kulturwissenschaft 316 10.2.2 Philosophie 334 10.2.3 Life-Science 342

I den här studien undersöks potentialen hos Large Language Models (LLMs) för att generera engagerande och människolik dialog i rollspelssammanhang. Parametrar som trovärdighet, relaterbarhet och följdriktighet tilldelas dialog, och dess påverkan vad gäller preferens undersöks och diskuteras. Dialog genererad av två olika LLMs samt dialog skriven av två mänskliga författare av olika erfarenhetsnivåer ställs mot varandra som svar på fördefinierade uttalanden, för att sedan analyseras utifrån deltagarnas preferenser. Resultaten visar att dialog från mänskliga författare generellt sett föredras, vilket understryker betydelsen av dialogens kvalitativa aspekter. Detta belyser både potentialen och begränsningarna hos nuvarande Artificiell Intelligens (AI) för att skapa dialog i rollspel, och pekar på vikten av vidare forskning för att förbättra AI-modellernas förmåga att generera trovärdig och relaterbar dialog. Studien bidrar till förståelsen av AIs roll i framtida spelutveckling och dess möjligheter att förhöja spelupplevelsen genom förbättrad interaktivitet och mer djupgående narrativ.

This thesis is an extended reading of the topos of the ghostly as it is staged in the modernist writings of T.S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf, Elizabeth Bowen and D.H. Lawrence. As I argue, their distinct appropriations of haunting are innately tied to their individual theories of the aesthetic; there are also a number of recurring motifs throughout their respective oeuvres, which time and again evoke a ghostly register. Consistently appearing in the texts I read here, most of which were published between the years 1919 and 1935, are figurations of the ghostly as a symptom of ‘ontological uncertainty’, as well as renderings of purgatorial subjectivity, and aporias of mourning. I locate my reading in response to the scholarly fields of haunting studies, mourning modernisms and Gothic modernisms. In a move common to contemporary theoretical studies of haunting, I draw also from the latter work of Jacques Derrida, a theoretical lens that facilitates my reading of a complex modernist ethics of mourning and alterity, one that often courts the ghostly, but resists what Derrida terms ‘hauntological’ work. The Derridean figure of the ethical apparition, in its status as the Absolute Other, is consistently complicated or rejected in these texts. This resistance mirrors a purgatorial mode of subjectivity that recurs in a range of guises in the modernisms I read here. In uncovering the economies that lie beneath these haunted subjectivities Jacques Lacan’s metapsychology of the subject helps also to conceptualise Bowen and Lawrence’s handling of the spectral. Bowen’s is a distinctly visual imagination, and her staging of a haunted subjectivity is elucidated by calling upon Lacan’s formulation of the gaze. Lawrence, whose work is consistently concerned with a-symbolic bodily registers, bypasses a number of the purgatorial aporias staged in the writings of Woolf, Eliot and Bowen. Viewing his appropriation of haunting through a Lacanian understanding of feminine jouissance suggests Lawrence’s welcoming of a radical ghostly other that may transcend the aporias of subjectivity, ethics and mourning that characterise these haunting modernisms.

Very often remote peripheral locations with scarce unique attractions find it difficult to attract investment and development in many spheres including tourism. Yet some innovative entrepreneurs have taken advatage of some of these locations, using the natural resources (though not scarce) that they posses to develop themed tourism. The success of these themed establishments located in remote peripheries is renounced as they attract tourists world wide. This thesis therefore explores the fantasy and themed hotel product and location as elements of attraction in peripheral locations. Information obtained  through consultation with expersts will not only bring new knowlege to academia on the subject; it would also be useful in planning new themed destination products in the periphery since it provides inside knowledge on what to consider when setting up establishments of like characteristics.

This paper explores fantasy brands and product placement in order to determine which method serves to be more effective to a targeted audience. A fantasy brand exists only in a virtual or fictional world. Reverse product placement is the process of transforming brands in a virtual world into products or services in the physical world. Common fictional brands include Willy Wonka Chocolate (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), Duff Beer (The Simpsons), Dunder Mifflin Paper (The Office), Bubba Gump Shrimp Company (Forrest Gump), Central Perk (Friends), and Stay Puft Marshmallows (Ghost Busters). Previous research has suggested that people who are fans of a television show or movie are more likely to purchase a fantasy brand than those who are unfamiliar with the show or movie. Additionally previous research indicates that some people believe product placement is invasive and results in negative brand image. However, no previous research directly compared product placement to fantasy brands, and which a consumer might prefer. This paper will explore the advantages and disadvantages of both product placement and fantasy brands. The study conducted tested 175 subjects in a moderated laboratory setting to discover which form of advertising was more likely to drive a purchase interaction. This study goes on to provide evidence that consumers are more likely to purchase a fantasy brand when there is a high level of “fandom”. However, if they have a low level of “fandom” they are more likely to purchase the item in the form of product placement. This paper contributes to the idea of branding, experiential consumption, and advertising in an overcrowded era.

Denna studie undersöker principer och konsekvenser av vad som kännetecknar grunderna i förskollärares bokval till barngruppen. Syftet är att visa om förskollärare beaktar både pedagogiska och underhållande aspekter, om deras egna känslor för böckerna påverkar deras bokval och i så fall på vilka sätt. Metoden för undersökningen var två kvalitativa intervjuer och en kvantitativ enkätundersökning. Undersökningen gjordes i en medelstor kommun i Sverige. Resultaten visar att när förskollärare väljer barnböcker så sker det framförallt för att bidra till barns språkutveckling, dock hamnar det fantasiskapande syftet i andra hand. Däremot försöker förskollärare skapa meningsfullhet för barngruppen genom bland annat emotionell koppling till boken vilket i förlängningen kan skapa läslust hos barnen. / This study investigates the principles and consecuences of the grounds of preschool teachers book selections for the group of children. The purpose is to show if preschool teachers take into consideration both educational and entertaining aspects, if their own feelings towards the books affects their book selections and if so in what way. The methodology for the survey was two qualitative interviews and a quantitative survey. The study was made in a medium-sized municipality in Sweden. The results shows that when preschool teachers choose books it is done above all to contribute to children's language development, however the fantasy creative purpose will end up in the second. On the other hand preschool teachers try to create meaningfulness for the group of children by including emotinal connection through the book selection which ultimately can create motivation for reading in children.

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The purpose with this paper is to use an older belletristic litterature, like in this case Ett sällsamt öde by Frida Stéenhoff and do a queer theoretical analysis of the short story and then discuss the didactical implications the short story and my reading of the short story can have in the Swedish school and the work to active counteract discrimination. I have designed three questions who can answer my purpose with this paper. The following questions are: - How do Mikael and Ethel challenge the heterosexual standard? - How can the important breakfronts in the short story be comprehended and explained by the queer theory? - What in my reading of the short story can be actualized as relevant in the didactic field? The method I have used to answer these questions is a queer theoretical close reading of the short story. I have been able to use this method with the help of the queer theoretical perspective as my thesis and concepts such as Butler’s perfomativity and Foucault’s categorizing and exlusion are important concepts in my analysis and result. The conclusion I have been able to reach is that the short story Ett sällsamt öde actually is a story that can be used in the Swedish school and the work to actively counteract discrimination. With the queer theoretical perspective as my basis I have been able to find four different aspects that I consider important for the story itself but also to discuss with the students in school. These four aspects are Mikael Ignace’s identity, his suicide and Ethel’s psychological state and her way back to the nursing home as she herself once upon a time was admitted to. These four aspects challenge the heterosexual state and can from a queer perspective interpreted as Frida Stéenhoff’s figurative metaphors for a more comprehending society. With these aspects to my help I want to use queer pedagogy with my students to show them that norms, categorizing and similar aspects are constructions built by human beings and therefore are able to be critically examined and that they are changeable.