This dissertation examines migrants during a time of large-scale socio-economic transformations. These changes were particularly evident in the nineteenth-century town of Sundsvall, Sweden, to which thousands of men and women moved. The causes and consequences of their arrival are analyzed by considering migrants’ geographical backgrounds, socio-economic and demographic characteristics, and their life-courses in the town. The results are explained by employing a micro-perspective focusing on individual migrants and a macro-perspective that, in addition to acknowledging the importance of structural socio-economic changes, also takes into account the current gender regime. The paths and experiences of women during the period of industrialization are particularly emphasized. Computerized parish registers enable this study to clarify gendered patterns of socio-spatial mobility. It finds differences and similarities between male and female migrants and illuminates their features in pre-industrial and urban-industrial Sundsvall. The influx increased remarkably over time but its even gender distribution and the characteristics of migrants remained fairly constant even though the town’s economic life was based on the surrounding sawmill industry that should have favored men’s arrival. Female migrants traveled shorter distances but they responded to business cycles in much the same way as men did and paralleled their length of residence in the town. The routes migrants took to Sundsvall were largely gendered and so were the consequences of their arrival. Life-course analyses show that a high level of social stability characterized most migrants during their stay in the town, but men particularly benefited from the economic transformation that was underway. Women seldom experienced upward social mobility although the additional sources used here such as local newspapers reveal they were very active in the urban labor market. In addition to gender several factors influenced patterns of migration such as socio-economic transformations, the availability of social networks, improving transportation, and a growing supply of information. Migrants’ multiple movements reveal that regional and larger migration systems brought people to Sundsvall but also encouraged them to leave. Their frequent travels illuminates the process of migration on individual and structural levels and shed light onto the slow process of urbanization in Sweden. Shifts in women’s migration patterns are viewed both as a protest against gendered constraints and as a result of the wider public space and labor opportunities they achieved through the introduction of legal and socio-economic reforms in the late nineteenth-century. This thesis shows the necessity to employ both micro- and macro-perspectives inspired by approaches used in different disciplines to conceptualize migrants and their experience of socio-spatial mobility. The use of a variety of methods and diverse array of sources benefits such efforts and helps identify gendered patterns and women’s paths. These methodologies allow us to recognize migrants as agents of change who negotiated a turbulent time and setting that influenced their socio-spatial mobility. / digitalisering@umu

In the following essay I have studied child suffocation and infanticide in Västbo district in Småland 1860–1949. This has been done with a quantitative study of the district's death and funeral books which have shown the reduced frequency of the phenomena over time. I have also been able to point to a connection where child suffocation tended to occur in cases where the parents were married. Infanticide, on the other hand, was in most cases caused by an extramarital affair. Based on theories concerning the role of marriage,combined with the assumption that a female ideal is constructed on the basisof two counter-images, I have been able to show how the child murderer was seen as a greater threat to the social morality, compared with the married woman who suffocated her child in her sleep. Thus, there was also a greater tendency to punish the former more severely. In the qualitative part of thestudy, I have reviewed the district court's records concerning child murderers. Based on a theory that pregnancies, births and morality fell within the scope of a female sphere of responsibility, I have analyzed the actions of to the accused woman's homosocial group. Here, the study has been able to shed light on a significant female presence. This was partly reflected in the gender distribution of witnesses, as well as in how the authorities seemed to show aconfidence in the female sphere to bring clarity to the case.

The general purpose of this study is to turn to the possibilities of a second focus of research into the adoption process, that is, to what can be learned about the natural mother. The particular purpose of this study is threefold: (1) to identify the socio-economic characteristics of those women contacting a public adoption agency for the placement of their children with prospective adoptive families; (2) to identify and examine the sociological factors which appear to influence the natural mother to wither keep or surrender her child; and (3) to determine if the women contacting the agency in 1969 represent the same socio-economic characteristics as those women who contacted the agency in 1959.

This dissertation examines the way in which South African colonial texts may be read for the historical signs they inadvertently reveal. The history of land acquisition in South Africa may be read through the representation of burial and illegitimate pregnancy in South African farm novels. Both burial and illegitimate pregnancy are read as signifiers of illegitimacy in the texts, surfacing, by indirection, the question of the illegitimacy of land acquisition in South Africa. The South African farm novel offers a representational form which seeks (or fails) to mediate the question of land ownership and the relationship between colon and indigene. In the four texts under discussion, Olive Schreiner's The Story of an African Farm, Florence Ethel Mills Young's The Bywonner[sic], Pauline Smith's The Beadle and Daphne Rooke's Mittee, the representation of burial and illegitimate pregnancy is problematic and marked by narrative displacements and discursive breakdowns. KEY TERMS burial, colonial discourse, farm novel, illegitimacy, illegitimate pregnancy, land, postcolonial theory, representation / English / M.A. (English)

Connu pour ses qualités de bibliophile, Louis bâtard de Bourbon se distingue aussi par sa proximité avec Louis XI, dont il épouse la fille bâtarde. Propulsé à un rang auquel sa naissance ne le destinait pas, il acquiert avec Jeanne bâtarde de France, à partir de 1465 et durant une vingtaine d’années, une série d’œuvres destinée à affirmer le rang et la puissance de ce nouveau couple princier. L’objectif de ce travail a d’abord été de reconstituer ce corpus, composé d’une tapisserie, un panneau peint, plusieurs manuscrits enluminés et une commande castrale, pour l’étudier ensuite en détail afin de mettre en évidence les interférences entre commande, réseau social, carrière d’officier dans le sillage royal et événements historiques susceptibles d’avoir pu interférer dans le choix des œuvres ou dans les modèles de référence retenus. Cet ensemble a été considéré dans sa globalité, récusant le cloisonnement disciplinaire traditionnel, afin de cerner au plus près le sens et la fonction des œuvres, au profit des approches stylistiques plus traditionnelles. L’étude a cherché ensuite à montrer comment les valeurs royales ont été assimilées par le couple, dans quelles circonstances, et à quelles fins. L’interrogation plus large du contexte de création a mis en lumière la place singulière prise par ce seigneur dans le jeu politique de Louis XI, tout comme celle de son épouse, dont le rôle longtemps négligé apporte un nouvel éclairage sur les échanges entre œuvres et artistes, actifs au sein de ce réseau. / Known for his excellence as a bibliophile, Louis bâtard de Bourbon was also close to Louis XI, whose illegitimate daughter he married. Having attained a station well above that which his birth reserved for him, he and Jeanne batârde de France acquired, after 1465 and over a period of some twenty years, a series of works meant to assert the rank and power of this new princely couple. The object of the present work has been first to reconstitute this corpus, consisting of a tapestry, a painted panel, several illuminated manuscripts and architectural commissions and then to study it in depth in order to shed light on the interconnections between the commissions, the social network, the career of an officer attached to the throne of France and the historical events likely to have influenced the choice of works or of models to which these were expected to refer. This body of work has been studied as a whole without regard for the usual disciplinary separations and with an eye to defining as precisely as possible the meanings and functions of the works, thereby enriching the traditional stylistic approaches. This study then goes on to show how the couple assimilated the values of the monarchy, under what circumstances and to what ends. This examination of the larger context of creation has brought to light the unique role in Louis XI’s political strategy played by this nobleman as well as by his wife, whose long neglected role sheds new light on the exchanges between the works and the artists who participated in this network.

This dissertation examines the way in which South African colonial texts may be read for the historical signs they inadvertently reveal. The history of land acquisition in South Africa may be read through the representation of burial and illegitimate pregnancy in South African farm novels. Both burial and illegitimate pregnancy are read as signifiers of illegitimacy in the texts, surfacing, by indirection, the question of the illegitimacy of land acquisition in South Africa. The South African farm novel offers a representational form which seeks (or fails) to mediate the question of land ownership and the relationship between colon and indigene. In the four texts under discussion, Olive Schreiner's The Story of an African Farm, Florence Ethel Mills Young's The Bywonner[sic], Pauline Smith's The Beadle and Daphne Rooke's Mittee, the representation of burial and illegitimate pregnancy is problematic and marked by narrative displacements and discursive breakdowns. KEY TERMS burial, colonial discourse, farm novel, illegitimacy, illegitimate pregnancy, land, postcolonial theory, representation / English / M.A. (English)

Mot propre au langage juridique, l’illicéité signifie la contrariété au droit. Oscillant entre l’illégalité et l’injustice, elle est une catégorie juridique souvent rejetée par les pénalistes. En réalité, l’illicéité aborde les interdits posés par le droit pénal à partir de leurs essences. Elle peut ainsi apparaître inutile et même dangereuse – en droit pénal la contrariété au droit est synonyme d’illégalité et le juge pénal n’a pas à se demander si le comportement poursuivi est en outre injuste. Néanmoins, il convient de ne pas oublier que « même pénale, la loi n’a pas tous les droits » et que les dispositions pénales n’ont pas comme unique destinataire le juge. À l’heure où il est de plus en plus question de regénéralisation et de rethéorisation du droit pénal, l’illicéité mérite en effet d’être placée au centre des réflexions pénalistes, car elle invite à s’intéresser à ce qui est essentiel dans les interdits pénalement consacrés en fonction des besoins et capacités du destinataire principal des dispositions pénales – le profane. En mesure de recouvrir ce qu’on peut réellement attendre d’un non-spécialiste, l’illicéité indique ainsi ce qui doit guider la détermination et la définition des infractions pour que le droit pénal soit légitime et effectif. Dans cette perspective, pour saisir ce que constitue l’essence des interdits pénalement consacrés, il ne suffit pas de se référer aux dispositions pénales mais il faut exploiter entièrement les normes et valeurs révélées par la conscience sociale qui exercent une influence déterminante sur le droit pénal. Car si les repères proprement pénaux ne sont pas en mesure de dévoiler à eux seuls l’essence des interdits, la conscience sociale fournit des critères de justice objectifs et opérationnels adaptés au profane permettant d’aborder adéquatement le droit pénal dans le cadre de l’ensemble normatif dans lequel il s’insère. / Illicitness, a word particular to the legal language signifies the defiance of the law. Oscillating between illegality and injustice, it is a legal category often rejected by French criminal lawyers. In reality, illicitness touches the essence of the prohibitions posed by the criminal law. It can thus appear unnecessary and even dangerous – in criminal law the defiance of the law is synonymous with illegality and the criminal judge does not have to wonder if the continued behaviour is also unjust. Nevertheless, we should not forget that “even criminal, the law does not have all the rights” and that criminal provisions are not only intended for the judge. At a time when it is increasingly a question of re-generalisation and re-theorisation of the criminal law, illicitness merits being placed in effect at the centre of the criminal lawyers’ reflections, for it invites interest in what is essential in the prohibitions enacted as criminal by reference to the main recipient of the criminal provisions – the layman. Able to cover what you can really expect from a non-lawyer, illicitness indicates in this way what must guide the determination and the definition of the offences in order that the criminal law is legitimate and effective. In this perspective, in order to grasp what animates deeply the restrictions laid down as criminal, it is not enough to refer to the provisions but it is necessary also to fully exploit the norms and values revealed by the social conscience which exerts a decisive influence on the criminal law. For if the strictly criminal bench marks are not by themselves able to reveal what gives meaning to the forbidden, social awareness provides the objective and operational criteria of illicitness adapted to the layman to adequately address the criminal law in the framework of the normative set in which it fits.

This study examines the effect of judicial protection of minority rights on the Constitutional Court’s legitimacy. The framing of the Marriage Act shows that Parliament intended marriage to be between a man and a woman. By nullifying section 30(1) of the Act and making the order above, the Court fulfilled its constitutional mandate of upholding fundamental human rights. At the same time, it negated the intention of Parliament which represents majoritarian interests. The Constitutional Court is, in contra-distinction with Parliament, unelected. By voiding section 30(1) of the Marriage Act and arousing public opposition to legal recognition of same-sex unions, it raised a ‘countermajoritarian difficulty.’ This ‘countermajoritarian difficulty’ has elicited intense scholarly debate.17 The study examines how the Court’s negation of majoritarian interests in order to protect minority rights affects its legitimacy. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2007. / A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Law University of Pretoria, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Law (LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa). Prepared under the supervision of Associate Prof. Tamale Sylvia of the Faculty of Law, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

This dissertation is mainly based on the reading of three American novels to explore how female characters deal with their illegitimate pregnancies and how their solutions re-shape their futures and affect their inner growth. Chapter 1 discusses Dorinda Oakley's premarital pregnancy in Ellen Glasgow's Barren Ground and draws the circle of limits from Barbara Welter's "four cardinal virtues" (purity, submissiveness, domesticity, and piety) which connect to the analogous female roles (daughter, sister, wife, and mother). Dorinda's childless survival reconstructs a typical household from her domination and absence of maternity. Chapter 2 examines Ántonia Shimerda's struggles and endurance in My Ántonia by Willa Cather before and after Ántonia gives birth to a premarital daughter. Ántonia devotes herself to being a caring mother and to looking after a big family although her marriage is also friendship-centered. Chapter 3 adopts a different approach to analyze Charlotte Rittenmeyer's extramarital pregnancy in The Wild Palms by William Faulkner. As opposed to Dorinda and Ántonia who re-enter domesticity to survive, Charlotte runs out on her family and dies of a botched abortion. To help explain the aftermath of illicit pregnancies, I extend or shorten John Duvall's formula of female role mutations: "virgin>sexually active (called whore)>wife" to examine the riddles of female survival and demise. The overall argument suggests that one way or another, nature, society, and family are involved in illegitimately pregnant women's lives, and the more socially compliant a pregnant woman becomes after her transgression, the better chance she can survive with her baby.

Text in Afrikaans, abstract in English / Writer investigates the constitutionality of section 18(4)(d) of the Child Care Act 74 of 1983 against the backdrop of the South African common law and the common law of comparative legal systems. In the South Africa law the mother of an illegitimate child has guardianship. The natural father does not have parental power which weakens his legal position. In analysing the judgement of the Constitutional Court, writer criticises the court for stating that in the case of a newborn baby the kind of discrimination which section 18( 4 )( d) authorises against a natural father may be justifiable in the initial period after the child is born. The constitutional position of the natural father in American jurisprudence is discussed at length. Writer concludes that the natural father has to take positive steps to vest a right to be heard in an adoption application. Proposals for legal reform are also made. / Private Law / LL. M. (Law)