This thesis explores the historical and contemporary cultural politics of funeral and body disposal among Indian and Chinese residents of Great Britain. The sanitation episteme launched in Britain during the eighteenth-century resulted in new systems for governing things deemed to be polluting or a threat to human health. This included the corpse/dead body and its bodily remains governed by an all-embracing state technique that I call ‘necropower’. Inspired by a Foucauldian approach to biopower, I examine how the governing of the dead is implicated in the formation of state power over non-Abrahamic ethnic groups. More specifically, in this thesis I analyze how the funeral and disposal practices of two ethnic minorities in the UK have been and are governed by the contours of state necropower. I argue that these bodies became the quintessential matter out of place in a state-regulated episteme. Beginning with funerary practices they have historically been deemed polluted and subject to state-based sanitary order, and they have emerged today through a new environmental and sanitary episteme inside a necroregime of power that is mediated by industry professionals. Drawing upon documented historical and contemporary material from the nineteenth to twenty-first century, interviews with state officials, professionals from the Death Care Industry, and Indian and Chinese minorities in Great Britain, I elaborate the various ways that these minorities seek to respond to, negotiate, and avoid expectations and regulations with respect to body and remain disposal.

This study investigates the cultural identity of Chinese overseas in Sweden, especially the identity of Chinese culture. A Hakka family in Sweden from Kolkata, India was a target of a case study in this thesis from the viewpoint of life history research and semi-structured interviews for the three female members in this family.The Indian Hakka Chinese, though spending more than 100 years in India, emigrate to other countries commonly. During the migration, this family well sustain their Chinese culture.This research reveals the following findings. Firstly, the identities in the family of this case show the differences between generations. The main deciding factor of their identities is based on both the ethnic identity of Chinese and Chinese culture. The second generation of immigrants in Sweden reveals the dual identities of Chinese culture and Swedish culture, which is consciously decided by them under the social and cultural background of the country of residence.Secondly, this case's family demonstrates a strong atmosphere of Chinese cultural identity in their daily life. The most significant symbol is that family members use Hakka to communicate at home. Furthermore, their cultural values follow a Chinese tradition of family-centred and ethical cultural values. However, in this case, Chinese culture is not as complete as the Chinese mainstream society. It also includes foreign elements in the country of residence. This clearly shows the process of Chinese overseas adapting and integrating with the country of residence.Thirdly, the influencing factors to this case's Chinese cultural identity include the Chinese community in Kolkata India, usage of Chinese language, Chinese education, intermarriage, and the external environment of Swedish society based on democracy multi-culturalism and popularization of internet information under globalization. The key factor in constructing and maintaining the Chinese cultural identity, in this case, is that the elders consciously insist on preserving Chinese tradition in this family.To sum up, this study's results contribute to the knowledge and understanding of Chinese overseas' cultural identity in Sweden. / 本论文以瑞典一个来自印度加尔各答的客家华人家庭进行个案研究，采用生命史研究的视角、半结构式的深度访谈法访问三位家庭女性成员，探讨瑞典的海外华人的文化认同，尤其是中国文化的认同。在海外延续百年的印度客家华人再度从印度移出已是常态，而此个案家庭中国文化的传承未曾中断。个案研究结果发现：首先，个案的身份认同呈现出世代的差异，身份认同以中国人的族群认同及中国文化认同为最主要的决定因素，移民瑞典第二代显示出中国及瑞典文化的双重文化认同，是历经所处的社会文化环境选择的文化认同。其次，此个案展现出浓厚的中国文化认同形式，以客家话的使用最为显著，也展现出以家庭为中心、注重伦理的文化价值观，然而不像中国主流社会文化的完整，而是包含了居住国的外国元素，显见海外华人在居住国适应、融合的过程。最后，影响个案维护中国文化认同的因素，包括：印度加尔各答的华人社区、世代的传承、中文的使用、中文教育、族内通婚、以民主为基础的多元文化瑞典社会的外部生存环境、全球化下网际网络资讯的普及等因素，而家中长辈有意识地传承与坚持，是文化认同建构及维护最重要也是最主要的因素。总之，本论文的研究结果可为瑞典海外华人的文化认同增添知识与理解。