Despite of a well-established welfare state in Sweden, socio-economic and residential segregation is increasing rapidly. This has for instance been related to the neo-liberalisation of the welfare state and housing system. One institutional tool for reducing systematic inequality is the housing allowance, which specifically targets low-income households with children as well as young households without children. However, recent studies show how these groups are becoming ever more excluded, despite of the financial aid. The aim of this thesis is thus to contribute with a situated understanding of the practical accomplishment of Swedish socio-economic marginalisation in relation to housing allowance and the welfare state. This is achieved by examining naturally occurring accounts socio-economic marginalisation in 366 audio recorded phone calls to the Swedish Social Insurance Agency about housing allowance, out of which I specifically focus on accounts made by single mothers. In order to make sense of the data, I apply and introduce an ethno-intersectional approach. This entails the synthesis of the applied ethnomethodological methods Conversation Analysis, Discursive Psychology and Membership Categorisation Analysis with intersectionality as one analytical device. The results demonstrate how single-mothers intersect financial troubles, single-motherhood and ill health while expressing situated marginalisation as part of doing legitimacy work. The study also sheds light on how the application of welfare policies could partake in the systematic (re)production of structural inequalities. At large, the introduction of the ethno-intersectional approach is grounded on the theoretical interest of encouraging further action-oriented and situated explorations of the ways in which categories of inequality such as class, ethnicity and gender operate in conjunction and contribute to the generation, reinforcement or alteration of structural intersections of socio-economic marginalisation and privilege.

Birka is Sweden’s first urban settlement during the Viking period and its growth is mainly because of the settlement’s extensive trade. The area has many graves and the female graves in Birka are a good source for interpretation of the Viking woman and the variety of roles and work she had. Archaeologists are assessing graves and interpreters them from the material remains found, such as jewelry, weapons, and gifts. Researchers often have a predetermined interpretation on certain items that are considered feminine or masculine and the gender is determined from this. After the gender is decided it is commonly that the individuals are categorized into groups, and women tend be grouped together into one, regardless that the archaeological data and material shows that they have different attributes, and should be categorized as such. Men on the other hand have a variety of activities and jobs from which they can be determined by, whilst women’s work tends to be highlighted as chores, rather than work, as their doings usually are in the private sphere. To put women together as one simply because they are women is not only problematic regarding what the material shows, but it is also preventing the development in research of women. There will be a gap in the narrative due to the lack of female activities which occurred but are either ignored or reduced. During the last few decades, there has been an increase in research regarding women in all fields of research and a development of several theories on how to interpret various factors. One of them is intersectional theory, which will be used in this paper. A selection of female Viking graves from Birka are used with this theory to develop a greater picture of what women were doing, rather than just being women, and what needs to be considered to do so.

Este estudo, na configuração de uma tese de doutoramento, se dedica à temática das alianças intersetoriais, ou seja, a projetos de ação conjunta entre organizações com fins lucrativos, organizações sem fins lucrativos e o poder público, expresso pelas prefeituras locais. Conceitualmente, abordam-se alianças, considerando-as mais efetivas e eficazes, porque mais perenes do que as parcerias, cujo caráter, segundo a ótica desta tese, é pontual e momentâneo. A abordagem dessa temática demanda que a fundamentação teórica, a partir de uma linha de pesquisa voltada para o empreendedorismo e a responsabilidade social, resgate tópicos que se deslocam do processo de globalização presente na sociedade contemporânea, passando pela questão social, pela ação do Estado, pela necessidade de um desenvolvimento sustentável, finalizando com reflexões a respeito do Terceiro Setor. Na perspectiva de uma abordagem empírica que pudesse evidenciar na realidade concreta as discussões teóricas encetadas, está apresentada a pesquisa cujo locus foi o município de Cubatão. A experiência vivida por este município transita de um comprometimento com a qualidade de vida humana e ambiental para projetos sociais significativos, ainda que possa ser palco de outros embates sócio-ambientais frente às características de um importante pólo industrial. Usando de um instrumento já validado em pesquisa realizada pelo Ceats ? Centro de Empreendedorismo Social e Administração do Terceiro Setor ? e coordenada pela Profª Drª Rosa Maria Fischer, o estudo procurou evidenciar o comprometimento e a conjunção de ideais que possam estar presentes nas alianças entre essas três instâncias sociais: o mercado, as organizações da sociedade civil e o poder público. Para tanto, foram trabalhadas as seguintes categorias: alinhamento das expectativas, estratégias de ação, indicadores de comprometimento, indicadores de comunicação, divisão e estabelecimento de papéis, origem e destinação dos recursos, agregação de valor e, finalizando essas categorias, os sistemas de avaliação. Por conseguinte, este estudo, embasado nos fundamentos teóricos assinalados e nos dados empíricos coletados junto às instâncias sociais apontadas em suas práticas de alianças intersetoriais, apresenta resultados que evidenciam a pertinência dessas práticas, bem como permite conhecer uma visão crítica dos diferentes atores sociais envolvidos quando, mediante coleta de depoimentos, traz à luz o pensamento daqueles que se mostraram efetivamente vinculados a essa modalidade de alianças. E, finalmente, este estudo busca evidenciar que ações socialmente responsáveis não se restringem a práticas assistencialistas, ainda que não as desabone. Ações socialmente responsáveis são aquelas que conduzem a sociedade humana a uma transformação tal que possa ser descrita como um processo de humanização do humano que é histórico e que, por ser histórico, depende da ação de homens e de mulheres socialmente responsáveis. / This study, in the configuration of a thesis of doctorate, dedicates itself to the thematic of the intersectional alliances, it is, to projects of group actions among organizations with profit aims, without profit aims and public power express by local prefectures. Conceptually, talk about alliances, considering them more effective and efficacious, because more continual than the partnerships, whose character, according to the optic of this thesis, is punctual and momentary. The boarding of this thematic contests that the justification of the theory, from a line of research about enterprising and social responsibility, rescue topics that dislocate from the process of the globalization present in the contemporary society, passing by the social action, by the action of the Government, by the necessity of a sustainable development, finishing with reflections about the third sector. In the perspective of an empirical boarding which could evidence in the concrete reality the broached theory discussions, is presented the research whose locus was the municipal district of Cubatão. The experience lived by this district transit from a compromise with the quality of the human and environmental life to important social projects, with the possibility of being the stage of other socio-environmental impacts front to the characteristics of an important industrial pole. Using a tool already validated in research made by CEATS-? Centro de Empreendedorismo Social e Administração do Terceiro Setor ? and coordinated by the Profª Drª Rosa Maria Fischer, the study tried to evidence the compromise and conjunction of ideals which can be present in the alliances among these three social stays: the market, the organizations of the civil state and the public power. However, such categories were worked on: lining of the expectations, strategies of action, indicators of compromising, indicator of communication, division and establishment of paper, origin and destination of the resources, aggregation of value and, ending these categories, the systems of evaluation. In consequence, this study based on the signed theory justification and on the empirical information collected with the social signed stays in its practices in intersectional alliances, presents results which evidence the pertinence of these practices, as well as it permits the knowledge of a critical vision of the different involved social actors when, from collection of testimonials, brings the thoughts of those who presented themselves effectively linked to this modality of alliances. And finally, this study has the aim of evidencing that responsible social actions do not restrict themselves to attendance practices, not discrediting them. Responsible social actions are those which conduct the human society to a transformation which can be described as a process of humanization of the human which is historic and that, by being historic, it depends on the action of socially responsible men and women

This thesis analyses religious discrimination in employment, using an applied comparison of the law in the UK, France and Germany. To this end, the thesis first explores national church-state relations, establishing potential links to religious discrimination at work. The investigation then moves on to the standards set by the Council of Europe and the European Union, against which the law in the UK, France and Germany will be measured against. The final chapter brings together the findings in an overall comparison of the national law, with particular emphasis on the role of church-state relations and impact on religious minorities. The original contribution of this thesis to knowledge lies in the assessment of the topic in the context of three jurisdictions, its interconnectedness with the ECHR and EU frameworks, using the framework of church-state relations. The thesis reveals and explains similarities and differences between the law in the three jurisdictions, as well as the effects on employees practising their religion and underlying attitudes that formed the law. After identifying substantive neutrality as a promising characteristic of church-state models, it was set as a benchmark for assessment throughout the thesis. Themes emerging from the research reflect significant differences regarding religious discrimination in employment in the UK, France and Germany. Particularly striking is the arguably deliberate targeting of, and clearly detrimental impact on religious minorities by means of indirectly discriminating law in France and Germany, as well as some directly discriminating provisions that were enacted in the course of the German ‘headscarf debate’. It is suggested, accordingly, that stereotypical assumptions about ‘otherness’ have influenced legislation, as well as case law, using church-state relations to underscore the decisive arguments. Due to its largely hypothetical nature, the assessment of the domestic laws’ compatibility with European international and supranational legal frameworks result in a number of cautious predictions. Widespread compliance appears fairly likely in relation to the law in the UK, whereas French and German law can be challenged in several regards. Finally, this research contributes proposals aiming at effective solutions for a variety of religious discrimination scenarios pertinent in the UK, French and German work environments.

International migration flows have increased at a rapid pace over the past decade and are often accompanied by emergent and evolving global realities, fluid and permeable borders, (re)negotiation of identities and familial bonds, anticipated challenges, as well as unforeseen exigencies. Concomitantly, advances in public health and chronic disease management have resulted in longer lives with an increasing proportion of the global population now 65 years and older. While these demographic shifts have received considerable research attention over the past few decades, little attention has been paid to aging Muslim families and the ways in which they adjust and adapt to shifting global realities and social circumstances. Of the roughly 3.45 million Muslims in the US, nearly six-in-ten US Muslim adults are first-generation Americans. And among US Muslim adults who were born abroad, more immigrate from South Asia (35%) than any other region. This demographic trend, along with the aging of the US population, implies that South Asian Muslims will comprise a large segment of the US population aged 65 years and older in the coming years and greater attention needs to be paid to the lived experiences of mid- to late-life South Asian Muslim families in the US in order to better support their health and social care needs. This qualitative study addresses these issues, specifically focusing on the intersections of faith, culture, gender, age, and immigrant status, as well as intergenerational care and support exchanges within the family, and the ways in which everyday lived experiences and seminal life course events shape processes of meaning-making and sense of self in immigrant South Asian Muslim families. Building on findings from 30 in-depth narrative interviews with three generations of South Asian Muslim women living in the US, and using an intersectional lifecourse perspective, I explore the re-negotiation of familial bonds and the enactment of religious beliefs and practices such as those around filial expectations in a transnational Islamic context. In so doing, I highlight how, for the women in my study, their Islamic faith was a part of both the public sphere and a collective ideology as well as a deeply personal and intimate attachment that provided structure and continuity in their everyday lives. I suggest how attitudes, behaviors, and meaning-making processes related to kin-work and exchanges of support between generations may be shaped by categories of gender, age, time of and since immigration, and degree of religiosity. Finally, I situate these attitudes and behaviors within the broader framework of Islamophobia and salient structural barriers to accessing available health and social support services for immigrant South Asian Muslim women and their families. / Graduate / 2021-12-07

Background: Sweden has become a society with a multicultural population. Many children start preschools with different backgrounds and experiences. Teachers today face the task of meet those children in the best way. Södertörn University has a special profile on their teacher education, the intercultural profile. Aims: My report focuses on teachers who have been working in preschools for about one to two years after graduating from the intercultural education at Södertörn University. The report aims at finding out more about their experiences and thoughts about the intercultural approach after having worked in the Swedish preschool with a special focus on the intersectional perspective on cultural phenomena class, gender and ethnicity. Another focus is the self critical attitude that has been taught. Another aim was to study if they had been able to use this intercultural perspective in the work with children. Method: I have preformed interviews with four teachers following an interview guide. The data have been analyzed with a qualitative method. The preschool teachers are chosen for working in preschool and have an exam less than two years ago. Results: The teachers were positive to the intercultural profile and had found it useful in their work and also in the task of applying the curriculum. The teachers wanted to work from a norm critical perspective with focus on gender. They also wanted to challenge the children’s image of family constellations by presenting different alternatives. The teachers were positive to meet the children by their ethnical background but chose girls and boys in the same way. One of the teachers chose another way by trying to treat all children alike. Conclusion: The teachers was positive to the intercultural profile and had applied it their daily work. Differences concerning ethical background and similarities concerning gender were emphasized in the interaction with the children which is a paradox that may be complicated if the cultural background influences gender expectations. By working with respect and from a non ethnocentric intercultural way it is hard to also challenge the children’s conceptions.

Humor builds the ground to share the common and the uncommon, to ease the uneasiness, to laugh at oneself and the other. It is amusing and rebellious, revealing the obvious from the obscure and challenging the unchallenged. The purpose of this Master thesis is to examine the subversive humor use within Deaf communities, centered around the hearing society, as well as to explore subversive humor’s role in reinforcing the Deaf identity and resisting the often assigned otherness. Taken the form of a case study this thesis analyses two examples: a short film The Kiss, produced by Charlie Swinbourne and the series of graphical drawings from Tais, created by Alícia Sort Leal. Using visual analysis and close reading as analytical methods as well as classical (Superiority, Incongruity, Relief) and contemporary (Reversal) humor theories, this thesis provides an insight into reflective and mirroring effects of humor.

Previous research on social movements shows that as a consequence of social stratification, structurally privileged groups in society are more prone to engage in and take on leading positions in collective action than those who are structurally marginalised. This essay takes off in the puzzle of deficient inclusion in social movements that identify as inclusive, and looks at how that problem also appear empirically in the environmental movement Extinction Rebellion (XR). As attention to environmental issues and climate activism has increased significantly over the last years, many activists and scholars have pointed out the importance of tackling the problem with an intersectional feminist approach. Therefore, an interpretive discourse analysis with a “What’s the Problem Represented to be?” (WPR) approach is applied to the strategically chosen case of XR, and the results are interpreted through an intersectional feminist lens as conceptualised by Angela Davis (1981, 2016). The analysis contributes to the research problem through identifying two parallel problem representations, one representing the problem as proximate, local and technical-environmental and one representing it as current, global and societal-environmental. It is concluded that part of XR’s discourse rests on a problem representation that risks reproducing structural power relations. According to Davis’s conceptualisation of intersectional feminism this could have dire consequences for a movement which has shown to have potential to influence politics.

Although Vietnamese has currently made up one of the three largest foreign community in the Czech Republic, the number of studies that focus on the challenges of Vietnamese immigrant descendants, especially regarding their ethnic identities in the Czech society is unfortunately confined. Different from their parents, one of the biggest obstacles that young Vietnamese descendants in the Czech Republic are facing in life is the question of their ethnic identities in the term of liminality and being strangers to both cultures (Vietnamese and Czech). Taking those reasons into account, this thesis aims to examine the experiences of "being stuck in-between" and confronting the process of (re)forming and shifting ethnic identities among children of Vietnamese immigrants in the Czech Republic in the relation with other gendered identities that they define with. Based on a feminist approach, this paper pulls together prior and existing studies, developing from the data collected from questionnaire surveys and in-depth interviews to illustrate the subject matter. Relying immigrant lived experiences from the perspective of children and young people who have Vietnamese roots; this paper facilitates a broader understanding of their unique situation and factors that constitute their identity. Central to my...

The purpose of this thesis is to explore how gender norms are represented and depicted in the commercial sphere of fashion, affecting primarily females. The thesis will highlight the voices of several young females of today and their perception of how it is to be influenced and exposed to gender norms in regards to fashion. This thesis theoretical chapters consists of theories in gender norms, norm-critical design, fashion magazines, editorial design, fashion photography, norm-critical photography and intersectional feminism. Furthermore, the method used for this paper are interviews, a total of 17 people were interviewed, whereas five of them are currently working in either the commercial fashion industry or as creatives on a global level. The interviews occurred online, through both emailing and Instagram. This thesis concludes that several aspects, primarily based on the male gaze negatively influence gender norms in the commercial sphere of fashion. However, it is also concluded that there are several change agents, working towards breaking these toxic influences. The thesis is also part of a design project, which final outcome is exhibited at the exhibition Windows Of Opportunity. An online exhibition hosted by the program Design + Change and Visual Communication + Change, at the Linnaeus University in Sweden. https://2020.designportfoliolnu.se/studentwork/rewrite/