Dissertation--Göteborgs universitet, 1997. / Bibliogr. p. 361-380. Résumé en anglais.

"Contextualizing the Vikings in Anglo-Saxon History and Literature" examines the Scandinavian impact of Viking presence in Anglo-Saxon England during the so-called First and Second Viking Age, concentrating on the portrayals of the Viking activity in Anglo-Saxon chronicles and annals, as well as Scandinavian (chiefly Icelandic and Danish) sources. It aims to identify the patterns of representation in those portrayals and their development relative to the historical events of the period, the political situation in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, the state and progress of the Church, and contemporary literary tendencies, including the influence of heroic literature and the development of the Anglo-Saxon kingship. Three distinct accounts that came into existence as a result of the Viking invasion of England in 866 are examined. Three main traditions can be discerned - the Scandinavian tradition, reflecting the battle of York, the slaying of king Ella and king Edmund, the East Anglian tradition, reflecting the slaying of king Edmund, and the Wessex tradition, reflecting king Alfred's struggle with the Danes. The thesis proposes to trace the historical origins and development of these traditions, attempting to discern their historical and fictional elements by comparing them with the record of the historical...

This master’s thesis analyzes how cultural policy was problematized in three governmental policy areas; culturalpolicy for the free sector, education policy and popular education policy, during the social democrat Ragnar Edenman’s time (1957-67) as minister of ecclesiasticalaffairs. Earlier research has examined the policy for the free sector, concerning artist’s economic problems. This thesisadds an analysis of the other fields of policy, which were reformed in the 1960’s by the same ministry. The purpose is twofold: first to examine if the two fields wereproblematized as a cultural policy. The conclusion is that popular education was part of what Edenman problematizedas a “wider cultural policy”. Education policy was not included in this field of reform, but not conceptually different from it. Secondly to examine what these threepolicies had in common as a problematization. This concept is combined with the concept of governmentality into ananalysis of how wider cultural policy was defined by two technologies, aesthetic education and environment. These elements are analyzed in programs for these fields of policy, their use of behavioral sciences and ideological programs after 1946. The conclusion is that the wider problematizationduring the early part of the period was part of a governmentality held together by a psychologically defined democratic subject. When cultural policy was defined as aseparate field of policy in the 1960’s, it lost contact with this governmentality’s focus on the citizen’s ethical behavior.Instead, its purpose was to fulfill goals of the citizen’s wellbeing in society. / Program: Bibliotekarie

The main purpose of this Master’s thesis is to analyse the portrayals of working-class life in a selection of works by the Swedish authors Ragnar Järhult and Per Gunnar Evander. The research questions are: * How is the working conditions described?* What political messages can be found in the works?* What image of the class society is shown?The second aim of this Master’s thesis is to analyse the concept of working-class literature and to investigate if the works of Per Gunnar Evander could be seen as working-class literature. Methodologically, the study draws on established theories, concepts and methods from the sociology of literature and the history of ideas. The core analytical concepts are ”social class” and ”working class literature”. This study shows that there are several similarities between the works of Järhult and Evander, especially in the criticism against the working conditions for the workers at papermills and tileworks. Evander is not normally seen as a working-class author but this study points out that the selected works from both the authors should be seen as working-class literature. The discussion on the concept of working-class literature reveals that it is difficult to find a perfect definition concerning the working-class literature. Every definition seems to be vague and that can either be seen as a weakness or strength. I like to see the broad description of working-class literature as something positive because a wide-ranging definition makes it possible to collect all the different aims and trends under one concept. Working-class literature should be seen as a broad literary current, not as a genre sharply marked off from its surroundings. / Uppsatsnivå: D

The aim of this thesis is to bring together two different approaches on the concept of sketches in an attempt to broaden the understanding of what a sketch is and does. The first of these approaches is based on a notion of generative art presented by professor of art history and founder of Skissernas museum in Lund Ragnar Josephson (1891-1966). The second approach is situated in philosopher Marcia Sá Cavalcante Schubacks collection of phenomenological essays Att tänka i skisser: essäer om bildens filosofi & filosofins bilder (2011). By letting these two theories and Henri Matisse’s Chapel du rosaire and some of his sketches speak with each other my thesis establishes that the sketch is a non static motion towards shape.