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"Utbrytarkungen Tämnaren" : En aktör-nätverksanalys av ett svenskt sjösänkningsprojekt / Lake Tämnaren, the Escape Artist : An actor-network study of a Swedish lake lowering project

During the first half of the 20th century, lake lowering was a common practice for agricultural drainage in Sweden. Although this phenomenon led to drastic changes in the Swedish landscape, it has been remarkably understudied. Furthermore, previous research on lake lowering, and on the adjacent subject of hydropower, has mostly taken a social constructivist approach. In contrast, the aim of this study was to generate a posthumanist, symmetric account of a lake lowering project, where the non-human actants involved in the network were seen to act. This in order to better understand the driving forces and power relations emerging in a large technical project. The study took the form of an actor-network analysis of the lowering of Lake Tämnaren in the south-east of Sweden. The analysis consists of a chronological account of the project between the years 1923-1967. During the years predating 1950, investigations into both material and social matters were carried out by two engineers who became spokespersons of the many collectives of actants affected by the lake lowering. In the years between 1950-1953 when the project was carried out, the spokespersons’ accounts of reality were challenged, with varying results. After the works had been completed, the question of maintaining a suitable water level in the lake remained controversial and concerned managing the newly built dam. In brief, the conclusions of the study highlight the role of material agency in transporting and changing power between actants in a network. Forms of material agency were for example: the lake flooding, the hardness of soil, or the floodgates of a dam remaining open.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-503346
Date January 2023
CreatorsHolmgren, Klara
PublisherUppsala universitet, Institutionen för idé- och lärdomshistoria
Source SetsDiVA Archive at Upsalla University
LanguageSwedish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeStudent thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text
Formatapplication/pdf
Rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

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