Vår bästa tid är nu? : Om tidsuppfattning och politisk självförståelse

Our best time is now? On conception of time and political self-understanding This study regards time as a horizon for action and argues that conception of time has great implication for political self-understanding. In the study, the modern conception of time, with its orientation towards the future, is contrasted with the late modern conception of time, which is characterized by a de-legitimization of utopian thinking and by an orientation towards the present. Political action is changing, from a transformation of the present into the future, to a management of the present. In this situation the future is not perceived as something qualitatively different than present, but is, as Helga Nowotny puts it, reduced to an ‘extended present’. Or, to speak with Luhmann, the future is a ‘present future’ where only one ‘future present’ is conceivable. The future is in that sense increasingly closed. The paper argues that the current pragmatization of politics is partly due to changes in temporal representations, and suggests that more attention should be given to temporal semantics in political analysis.

Självet, rollerna och pågående koordinationer av mänskliga handlingar : Om att försöka se ’samhället’ som något annat än fängelse eller marionetteater

The self, roles and the ongoing coordination of human action. Trying to see ‘society’ as neither prison nor puppet theatre In the article it is argued that structural North-American role-sociology may be integrated with theories emphasizing ‘society’ as ongoing processes (f. ex. Giddens’ theory of structuration). This is possible if the concept of role is defined as a recurrence oriented to the action of others standing out as a regularity in a societal process. But this definition makes it necessary to in a fundamental way understand what kind of social being the role-actor is. This is done with the help of Hans Joas’ theory of creativity and Merleau-Pontys concept of ‘flesh’ arguing that Meads concept of the ‘I’ maybe understood as an embodied self-asserting I, which at least in reflexive modernity has the creative power to split Meads ‘me’ into a self-voiced subject-me and an other voiced object-me. The embodied I communicating with the subject-me may be viewed as that role-actor which is something else than the role played. But this kind of role-actor is making for new troubles because it is hard to understand how this kind of self is creating self-coherence by using Meads concept of ‘the generalized other’. This trouble is handled by using Alain Touraines concept of the ‘subject’ and arguing that the generalized other is dissolving in de-modernized modernity. In split modernity self-coherence may instead be created by what in the article is called the generalized subject. This concept means a kind of communicative future based evaluation, which has its base in the ‘subject’ opposing the split powers of both the instrumentality of markets and of life-worlds trying to create ‘fundamentalistic’ self-identities. This kind of self is communicative because it also must respect the other as ‘subject’. It exists only in the battle against the forces of the market or a community. It never constructs an ideal city or a higher type of individual. It creates and protects a clearing that is constantly being invaded, to use the words of the old Frenchman himself. Asa kind of test-case it is by the way in the article shown how Becks concept of individualization may be understood in a deeply social and role-sociological way.

I andras hem : Om minnesarbete som förnyelse av familjesociologi

In the home of others: exploring new sites and methods when investigating the doings of gender, class and ethnicity What role does the experience of being in and observing other people’s home play informing one’s gender and class identities and family aspirations? And how can it be explored? Through the traditions of socialization theory the everyday/-night experiences of family life are objectified into an institution (the family) with abstracted relations (mother-father-child) and functions (”primary socialization”). This is a view directly related to ruling relations through which the family is institutionalized, by rules and regulations, and made accountable as such. Hereby the question of experiences of other sites (and localities!) and other relations when forming one’s gender and family aspirations are not raised. In this article it is argued that when using an alternative approach (the method of inquiry proposed by Dorothy E. Smith) and alternative methods (memory work) the door to other homes is opened. Using experience stories a picture is drawn where new sites and relations are made visible as crucial contexts where gender and family life is explored and learned. By illuminating the ”work knowledge” of family life another way of mapping is presented, a way that extends and transforms the traditions within family research.

Pro-premiär eller pro-president? : Om distinktionen mellan parlamentarism, presidentialism och semi-presidentialism

Propremiar or pro-president? On the distinction between parliamentarism, presitentialism and semi-presidentialism. From comparative research on the constitutional development in Central and Eastern Europe and also from the longstanding debate on whether parliamentarism or presidentialism best facilitates democracy, it is apparent that there has been and continues to be, a certain degree of confusion concerning the concepts of semi-presidentialism and presidentialism. Different scholars mean different things by the terms and therefore classify countries differently. In this article I argue that the conceptual dichotomy between pro-premiär (premier-presidentialism) and pro-president systems (presidentparliamentary systems) provide the best solution to several of the problems related to categorising constitutional types, most importantly perhaps to the presidential power dilemma. I, furthermore, employ these concepts on the post-communist constitutional systems and try to reveal patterns with regard to presidential power, geographical region and democratisation.

Projekt Norrliden : Om småstadspressens etnifiering och genderisering av en förort

The Norrliden project. Genderisation and ethnification of a low status residential area in the local press Media often contributes to segregation by constructing low status residential areas as “different” from what is “normal” and “Swedish”. Research into media representations of these residential areas often focuses big city contexts. Furthermore, research tends to be preoccupied with the construction of ethnic differences, paying little attention to the relationship between construction processes of gender and ethnicity. This article is a critical analysis of how the local daily newspapers in a medium sized town, Kalmar, construct stereotypes of immigrants and gendered identities in the low status residential area Norrliden. Two newspapers were studied in search for articles related to the area, published during the year 2005. Despite the newspapers’ claim that they want to contribute to a more nuanced and less stereotyped image of the residential area the consequences of their work seem to be the opposite. The representation sof the area are coded with stereotypes suggesting that the area is unsafe and dangerous and that the people who live there are motivated by affect and emotions rather than by successful socialisation. These representations are also characterised by notions of ethnicity and gender, as well as class. Norrliden is described as an area in need of change and improvement, as an unfinished project dependent upon aid from the outside. A reading of the 2005 media representations of Norrliden exposes an example of “symbolic violence” in that texts and photographs repeatedly degrade the area and its inhabitants.

Några iakttagelser om sociologins historia – och samtid

Sociologisk Forsknings digitala arkiv

Tillväxt som kontrovers : Ekonomers och sociologers debatt om den svenska offentliga sektorn

The controversy of growth: a debate between economists and sociologists about the Swedish public sector Has the ‘Swedish model’ forced Sweden into stagnating economic growth? And has this caused Sweden to lag behind other comparable OECD-countries from the 1970s and onwards, i.e. since Sweden chose a welfare path different from many other countries? This has been the subject of a more than twenty year long controversy between Walter Korpi, professor of sociology and social policy, and leading Swedish mainstream economists. In a series of articles, especially during the years of economic crisis in the 1990s, Walter Korpi claimed that other reasons than the Swedish model has to be taken into account when comparing welfare states and their impact on economic growth, while the economists have persistently maintained the opposite view. These disputes over statistics and methodology have developed into what is here referred to as a science based controversy. This article analyzes the controversy between sociology and economy in accordance with controversy theory. In this way we can consider both the underlying social as well as political aspects of the debate, which leads to the conclusion that not every aspect of a science-based controversy is a byproduct of science itself.

Det personliga är sociologiskt : 14 professorer om svensk sociologi

This special issue of Sociologisk Forskning contains 14 papers by distinguished Swedish sociologists on the development of sociology in Sweden during the last decades and the forming of their own academic habitus in relation to that development. Contributors are: Göran Ahrne, Boel Berner, Margareta Bertilsson, Ulla Björnberg, Thomas Brante, Hedvig Ekerwald, Rosmarie Eliasson-Lappalainen, Johanna Esseveld, Bengt Furåker, Staffan Lindberg, Gunnar Olofsson, Sune Sunesson, Göran Therborn and Karin Widerberg. The volume is edited by Gunnar Andersson, Thomas Brante and Christofer Edling.

Smärta, skönhet och sociomaterialitet : En intervju med Dag Østerberg om begreppen form, förändring och socialitet

Pain, beauty, and socio-matter. An interview with Dag Østerberg concerning the concepts of form, process, and sociality. Professor Dag Østerberg (born 1938) is one of the most prominent Nordic sociologists and the author of many influential books. In this interview he discusses the concept of form in sociology and social thinking and relates it not only to change, but to sociality, pain, beauty, and socio-matter as well. In order to contextualise Østerberg’s discussion, the interview is prefaced by a brief introduction to the traditional understanding of form as related to matter and content.

Emotioner och värdegrundsarbete : Om lärare, fostran och elever i en mångkulturell skola

This thesis explores aspects of teachers’ obligation to implement and discuss what are referred to in the Swedish national school curricula as “fundamental values” (“värdegrunden” in Swedish). The aim is to describe and analyze dilemmas in interpretations of and teachers’ work with these fundamental values. Four questions are related to this aim. The first addresses difficulties discussed in conversations between seven upper secondary teachers, during nine meetings over the course of one year. In these conversations the teachers reflected upon how to interpret the fundamental values in relation to their daily practice. The second question focuses on the considerable diversity of Swedish schools and examines the work of the teachers through a perspective of intersectionality. The third question concerns how Martha Nussbaum’s theory of emotions as judgments of value could be used for an understanding of the identified dilemmas. The fourth question focuses on ways in which the participating teachers’ discussions may contribute to a wider discussion about possible aims and circumstances of teachers’ work with the fundamental values. Chapter 2 introduces the theoretical framework of the study, Martha Nussbaum’s (2001) ethical thinking on emotions as judgments of value. She argues that emotions have four common cognitive components. They have (1) external objects, and are directed towards these objects. They are (2) intentional, reflecting a person’s particular point of view, his or her special way of beholding the object, and (3) consist of judgments, i.e. views of how things in the world are. According to Nussbaum’s Aristotelian ethics, emotions also (4) mirror the individual’s vision of what a good human life is like, and the vulnerability of it. The concept of eudaimonia, a fulfilled or flourishing life, is central. Chapter 3 focuses on ideas of ethnicity, and on the specific obligation mentioned in the curriculum of counteracting xenophobia and intolerance in a multicultural society. Chapter 4 discusses various aspects of the teachers’ thoughts on religiosity within Swedish society (often depicted as one of most secular in the world) and within the educational system that is non-denominational. Chapter 5 draws attention to different ways in which the teachers view and teach pupils about sexual orientation. Chapter 6 presents conclusions on potential advantages of and challenges involved in Nussbaum’s Aristotelian theory of emotions, when applied to teachers’ views of and practical work with the fundamental values described in the curriculum. One advantage is that emotions may be intellectually scrutinized and morally assessed, on grounds that are known beforehand and discussed in a democratic process. The non-productive division between emotions, on the one hand, and intellectual and moral capabilities, on the other, is transcended by Nussbaum’s theory. An important challenge is to reflect upon when to discuss the cognitive content of pupils’ emotions, and when it is appropriate to state what is right or wrong, and try to influence pupils accordingly. Keywords: Emotions, vulnerability, values education, religious education, teaching, Martha Nussbaum, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation.

Litteraturens roll för läsförståelsen : En kvalitativ intervjustudie om hur lärare involverar elevers intresse och erfarenheter i undervisningen

Bakgrund: Enligt den nuvarande läroplanen och skollagen ska undervisningen i skolan utgå från elevernas bakgrund och tidigare erfarenheter, samt ge en livslång lust att lära. I kursplanen för svenska står att elevernas intresse för att läsa ska stimuleras och att de i årskurs 3 ska ha utvecklat en grundläggande läsförståelse. Syfte: Syftet med denna undersökning är att få en inblick i verksamma lärares arbete med och kring litteratur som utgår från elevers intressen och erfarenheter för att utveckla elevernas läsförståelse. Metod: Metoden för arbetet har en kvalitativ ansats och använder kvalitativ intervju som datainsamlingsmetod. Som analysmetod av det insamlade datamaterialet användes fenomenografi. Resultat: Resultatet visar att de intervjuade lärarna inte alltid arbetar med att involvera litteratur som utgår från elevers intressen och erfarenheter för att utveckla elevernas läsförståelse. Det beror dels på svårigheter att finna material som passar varje enskild elev och dels på att de inte satt sig in varje enskild elevs intressen och erfarenheter. Men resultatet visar också på lärare som anser det vara viktigt att vara insatt i elevernas intressen och erfarenheter och som brukar försöka involvera dessa så mycket som möjligt. Slutsats: En undervisning som handlar om sådant som eleverna finner intressant och motiverande gör att eleverna får en större möjlighet att få en egen lust och vilja att fortsätta utvecklingen av läsförmågan och läsförståelsen.

”När man kollar på bilden tänker man så här” : en receptionsstudie av gymnasieelevers uppfattning om bilder som kunskapskällor i historieundervisningen

Images are used in history education for a variety of reasons, not least to generate interest through a better understanding of historical events and people. The aim of this study was to investigate how historical pictures, either illustrated or documentary/photographic, can be used as a resource for activating and improving pupils' historical empathy, in the way described by Stéphane Lévasque. I conducted a reception study on five different focus groups consisting of pupils from different upper secondary schools in Sweden. The pupils varied with regard to number of credits for admission to upper secondary school. A sixth group of pupils was interviewed as a contrasting control group in order to add perspective to the results. The discussions were based on the pupils' interpretations of 34 selected pictures, all of which were taken from the most common history textbooks. Each pupil was asked to choose the picture he/she felt was the most representative historical image. On the basis of the strategies used by the pupils when interpreting the pictures and discussing them, the material was analysed in accordance with Lévesque's categories: imagination, historical contextualisation and morals. The last category, morals, was further divided into three sub-categories: sense of justice, sympathy and progression. The reflections of the pupils and the degree of contextualisation varied. It appeared that the pupils were less inclined to discuss assumptions about the persons in the pictures; instead they chose to discuss the historical context in question. The pictures in this study did not seem to trigger the pupils to fabricate anachronistic reasoning about history; when they did produce lengthy reasoning, it was contextual, structural and metahistorical. In this context, the pupils who belonged to the group with the highest average of credits showed some signs of reflection on the basis of historical context and some criticism about the historical sources. On no occasion did any of the pupils choose a picture as a concrete expression of injustice. One of the questions this study aimed to explore was whether a lack of historical context affects how pictures trigger emotions and reasoning on the basis of moral aspects. Some of the pupils displayed moral standpoints, primarily the degree of morals concerning injustice. One possible interpretation could be that the feeling of being unfairly treated and subjected to insulting behaviour and social injustice was something the pupils could relate to. The group of pupils who had not yet studied history at upper secondary school, the control group, generally made reflections using this sort of reasoning when they discussed the historical aspects of the pictures.

Det är enklare i teorin… Om skolutveckling i praktiken : En fallstudie av ett skolutvecklingsprojekt i en gymnasieskola

This dissertation is a case study dealing with a school development project that took place in an upper secondary school as a result of a merger of two schools with different cultures. The project used a method called “Frirumsmodellen” and was planned to be conducted in three steps. The first was to carry out a cultural analysis in order to map the preconditions to start a school development project. The second was to carry out concrete actions and finally study eventual effects from such activities by doing a second cultural analysis. My role was to be a supervisor in the school development work, but at the same time study how this work was conducted and its impact in the ordinary school day. The dissertation takes its departure in the fact that schools are political governed. The mission of schools is never neutral; it is always an expression of behind laying social forces, ideologies and ideals of the contemporary society. Of this reason, there is a close connection between the macro political level and the micro political level. Another point of departure is the transition from a modern to a post modern society that gives the character to the changes that take place in schools. Steering of schools has partly been treated as a technical implementation problem. Schools contain on going conflicts between different interest groups that, more or less regularly, end up in educational reforms. These reforms generate school development activities in the single school. Undoubtedly, this makes school development to a complex process. At a rather late stage of the study I decided not to fulfil my task to follow the original plan. I instead let the school development project as a model to be in focus. The over all purpose was formulated: How is it possible to understand what happened in the school development project in the Falkgymnasiet and why was it not possible to carry it out as it was said in the project plan? To interpret what took place during the project I did create an interpretation frame of implementation and complexity theory that also made it possible to critically scrutinise the “Frirumsmodellen”. Already in an early stage of the process it was obvious that the “Frirumsmodellen” did not supply any tools to use and it became disconnected from the project. The project in it selves was marginalised and made invisible. The headmaster used the situation to change things she thought were important to develop. As a result, things happened, but most of the involved people did not at first hand connect this to the project. It is, of course, difficult in detail to say what caused what. The complexity theory successively made the hidden patterns revealed, hidden unofficial potentates visible, as well as unpredictable conditions that generated reactions from the personnel in front of a development work. Together this was rather efficient obstacles for not changing this school. I also discuss school development and implementation problems on a general level, for example, the possibility to transform a top-down initiated project to be bottom-up driven and using project as a tool for school development work. It was obvious that headmasters and teachers must be prepared to handle the ideological dimensions of problems schools have to face. Consequently, development work is about making problems visible and to handle these in the intersection point between the intentions of educational policies, pedagogical researchers, school administrators, headmasters, teachers and pupils. The ideological dimension also contains an existential issue. Do I as a teacher share the intentions for the development work? If not, how must I act?