The world of the Sumerian mother goddess : an interpretation of her myths

The present study is an interpretation of the two myths copied in the Old Babylonian period in which the Sumerian mother goddess is one of the main actors. The first myth is commonly called “Enki and Ninḫursaĝa”, and the second “Enki and Ninmaḫ”. The theoretical point of departure is that myths have society as their referents, i.e. they are “talking about” society, and that this is done in an ideological way. This study aims at investigating on the one hand which contexts in the Mesopotamian society each section of the myths refers to, and on the other hand which ideological aspects that the myths express in terms of power relations. The myths are contextualized in relation to their historical and social setting. If the myth for example deals with working men, male work in the area during the relevant period is discussed. The same method of contextualization is used regarding marriage, geographical points of reference and so on. Also constellations of mythical ideas are contextualized, through comparison with similar constellations in other Mesopotamian myths. Besides the method of contextualization, the power relations in the myths are investigated. According to this latter method, the categories at issue, their ranking, as well as their changed ranking, are noted. The topics of the myths are issues important for the kingship and the country, such as irrigation, trade, health and healing, birth, collective work, artisanry and rivalry. All these aspects are used in order to express what the power relations between the goddess Ninḫursaĝa/Ninmaḫ and the god Enki look like. The relations are negotiated and recalibrated, which leads to the goddess getting a lowered status. Part of the negotiations and recalibrations is gender behavior, which is related to historical developments in society. The present work points to the function of these myths as tools of recalibrating not only deities, but also men and women in society.

Familjemedlem till person med psykossjukdom : bemötande och utanförskap i psykiatrisk vård

This thesis focused on the situation of family members of persons with psychotic illness, particular on their experience of the approach of the healthcare professionals and of their feelings of alienation regarding the professional care of their family member. A further aim was to explore how siblings who have participated in a support group for siblings experienced their situation. A questionnaire was developed that enabled the aims of this thesis to be investigated (I). Seventy family members from various parts of Sweden participated, and data were collected via the questionnaire developed in study I (II-III). Thirteen siblings who previously had participated in a support group participated in follow-up focus groups interviews (IV). The questionnaire developed was shown to be reliable and valid in these studies (I). In many cases, the participants had experienced an approach from professionals that indicated that they did not experience openness, confirmation and cooperation, and that they felt powerless and socially isolated in relation to the care. There was also found to be a certain degree of association between how the participants experienced the approach and whether they felt alienation (II). The majority of the participants considered openness, confirmation, and cooperation to be important aspects of professional’s approach. The result also identified a low level of agreement between the participants’ experience and what they considered to be significant in the professional’s approach (III). The findings revealed the complexity of being a sibling of an individual with psychotic illness. Participating in a support group for siblings can be of importance in gaining knowledge and minimizing feelings of being alone (IV). Although the psychiatric care services in Sweden have been aware of the importance of cooperating with family members, the results indicated that there is a need for further research in this area.