Kandidatuppsatser / Institutionen för kulturvetenskaper
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Item Krig & Konst. En studie av konstens möjliga funktion och kulturarvets betydelse under det pågående kriget i Ukraina.(2025-10-07) Heberlein, Fanny; University of Gothenburg/Department of Cultural Sciences; Göteborgs universitet/Institutionen för kulturvetenskaperThe purpose of this study is to investigate how the Ukrainian artist Kinder Album and war photographers from the exhibition “Russian War Crimes” let their artistic works operate as a mean of cultural resistance against Russian aggression and Russian propaganda. In that aspect their works are also contributing to the preservation of Ukrainian national identity during wartime. Through a qualitative methodology this study will analyse selected artworks, through interviews and a close reading of relevant journalistic material. The theoretical framework for this essay is rooted in a sociological and cultural theoretical perspective based on Zygmunt Bauman’s theory of modernity, Hannah Arendt’s theories of totalitarianism, Aleida Assman’s theory of cultural memory, and Susan Sontag’s reflections on war photography. The results will indicate the significant role that artistic expression plays when it comes to taking a stand against enemy propaganda in wartime. War is not only fought on a geographical battlefield, but also in the field of cultural and aesthetic manifestations. In that aspect this study argues that Ukrainian art contributes to the construction of a national narrative and a cultural memory that in the end will serve as a tool for national survival in times of war.Item "Var är mina cozy boys?” – En kvalitativ studie om relationen mellan mys, identitet och normer om kvinnlig könsidentitet(2025-09-23) Hagström, Elvira; Sjösten, Cassandra; University of Gothenburg/Department of Cultural Sciences; Göteborgs universitet/Institutionen för kulturvetenskaperThis essay aims to, through qualitative interviews, explore the relation between the individual, identity creation and the varying rituals and ideas behind “mys” (eng: cozy, coziness). It analyses the relationship between “mys” and the individual by applying Barbro Klein’s ritual theory to understand “mys” as a ritual performance. Furthermore, it aims to utilize Judith Butler’s theory of performativity to analyze subconscious, naturalized behavior, Erving Goffman’s dramathurgical theory to explore “mys” as an identity-performance and Mary Douglas theory about dirt as something misplaced and threatening to order. It becomes evident that “mys” is made up of several personal yet general markers and that they constitute a performance of identity with elements of normative female identity coding.Item “Gud va duktig du är”. En intervjustudie om kvinnors erfarenheter av jämställdhet i heterosexuella relationer(2025-04-17) Hellström Larsson, Alva; University of Gothenburg/Department of Cultural Sciences; Göteborgs universitet/Institutionen för kulturvetenskaperThe essay examines women's experiences of gender equality and how it is defined and done in heterosexual relationships, putting equality in a private, intimate and personal context. The essay was done through semi-structured qualitative interviews, where women told stories of their own experiences in romantic heterosexual relationships. The analysis is based on the women’s stories and partially through a discourse analysis and is, among others, theorized by patriarchy, defined by Sylvia Walby, as well as emotion work through Arlie Russell Hochschild. All the women did to some extent share having had a much larger role of work and responsibility in most discussed aspects of their relationships. Through the analysis of these women’s stories the essay finds a pattern of women’s work being both assumed and simultaneously unnoticed.Item Den skenbara stillheten. En analys av fotografiets roll i Godland(2025-02-04) Holm, Rasmus; University of Gothenburg/Department of Cultural Sciences; Göteborgs universitet/Institutionen för kulturvetenskaperThis essay investigates the role of photography in the film Godland (Volaða Land, Hlynur Palmason, 2022) through the notion of stillness, movement and colonial gaze. A claim is made that throughout the film, stillness is tied to power, while movement on the other hand is related to resistance. The main theoretical concepts are Roland Barthes notion of punctum, Laura Mulveys theory of delay, and Edward W. Saids concept of the Other. The essay also provides an introduction to some classic theoretical discussions regarding film and photography. The analysis focuses on four scenes from the film that similarly depicts a photo shoot. In these scenes, the film characters suddenly stares straight into the camera for an extended time period, temporarily halting the narrative and addressing the spectator.Item The Honest and the Bent: an investigation of Representation and White Hegemony in Mercurio’s TV series Line of Duty(2025-02-03) Krupke, Sylvia; University of Gothenburg/Department of Cultural Sciences; Göteborgs universitet/Institutionen för kulturvetenskaperThis essay analyses how whiteness is portrayed and its hegemony reinforced through the practice of representation in Jed Mercurio’s highly acclaimed TV-series Line of Duty. It analyses scenes from the first season using Sara Ahmed’s affect theory and her extension of phenomenology, along with Roland Barthes definition of myth, and demonstrates that the series contributes to the idea of whiteness as universal and ordinary. Looking at characters, symbols and dialogues, the essay shows that by privileging one perspective over the other and representing a familiar polarity of the foreign threat and white hero, Line of Duty reinforces white hegemony at the same time as it rejects common stereotypes.Item Trädgården, atmosfärer och den mänskliga närvaron - En mångsinnlig platsanalys av Azaleadalen i Slottsskogen(2025-02-03) Agnes, Westbring; University of Gothenburg/Department of Cultural Sciences; Göteborgs universitet/Institutionen för kulturvetenskaperThis study focuses on Azaleadalen, a part of the public park Slottsskogen in Gothenburg. It examines how the garden is perceived through a multisensory perspective and how the atmosphere of a garden is created, interpreted and changed through the human presence. Azaleadalen has been examined as a phenomenological place study through the application of theories from Simon Unwin together with Kevin Lynch. Once the phenomenons have been identified the garden has been studied though theories of Ola Sigurdson and Rachel Hann in an attempt to understand how Azaleadalen is curated to conceive specific atmospheres. This study shows the importance of the multisensory experience in order to both create and understand atmospheres around us, and how these atmospheres affect our understanding of the garden as a place. Further research can be done with more people in order to see the full effect the atmosphere of the garden has on humans as a group.Item Anna Ancher och kvinnlighetens rum: en komparativ studie av Anna Anchers och Vilhelm Hammershøis genremotiv(2025-01-28) Byström, Sabina; University of Gothenburg/Department of Cultural Sciences; Göteborgs universitet/Institutionen för kulturvetenskaperWith Denmark’s modern breakthrough came an increasing number of female painters, among them Anna Ancher (1859-1935). A popular motif for artists of both genders at the turn of the twentieth century was the interior of the private home. The purpose of this thesis is to analyse how gender roles are displayed in Anna Ancher’s paintings of interiors with a lone female figure by comparison to Anna Ancher’s male contemporary Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864-1916). The visual material was analysed by the method known as reception aesthetics. Griselda Pollock’s theoretical conceptions from Modernity and the spaces of femininity was used to understand the material from a feminist perspective. The results reveal that gender roles are both confirmed and negated in the paintings by Anna Ancher.Item Man Rays fotokonst. Sorg i svartvitt fotografi(2025-01-27) Roempke Andersson, Johanna; University of Gothenburg/Department of Cultural Sciences; Göteborgs universitet/Institutionen för kulturvetenskaperThis thesis examines how Man Ray's artistic expressions evoke an emotional understanding of sorrow through semiotic and psychoanalytic analyses. Focusing on three iconic works; Glass Tears, Kiki de Montparnasse and Le Violon d’Ingres the study explores how the denotative and connotative meanings, signifiers and signifieds can be seen in his photos. In Glass Tears, the visual elements are interpreted as a direct representation of sorrow. Kiki de Montparnasse is analyzed as a portrayal of emotional distance and melancholia through its composition. Finally, Le Violon d’Ingres is discussed in terms of the objectification of the body, revealing sorrow from that kind of multifaceted perspective. This research highlights Man Ray’s ability to transform visual elements into profound emotional narratives of loss and detachment.Item Att skapa friktion i komposition– en formalestetisk studie av Ralph Nykvists vardagsskildringar(2025-01-27) Lindvall, Caroline; University of Gothenburg/Department of Cultural Sciences; Göteborgs universitet/Institutionen för kulturvetenskaperThis study consists of two analyses of four photos by the Swedish street photographer Ralph Nykvist. The purpose is to analyse and interpret how various aspects of formal aesthetical compositions in the photos make asymmetries or frictions visible which affect the overall interpretations of the pictures. By using strict linear and painterly characteristics, the result reveals the impossible equation, a variety of both categories in all pictures. Applying the concepts of anti-theatricality and “to-be-looked-atness” manifest how the pictures withdraw from the beholder to create distance and absorption. Combined with a second analysis based on non-categorised formal aesthetical word pairs broaden the artistic interpretations of the pictures, without losing their sense of reality.Item En Studie i Rött – En semiotisk undersökning av Jonathan Yeos porträtt HM King Charles III(2025-01-27) Broman, Agnes; University of Gothenburg/Department of Cultural Sciences; Göteborgs universitet/Institutionen för kulturvetenskaperThe purpose of this study is to investigate the visual representation of the current British monarch based on the red infused royal portrait from 2024 by the artist Jonathan Yeo named HM King Charles III. The questions that will fuel the research is: Which visual elements and symbols are used in the portrait to communicate Charles III’s public royal persona? How does the portrait perform as a visual narrative and what functions do the red colour imply? Drawing on Heinrich Wölfflin’s Principles of Art History as the method of the study and Charles Sanders Peirce’s dynamic semiotic theory of the triadic model of signs, the findings of the study reveal a multifaceted result of how the red colour mirrors inherent British visual language, while also alluding to both ancestral and darker historical themes.Item DRAGDROTTNINGAR I VARDAGSRUMMET & GRABBGÄNG I DRUGSTUGAN. En receptionsstudie med queera Drag Race Sverige-tittare(2024-11-18) Ospina Ivarsson, Jamie; Nilsson, Johannes; University of Gothenburg/Department of Cultural Sciences; Göteborgs universitet/Institutionen för kulturvetenskaperThis essay examines how queer audiences interpret and construct meaning in interaction with an episode of the Swedish reality TV-show Drag Race Sverige. This is examined through focus group interviews with queer Drag Race viewers. The featured episode depicts a meeting between a competing group of drag queens and a group of proclaimed manly men, whom the competing drag queens must makeover into their “dream sisters”. The essay examines a queer audience's reaction to this meeting, and the manly men's presence in a seemingly queer space, analysing them through a queer phenomenological framework. It concludes that the manly men’s presence both simultaneously heightens the queer audience's enjoyment of the episode and awakens feelings of discomfort in them. The manly men’s place in the episode is hypothesised as either legitimising the queer audiences' points of views or disturbing them, thus impacting their enjoyment of the episode.Item Från Myt till Maskin: En studie av mytiska strukturer och artificiell intelligens i filmen 'Ex Machina'(2024-09-26) Stark, Alva; University of Gothenburg/Department of Cultural Sciences; Göteborgs universitet/Institutionen för kulturvetenskaperThe aim of the essay is to investigate how the mythical structures from the Frankenstein myth are presented in a contemporary film adaptation about artificial intelligence, and how this adaptation establishes a connection between these mythical structures and our own psychological perceptions of AI. This study has provided an analysis of the film Ex Machina through the theoretical framework of Claude Lévi-Strauss's study on myths, ultimately revealing parallels with the modern development of the Frankenstein myth. The film portrays the progress of artificial intelligence connected with our own perceptions. Drawing from Lévi-Strauss's theory, the study shows how myths, explain our emotions and thoughts regarding artificial intelligence. Concepts such as the Frankenstein complex and technological singularity exemplify how the myth continues across cultural works. Ex Machina demonstrates themes from the Frankenstein myth and reflects general attitudes and emotions towards artificial intelligence. Through the phenomenon of technological singularity, the film offers hypothetical insights into possible futures created by exponential AI development. This thesis shows that the film mirrors our fears and anxieties regarding creation, similar to the narrative of Frankenstein.Item Mode som funk(is)ar - konsumtion som strategi för identitetsskapande för personer med synliga funktionsnedsättningar(2024-07-05) Anderson, Stina; Piiroinen, Frida; University of Gothenburg/Department of Cultural Sciences; Göteborgs universitet/Institutionen för kulturvetenskaperThis essay will discuss consumption as a strategy for creating one’s identity for persons with visible disabilities. Along with this, questions asked and answered are concerning how lack of inclusion in the fashion industry affects the informants’ consumption of clothes and how the informants discuss identity in relation to their disability. Compulsory able-bodiness (McRuer, 2006) is a main theory that will influence both the discussion and the results. The results are that the informants’ use different forms of identity to regain negative connections to their disability, through creating a unique and positive identity and proving harmful stereotypes wrong. The informants’ use strategies to consume clothes by relying on experience with the stores’ products and online shopping. The informants are affected in a negative manner from lack of inclusion by being restrained from experimenting and exploring their identity through clothes. Even though the informants are aware that their disability, through other peoples’ eyes, are a part of them, they don’t want the focus being on anything other than their personality.Item Gendering the Genderless(2024-06-19) Vezzoli, Beatrice; University of Gothenburg/Department of Cultural Sciences; Göteborgs universitet/Institutionen för kulturvetenskaperThis bachelor thesis examines how the film Blade Runner 2049 (2017) projects Western gender norms onto the film's characters. The focus is on how the artificial intelligences are gendered despite being technological systems such as humanoids and holograms. The purpose is to see how and if artificial characters are assigned gender and thus see what norms exist in our world today, what makes a man masculine and what makes a woman feminine. By studying the position of the characters in the film – how they behave and how they are portrayed – I can get an overview of which character traits are applied to which gender. The results show that the characters who are more artificial than human show clear tendencies to be bound to gender norms while the characters who are human have the possibility to break these stereotypes.Item “VIOLENT DELIGHTS HAVE VIOLENT ENDS” An Overview of Male User Violence and Aggression Against AI Girlfriends in Replika(2024-05-31) Stoltz, Tea; University of Gothenburg/Department of Cultural Sciences; Göteborgs universitet/Institutionen för kulturvetenskaperIn media we have recently observed a rise of interest in AI girlfriends on the application Replika, but little evidence exists around romantic human-chatbot relationships (HCRs) in relation to consent and ethical considerations, as well as male user violence and aggression against AI girlfriends. This thesis, guided by Anderson & Bushman’s General Aggression Model (GAM) and Bareither’s theory on feeling rules in video games, examined 16 posts from the r/Replika subreddit involving instances of physical or psychological violence and aggression against AI girlfriends, and various opinions on the matter, to understand and categorize the process. I propose that the male violence and aggression against AI girlfriends showcased in r/Replika can be divided into four themes: 1) violence and aggression, 2) experimentation/curiosity, 3) dominance, and 4) pleasure. These themes, together with internal mechanisms and a consideration for virtual spaces, may create two possible user outcomes: 1) playful behavior, or 2) short-term virtual aggressive behavior. I also conclude that AI girlfriends in Replika cannot consent non-parroted, resulting in non-consensual actions and executions of moral transgressions. Lastly, I propose a re-evaluation of our traditional ethical frameworks to be more suitable for the age of AI and suggest avenues for future research.Item VEM ÄR JAG ENLIGT STJÄRNORNA? En kulturvetenskaplig studie om astrologins roll i identitet och divination(2024-05-08) Andersson, Ida; Bergérus, Sandra; Peterson, Filippa; University of Gothenburg/Department of Cultural Sciences; Göteborgs universitet/Institutionen för kulturvetenskaperThe aim of this study is to examine how zodiac signs are depicted through social interactions from an identity perspective and if zodiac signs can be seen as a form of divination. Our method was based on the answers of seven informants (six interviews in total), all of whom were interested in astrology with two of the informants having the title of astrologer by profession. After the implementation of Erving Goffman’s dramaturgical theory regarding identity and Jesper Frøkjær Sørensen’s divinatory perspective, we found evidence in the orrelation between zodiac signs and identity, along with astrology having little to no correlation with divination. The results show that although the majority of the informants were hesitant to the assertion that astrology can provide divinatory evidence, many of them still consumed and followed astrological advice based on prognosis. In addition to the implication that zodiac signs influence one's identity to some degree, our informants believed that it could be true, but were adamant to point out one's personality consists of more than just the attributes of their zodiac signs.Item VISSERLIGEN SÅ KAN MAN INTE OPERERA EN SÅGVERKSMASKIN, MEN MAN KAN JU LIKSOM GÖRA NÅGOT FÖR DEMOKRATIN. En diskursanalytisk studie om folkhögskolans roll i det nyliberala samhället(2024-05-08) Koppfeldt Scott, Emma; Hallgren, Primus; Wallgren, Viktor; University of Gothenburg/Department of Cultural Sciences; Göteborgs universitet/Institutionen för kulturvetenskaperIn this bachelor's thesis, we investigate the Swedish folk high school´s role in neoliberal society, which is analyzed through the lens of Norman Fairclough's critical discourse theory as well as Erving Goffman's theory of social deviants. The focus of our study has been participants in creative education, such as art, theater and creative writing. Our findings include that participants at folk high schools find great value in their education, both creatively and personally. They note that they have experienced a large amount of personal growth, regarding both openness towards others and higher confidence and their own abilities and identity. We have also found that the neoliberal discourse is in opposition to those of the folk high school, however the participants are influenced by the order of discourse, in regards to how they view their education and future careers.Item From Revolutionary Dispositions to Aesthetic Ventures(2024-04-22) Papatheodorou, Foteini; University of Gothenburg/Department of Cultural Sciences; Göteborgs universitet/Institutionen för kulturvetenskaperThe aim of this Bachelor’s thesis is to examine gentrification in Exarchia, Athens, through the perspective of new business owners along with how they experience gentrification in the neighborhood of Exarchia. A secondary aim of this study is to analyze how the studied group perceive their role in contributing to the gentrification of the area. Additionally, possible political agendas behind the gentrification of Exarchia will be investigated. The study is conducted in light of a general reformation of the city of Athens after a lengthy economic crisis. By applying ethnographic qualitative methods, mainly through interviews with owners of recently installed businesses in the area, this study seeks to reveal the interrelation between gentrification processes and new enterprises. The majority of informants being also residents in the neighborhood, adds an unexpected perspective of experiencing gentrification in Exarchia. New businesses appear to create an atmosphere that attracts people to the area and amongst other factors, can have serious consequences for the neighborhood and the people who live there. Public and private actors can use gentrification as a means for urban development and reformation.Item “TOMMA HUS ALLAS HUS” - En studie om husockupationer(2024-04-19) Follinger, Cecilia; Asp, Stina; University of Gothenburg/Department of Cultural Sciences; Göteborgs universitet/Institutionen för kulturvetenskaperThe purpose of this thesis is to investigate the relationship between urban transformation and the occupation movement in Sweden, aiming to identify the movement's characteristics and comprehend its changes over time. By analyzing qualitative material collected from occupants active within a span from the 1980 to the present, we examine how the occupation movement has evolved. We investigate the motivations behind the movement, the lifestyle of occupants, and their potential gains to get a better understanding of the culture. We explore the prefigurative politics of the resistance where occupant activists create alternative lifestyles aligned with their desired future, bypassing the wait for broader societal changes. Finally we inquire the current possibilities of creating and defending meaningful urban spaces and social scenes.Item Att syna en Joker: En filmanalys av berättandets och musikens roll i Joker(2024-04-16) Hofsten, Ida; University of Gothenburg/Department of Cultural Sciences; Göteborgs universitet/Institutionen för kulturvetenskaperThis essay focuses on the film Joker (2019) directed by Todd Phillips. It examines the narration and the use of music as a narrative device to discuss questions about identification and perception through close textual analysis. The aim is to research this in combination with the film’s complex storytelling and unreliable narration. The essay use several narratological and psychological theories as well as psychopathology. To consider the musical narration, it’s narrative level and functions a variety of theories are adapted. This thesis shows the power of narration and contributes to the discourse on music in film by offering new ways to consider musical narration and its importance in films that deal with complex and unreliable narration.