This thesis analyzes contemporary Swedish discourse on Russia, i.e. the ways Russia and Russians are perceived in Sweden today. After a summary of historical Western and Swedish perceptions of Russia, and a discussion about the treatment of these tensions within modern research, contemporary Swedish discourse is reconstructed based upon analytical articles in three major newspapers during the period 1992-2007. It is argued that the prevailing image of Russia contains the reproduction of old stereotypes and prejudices. The five major representations of Russia in contemporary Swedish discourse are: non-Western, unreliable, authoritarian, threatening and eternal, with the last one being a meta-representation functioning both as a representation of its own and a mechanism for the reification of the others.

Denna uppsats har till syfte att studera den debatt som uppstod efter den 9:e december, då en rapport om CIA:s användning av tortyr som del av kriget mot terrorismen släpptes. Detta sker igenom en kritisk diskursanalys av amerikansk media, specifikt med en metod kallad förklarande kritik, med fokus på vad politiker citeras säga och vad opinionsskribenter själva säger gör tortyr rätt eller fel att använda. Igenom analys av sådant material ges här både en inblick i de ställningstaganden som görs i debatten, där censur av rapporten bidrar till att en debatt där båda parter kan göra starka sanningsanspråk om effektivitet och politisering, samt även förklaringar av de pragmatiska och affektiva argument som används i media för att legitimera CIA:s tortyranvändning..

Abstract Heléne Slivka (2013). Kvalitetsarbete ur ett specialpedagogiskt perspektiv ? en fallstudie. (Quality assurance process in the elementary school from a special education perspective ? a case study.) The research This essay investigates the language in the school´s quality assurance documents. An important aspect of this is the way in which language structures and informs how we think about, and work with, students with special needs. Aim The aim of this essay is to problematize how students with special needs are represented in the quality assurance documents of the school. The writer intends to point out how the ways in which the language used to describe students informs governing processes.

The purpose of this study is to present a critical analysis of how certain themes of the Norse pagan religion are portrayed in ten selected textbooks used for Religious Science education in grades one through nine. The themes included in the analysis are; the description of the transition from the Norse Pagan religion to Christianity; Adam of Bremen?s portrayal of human sacrifice, and lastly Ibn Fadhlan?s characterization of widow burning. By using a critical knowledge text analysis, and applying a theoretical starting point that pedagogical material analyses and interprets events from a specific perspective; in this case from a Christian perspective, I have from the study concluded that the chapters covering the Norse pagan religion in these textbooks have a distinguished Christian bias seen as the norm. The themes analysed in this study all describe different phenomena in a similar way and make use of the same sources, even though these are often questioned.

The aim for this paper has been to examine three textbooks designed for science education in upper secondary school in order to determine whether they convey any specific attitudes regarding what is considered to be ideal knowledge within the field of biology. The main focus has been to investigate if different types of design strategies have been used to emphasize certain values or attitudes and if this proves to be the case, how is this achieved specifically?                      For this purpose I have conducted several different qualitative linguistic analyses of the textbooks. The theoretical framework for the analyses lies within the main field of critical linguistics and more specifically in the context of systemic functional linguistics. The two main language models I have chosen to use for my investigations are functional grammar and multimodal text analysis.                      My results imply amongst other things that by conducting an overall assessment of the headlines in the textbooks a fair assessment can be made of which overall attitudes the books convey.

The Authorities attitudes towards Gypsies have been characterized by prejudice for a long time. This has lead to the relief actions of the Authorities being formed by discriminating acts. In purpose of eliminating the discrimination of the Gypsies, the Delegation for Gypsy matters formulated a strategy for solving this problem in the report ?Gypsy rights ? a strategy for Gypsies in Sweden?. Despite the goodwill of the Authorities this report has been criticized by Gypsies in Sweden. In the investigation of the derivation of this criticism the aim of this essay is to look at how the Authorities attitude towards Gypsies is shown in this report and how it affects the creation of their ethos.

The swedish law against female genital mutilation (FGM) prohibits procedures that removes parts of the female genitalia and thereby makes permanent changes in the body. The problem with the wording of the law is that it may also apply to the western phenomenon cosmetic genital surgery. This paper therefore examines if cosmetic genital surgery should be covered by the swedish law against FGM, by making a critical comparing analysis. The paper begins with comparing FGM with cosmetic genital surgery to prove that there are more similarities than differences between the procedures. By using the theoretical perspectives universalism and postcolonialism, the paper then examines why, particularly in the West, there is a different approach to FGM than to cosmetic genital surgery, regardless of the similarities of the procedures.

The purpose of this Master?s thesis is to investigate the information use in teacher education students? degree projects. The first study is a reference analysis used to categorize the cited sources in 33 degree projects from the teacher education program at one Swedish university. The aim was to find out what types of sources were used, in particular the amount of citations to scholarly publications. The results of the reference analysis showed that the majority of sources used were text books.

In classic academic social studies of East Europe, terms as Communism and Post-Communism are commonly used to describe the main characteristics of this geographically imagined area. This paper makes a not so frequently seen attempt to apply Post Colonial Theory for the same field. With start point in Post Colonial theoretical writers, the author wants to find a East European Post Colonial version for the internal Europe which will supply tools for a discourse analysis of the European mind map divided into West and East. The material consists of interviews with three Swedish and three Czech officials, all working with European politics in their country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The analysis is carried out with inspiration of Ernesto Laclaus and Chantal Mouffes Discourse theory.

In this essay I have studied how the kid?s school start are described in picture books. The studied questions are: How the school is described in these selected picture books; what feeling does the main character have into the school start; how the teachers are described in this selected picture books and how are the power relationship described in these selected picture books?The method I have chosen for this essay is a discourse analysis of seven selected picture books with the meaning of starting school. All books studied are written during the 1990 and forward.

The aim of this thesis is to study perceptions around the freedom of movement of workers within the EU before and after its enlargement in 2004, both on a Swedish and a European level. I have chosen to conduct my study using a discourse analysis as a structure for my theory and method. Theories based on previous research have also been used. My material consists of Communications from the European Commission, Swedish Command Papers as well as a research report. One of the main findings is that at a Swedish level, there is concern about how the free movement of workers will affect the labour market and welfare system.

This essay has an aim to map out the discourses in the debate around local self government and national equivalence, which are both essential democratic values. The essay is delimited to the area of the comprehensive school. Interviews have been made with key persons in different positions in a selected municipality. I also use material that has been written in the context of Ansvarskommittén. The material is analysed using an integrated discourse analysis.

The recent decades have been characterised by a trend where the public sector's been inspired by several methods and strategies from the private sector. The public library is in this case no exception. In this context there are different perspectives on whether or not this will lead to a dramatic change of the role and values of the traditional public library. The aim of this master's thesis is to make a contribution to a deeper understanding of the ideological conflicts within the Swedish public library and its relation to the market. In the literature of library and information science I have identified two separate discourses representing two contradictory systems of meaning concerning this relation.

The swedish law against female genital mutilation (FGM) prohibits procedures that removes parts of the female genitalia and thereby makes permanent changes in the body. The problem with the wording of the law is that it may also apply to the western phenomenon cosmetic genital surgery. This paper therefore examines if cosmetic genital surgery should be covered by the swedish law against FGM, by making a critical comparing analysis. The paper begins with comparing FGM with cosmetic genital surgery to prove that there are more similarities than differences between the procedures. By using the theoretical perspectives universalism and postcolonialism, the paper then examines why, particularly in the West, there is a different approach to FGM than to cosmetic genital surgery, regardless of the similarities of the procedures.

The following inquiry begins with one simple question: who is the margin? In other words, what is the referent of the term margin? Is it possible for language to capture connotations of an intended and supposed reality beyond its own limits? My supposition is that margin is a valuable concept to critical studies of the hegemonic order and dominant culture in various contexts. It is therefore necessary to expose the term itself to a critical analysis by attempting to trace its position in different discourses. The intention is to illustrate that the term margin is not merely an abstraction, confined within the framework of intricate theoretical rhetoric.In a deconstructive analysis of Gender Trouble by Judith Butler and Can the Subaltern Speak? by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, based on the work of Jacques Derrida, I study the significance of the term margin and explore how the use or non-use of concrete examples affects the reception of both the term margin and ultimately the text as a whole.The study of these two texts reveals that some of the very same critique raised by Butler and Spivak is itself applicable to the authors? own theory production.