Partly as a reaction to a perceived crisis in contemporary democracy, the nineties witnessed an upsurge in different forms of citizens? fora, dedicated to the promotion of increased participation by the citizen in the political process. Youth councils are a special point in case as they entail the general characteristics of a deliberative forum, with an emphasis on political learning. This study aims to undertake an evaluation of a regional youth council in the region of Skåne in the south of Sweden. Through qualitative analysis, the study aims to portray the origin, purposes and consequences of such a forum.

In 2002 the local council of Lund, Sweden, decides to implement the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child. A number of actors, such as the state, the civil society, the political society and the bureaucracy, participate in the political process with different authority and points of departure. This thesis studies the actors´ interactions from an inside perspective by applying concepts such as political power, democracy and implementation. The methodological departure is action research from within, a local NGO, the local board of Save the Children Sweden. The results of the study indicate that governance and steering of the implementation process at the communal level is weak.

This thesis is about how to criticize the large number of non-fiction for children which is published nowadays. I have noticed that both librarians and teachers do not know what perspective to apply with regard to this category of books. There are some good ones, but also a lot of bad ones and some really bad ones. The purpose of this essay is to search by means of criteria from history of art, history of literature ? principally history of children's literature ? and pedagogy, for prevalent attitudes towards non-fiction for children.

The purpose of this examination is to investigate how Judisk Krönika, a periodical which was introduced in 1932 with the aim of disseminating Jewish culture and tradition in Sweden, uses history to make comments about its role in contemporary history, specifically during the first two years of the First Intifada. A second purpose was to examine how this use of history differed from results shown in earlier studies comprising the 1960s and the 2000s. The method in use is qualitative; the source material has been read thoroughly and scrutinized in search of the authors open and hidden messages and intentions. The main finding shows that four major themes could be identified: anti-Semitism(anti-Zionism); memory; ethnonational and media. The most dominant theme during the 1980s, as opposed to the 1960s and the 2000s focus on Zionism and Jewish culture respectively, is memory, that could be described as hegemonic and as a part of a existential use of history, which aims for survival and preservation of the Jewish culture in times of conflict..

In this essay I trace the historical theme in Djuna Barnes?s Nightwood, stressing the importance of the concept of forgetfulness in the text. Read alongside Nietzsche?s On the Use and Abuse of History for Life as well as his later thoughts on genealogy, the novel can be seen to concern itself with that same dilemma of history that he articulates in his philosophy. That is: how not to be overburdened by historical knowledge to the point where it petrifies life and prevents any real and novel action, and how at the same time, to make oneself conscious of ones own historicity, so as not to be governed to much by the past.I argue that Robin inhabits what Nietzsche would call the unhistorical state, whereas the other characters, in contrast, struggle with their relation to the past.

In Sweden, a new feminist political party (?Feministiskt initiativ?) was founded in 2005. The main objective of this thesis is to study the reasons and driving forces behind the establishment of the party, as well as to explain the timing of its foundation in 2005. The theories that are used in the study are focused on the individual founders, and the empirical material comprise in essence of interviews with founders.The study reveals that several individuals, as well as political movements were involved in the process of the party establishment. Various interacting factors influenced the founders to choose the strategy of setting up a political party.

With a background in the 17th century?s English political events, but also the ideological scene of that time, the purpose of this essay is to analyze two concepts, freedom and happiness, in Thomas Hobbes?s political writings. Hobbes is well known for his political works, mostly for Leviathan, where his thoughts about government and religion are exposed. But what does he say about freedom? And what about happiness? The study shows that Hobbes?s political thought is quite original from this aspect too.

The purpose of this thesis was to gain an understanding of how Swedish political parties gain knowledge of their voters. The assumptions taken in the thesis were that political parties are using same methods as businesses do to find interesting segments. To attain insight into the purpose of the thesis, two research questions were formulated: how are Swedish political parties obtaining insights in who their potential voters are? With the second question, an attempt is made to answer how the very same parties are using their knowledge about their voter segments. To find answers to those questions, personal interviews were performed with seven political parties.

The aim of this thesis has been to analyze and interpret several different discourses in Japan and from the findings see how the Ainu people and their existence in Japan have been defined in today's Japan and in who's interest it is to keep it this way. My findings was that the Japanese nation in all channels of society are reinforcing and perpetuating the belief that it constitutes an ethnically homogenous nation and that there exists no ethnic problems in the country. I found that schoolbooks don?t give adequate information about the Ainu people and its history, and the Japanese press is reinforcing the status quo by their selective silence and limited coverage on issues concerning the Ainu. The government has defined and legitimized the problem of Ainu within the framework of culture and tradition.

Movies are a part of everybody?s, including student everyday life. Teachers have to give their students the tools and means to critically examine movies and media as a whole. This study aims to examine how seven teachers in southern Sweden didactically motivate their use of movies; specifically entertainment features in the history subject. The theoretical framework of this study is Knud Illeris theories about the three dimensions of learning.

This thesis examines the relationship between the marginalization of ornamentation during functionalist modernism and the effect it had on female graphic design practice. By examining the historiography from a gender and feminist theory of history I present a different way of interpreting, not only the history of graphic design but also the concept of graphic design. This thesis does not reach a conclusive result, instead it sets the foundation for further research and illustrates the opportunities that we as graphic designers have to benefit contemporary graphic design by critically reviewing and redefining our history through a diverse historiography..

Political marketing has changed the way political parties internationally behave in relation to the voters. The purpose of this study was to investigate how political marketing is conducted on a local level in Swedish political parties, and how the local and national level of the political parties coordinate the message they send out to the voters. An explorative study was performed by interviewing experts in the field in the form of politicians on both a local and a national level. Initially the local parties' methods were investigated, followed by a second stage where we researched the link between parties on the local and the national level. Marketing of parties on a local level turned out to a large extent to follow traditional methods.

AbstractWhy do Political Parties emerge? ? A Study of "Sjukvårdspartiet i Värmland"Political Science, Johan UtterThe political parties have important roles to play in contemporary society. They act as bearers of power and presents the voters with finished packages of ideas on how society should grow, develop and change. Political parties are essential to the survival and wellbeing of representative democracy. Many theories have been developed over the years concerning matters related to political parties, but one area of research remains largely unexplored, namely the topic on why political parties do emerge in the first place.

With a background in the 17th century?s English political events, but also the ideological scene of that time, the purpose of this essay is to analyze two concepts, freedom and happiness, in Thomas Hobbes?s political writings. Hobbes is well known for his political works, mostly for Leviathan, where his thoughts about government and religion are exposed. But what does he say about freedom? And what about happiness? The study shows that Hobbes?s political thought is quite original from this aspect too.

Since 1820 there has been a continuous discussion about the contents of history courses and the current debate considering this school subject is no exception; it is as vital as ever. Both in educational policy and public debate the role of history as a school subject has been brought up for discussion.In this study the writer has chosen to study the politically independent interest organization HLF. The organization is a non profit association, which works for the consolidation of history in Swedish schools.The purpose of this study is to investigate how the organization HLF has received and met the ongoing debate on this issue. The writer has chosen to examine the strategies the organization has used in order to influence this school subject and if they have succeeded in doing this.To carry out this study the writer has made use of HLF´s annuals as well as Aktuellt om historia, which is a publication that the organization issues three or four times a year. The conclusion of this study is that HLF has little influence when it comes to the formulation of the education of history.