Based on the assumption that the work of contemporary Swedish poet Helena Eriksson, in various ways elaborates the inseparable relation between body and language, this study aims to investigate how this view of language comes to expression in her poetry. Stepping from a theoretical background of feminist perspectives on the body, as well as recent theories on poetic materiality, the analysis points out how the concepts of aesthetic and/or linguistic materiality, social and technological materiality, and what can be described as the ethical dimension of materiality, all as termed by Jesper Olsson and Fredrik Hertzberg, take on feminist implications in Eriksson?s poetry. Through the theory of feminist anthropologist Vicki Kirby and her account of Derrida?s general view of writing, the study makes use of a deconstructive approach to the later work of Eriksson.

This thesis revolves around an obvious fact: printed (or otherwise two- or three-dimensional) poetry is always and inevitably visual. By analysing a representative selection of poems, including conspicuously experimental and image-like poems as well as examples of more conventional poetry, the thesis points out that visual iconicity is an equally inevitable consequence of the visuality of printed poetry. The analysis applies terminology relating to iconicity and intermediality (presented by Lars Elleström, whose theoretical basis is the semiotics of Charles Sanders Peirce) to the selected poems, while avoiding making too specific interpretations, in order to maintain a discussion of the ever-present phenomenon of visual iconicity as such, and not just the individual examples.Rather than introducing visual iconicity specifically to confirm more or less specific interpretations of poetic texts, this method of approaching poems as two-dimensional works of art is what this paper mainly aims to propose, as a productive starting point for literary analyses in general; as is concluded in the theoretical framework by Elleström, the actual modal and iconic properties of printed poetry contradict mutually exclusive dichotomies such as verbal/visual and text/image. While indirectly visually iconic poems tend to have a wider range of possible interpretations at the outset, the existence of iconic potential, however, does not depend on any specific interpretation..

This paper?s main goal is to study how religious studies teachers and religious studies teacherstudents reason concerning armed religious conflicts, with fundamentalism and terrorism ascentral concepts. The study does this with the use of semi-structured interviews. The resultsare analyzed with a phenomenographic analysis with the interviewees? understanding of thecentral concepts being the target of the interviews.

The aim of this study is to describe how nature is portrayed in swedish poet and critic Aase Berg?s two earliest poetry collections, Hos rådjur (1997) and Mörk materia (1999), and how it relates to notions of humanity, culture and civilisation. The concept of ?nature? is problematized in a short survey of how it has been used by and critizised in ecocritical literary theory, which is used as the main theoretical framework for this survey, with an emphasis on selected theoretical concepts by Donna Haraway. As a methodological starting point, ?nature? is tentatively defined as ?that which does not let itself be subsumed under the human, culture or civilisation?, and this definition is contrasted with how the concepts are handled in the texts.The investigation shows that the relationship of nature to the human is a fundamental theme that provides a structure for both poetry collections.

Like several of her female peers, Marie Under (1883 - 1980) has been denied the international acclaim she deserves. The earliest text on Marie Under in swedish told of her greatness, but in classical fallic maner reduced her poetic production by marking it with pathological symtoms. Though latter texts by author Enel Melberg have put a feminist perspective on Unders work, the theoretical complexity of her poetic images and language, and its polemic relation to contemporary literary currents, has yet to be recognised. This study will seek to portrait Marie Under and her poetry in this new light.The study moves from an installation of Marie Under in the modern discourse she so far has been estranged from, to an analysis of her earlier works (in the 1910?s and 1920?s).

At the centre of this study lies the question if normative gender thinking affects the way poetry gets reviewed and how the reviews are written, this in relation to both the gender of the reviewer and the poet. The study crosses three academic fields; gender studies, poetry and journalism, and is based on the cultural studies theory of media affecting and even creating the world around it.The study is based on two types of analysis. One quantitative analysis based on the thematic criticism theory about detail studies that shows bigger patterns, this analysis focuses on how the poet and his/hers work are being treated in the reviews in areas such as how much space they´re given in the newspapers, how they are named by the reviewer and the tendency to quote the reviewed work.  And one qualitative analysis based on the new criticism method of close reading, that focuses on the reviewers way of writing and how that may be connected with theories of gender differences, this both connected to the gender of the reviewers and the poets.The material chosen for this study are all the reviews that were published in the same newspapers and that reviewed two specific poetry works by two specific poets chosen with great sensibility to age and career so that their difference in gender would be the most significant difference between them. The works were chosen based on year of publishing, they were supposed to be published as newly as possible and as close to each other in time as possible.

This study is an attempt to investigate religious perceptions and its development, function and connection to religious practise within the Swedish extreme metal scene. This is performed mainly by a qualitative method of investigation, studying lyrical content published on a number of extreme metal albums, thereafter relating the lyrical progression to the progession of the scene as a whole and also to the development of individual religious belief and practise.The lyrically expressed manifestations of religiosity within the extreme metal scene prove to be related to religious practise in some cases, most visibly in the Christian parts of the scene.The study also indicates that development of religious expression often is evident regardless of religious preference. This development also regularly relates to an increase in musical evolution and prowess often achieved with increased age and maturity.Musically and lyrically, the extreme metal scene displays transgressive attributes which assist both individual and group in the process of creating identity, meaning and individuality.Experiencing extreme metal, in concert or in the privacy of one´s own home, can be one way of perceiving spirituality in this modern age..

This paper is based on a study of the Christian religious school. In Sweden today, surveys have shown that there is a common fear and negative attitude towards Christian religious schools. Despite this fact these schools increase in numbers, which makes it relevant to investigate what reasons the parents base their decision on when making Christian religious schools their school of choice for their children. The formulation of the question in this paper is therefore based on why the parents choose to place their children in a Christian religious school. Previous research on this topic is very scarce and poor, which makes it a relevant topic to investigate more thoroughly.

The aim of this essay is to investigate the attitudes towards religion and religious people held by a group of Swedish high school students. The main questions are; what causes these attitudes andhow do they shape the students? encounter with religion and religious people and in what way could religious education help the students problematize these attitudes?The method used is a quantitative method using a questionnaire, with a Likert scale, posing different questions about religion as such, world religion and religious people. The theoretical basis, in order to discuss the result of the questionnaire, is a gender theory and the theory of social psychology.The result of the study confirms earlier studies of youths both in Sweden and Western Europe. The result shows that there is a certain degree of negative attitudes towards religion, most of all againstIslam.

This is a project about learning from an experience, about trying to have fun and not getting overwhelmed and draining your work. The thing that wraps this whole experience together is the making of a book. The purpose of making the book has been to bring two interests together, illustration and graphic design.The content of the book for this graduation project is written by Fredrik Mårtensson. His poetry tells about the unnatural state of the modern society. I have interpreted the poetry in six abstract illustrations that I made digitally, with the intent to maintain the feeling of something organic.The process of making this book is a lot about learning what it actually takes to finish it, about trying to tell something and a lot about experience practical work..

Religious congregations and social work have long been a neglected field of research. Although the number of studies have increased during the last twenty years. With a starting point in the situation in this field of research and in the current public debate in Sweden the focus of this study will be on how Christian and Muslim congregations view cooperating with the municipalities, organizations, the religious community to whom which the congregation belongs and how the congregations view cooperating with other religious communities. Qualitative method of research was used. Representatives of four religious congregations was interviewed; a deacon in a congregation in the Swedish Lutheran Church, a pastor in a congregation belonging to the Mission Covenent Church of Sweden, the chairman in a the board of a Muslim congregation and volunteerleader in another Muslim congregation.

The aim of my thesis is to unveil orientalistic powerstructures in the new national curriculum for religious studies in Swedish upper secondary schools. Western imperialism and modernistic ideals has formed the Swedish perception of what constitutes as Swedish, this perception also influences the Swedish religious understanding. This understanding is imbedded in the national curriculum for religious studies which enables a western hegemony to prevail..

The aim of my thesis is to unveil orientalistic powerstructures in the new national curriculum for religious studies in Swedish upper secondary schools. Western imperialism and modernistic ideals has formed the Swedish perception of what constitutes as Swedish, this perception also influences the Swedish religious understanding. This understanding is imbedded in the national curriculum for religious studies which enables a western hegemony to prevail..

Private religion is a faith that isn?t practiced in an organised religious community. Many people do not want to accept a religious concept that is already defined. To choose a conception of faith based upon personal preferences fits some modern man better. The purpose of this thesis is to examine if it?s possible to create a personal religion and how such a process looks.

The aim of this study is to describe how nature is portrayed in swedish poet and critic Aase Berg?s two earliest poetry collections, Hos rådjur (1997) and Mörk materia (1999), and how it relates to notions of humanity, culture and civilisation. The concept of ?nature? is problematized in a short survey of how it has been used by and critizised in ecocritical literary theory, which is used as the main theoretical framework for this survey, with an emphasis on selected theoretical concepts by Donna Haraway. As a methodological starting point, ?nature? is tentatively defined as ?that which does not let itself be subsumed under the human, culture or civilisation?, and this definition is contrasted with how the concepts are handled in the texts.The investigation shows that the relationship of nature to the human is a fundamental theme that provides a structure for both poetry collections.