Ett brokigt fo?rflutet
gra?nsdragningen mellan ?Vi? och ?Dom? i Svenska Dagbladet och Dagens Nyheter
This study examines imagined boundaries between Swedes and non-Swedes. Rather than using pre-determined definitions as a starting point, the attempt is to examine the discursive construction of difference. The purpose is not to study the portrayal of immigrants per se but to examine how the ?immigrant-ness? is constructed. The result shows the perception of ?immigrant-ness? is linked more to a person?s origin than to the act of immigration itself. The selected newspapers are Dagens Nyheter (DN) and Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) for the period of 15th November ? 21st November, 1999. The theoretical frame is based on discourse analysis, myths, representation and construction of whiteness and blackness (e.g. Hall, Foucault, Barthes, Fanon, Dyer, Ristilammi). News coverage of ethnic minorities is also discussed (e.g. Dijk, Campbell). The methodological approach is based on semiotics and critical linguistics. The result shows mainly that people of non-Western origin are presented as Others (immigrants). Eastern Europeans fall into a more ambiguous category, being both different and similar. However, both groups are linked to ?suburbs?, a racialized sign connoting non-Swedish populations and socio-economic problems, thus closely linking those problems and segregation to ?immigrant-ness?. On the other hand, white, well-educated non-Swedes are described as cosmopolitan, i.e. persons whose ?non-Swedishness? is a positive feature.