• Publications close
• Research software close
• SE close
• Danish close
• Publikationer från Umeå universitet close

The article begins with a description of how ecclesiological research within Practical Theology (PT) has changed over time. By a critical analysis of the ecclesiologies "the new view of the Church" (den nya kyrkosynen), and "the service-centric view of the Folk Church" (den tjänsteinriktade folkkyrkosynen), the use of empirics and theory in church research and its impact on church practices is problematized. While “the empirical turn” in the 1960’s became associated with PT, the empirical turn in Sweden instead developed within the social sciences of religion. One underlying possible factor for this development was a predominant scientific view that emphasized the difference between descriptive and normative science. Theology was criticized for resting on metaphysical assumptions and theologians reacted by making a clear distinction between what they saw as "scientific" and "Church" theology. Hence, theory and practice came to be separated. On the basis of the two ecclesiologies both a “top-down perspective” without empirical approach in Church research, and a typical “bottom-up perspective” without a theologically normative approach are problematized. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of intradisciplinary research for dynamic interaction between empirical analysis and theological interpretation, and interaction between induction and deduction that allows continuous interplay between theory and empiricism. This enables a critical attitude to be maintained both to the Church practice that is empirically analyzed, and to the ecclesiological theories by which analysis and interpretation are made.

In this study, 110 Swedish upper secondary students use a historical database designed for research. We analyze how they perceive the use of this digital tool in teaching and if they are able to use historical thinking and historical empathy in their historical writing and presentations. Using case-study methodology including questionnaires, observations, interviews and text analysis we find this to be a complex task for students. Our results highlight technological problems and problems in contextualizing historical evidence. However, students show interest in using primary sources and ability to use historical thinking and historical empathy, especially older students in more advanced courses when they have time to reflect upon the historical material. Media Places

The aim of this article is to analyze the ecclesiology implicit in the documents Teologiska grundprinciper för arbetet i 2006 års kyrkohandboksgrupp [Basic Theological Principles for the work in the Church manual group of 2006] and Mässans grundordning [Basic order of the Mass]. These documents, composed on behalf of the Church of Sweden’s Church board, are intended as the basis for a new church service manual in 2015. By means of ecclesiological theories drawn from Avery Dulles and Alexander Schmemann, I analyze the documents in the light of the Swedish Folk Church tradition. A shift over time in this tradition is described, from the understanding of the Church as "Church for the people", to the Church as "the people's Church". My underlying hypothesis is that this shift has generated a dualism where two different aspects of the church have drifted apart, namely, with Dulles´ terminology, the Church as “a mystical communion of grace” and the Church as “a network of friendly interpersonal relationships”. In this process, the latter has come to dominate. This pattern is revealed in Basic order of the Mass, in which frame and content tend to be separated. The dualism also stands out in the Basic Theological Principles in terms of the identity and role of the Church. Finally, I offer a discussion of this dualism inspired by Schmemann’s account of the Church and secularism, and I remark on the lack of understanding of the Church as “body of Christ” in later Lutheran perceptions of sacrament.

This doctoral dissertation is a contribution to the current Scandinavian debate on "the integration of immigrants". It is based on a case study of a group of labour migrants from Yugoslavia, the romanian speaking Wallachians who in the late 1960's and early 1970's settled on each side of the Öresund, the narrow strait dividing Denmark and Sweden. Here they have developed two different social patterns and form of integration in Danish and Swedish local communities. Departing from a concrete social situation - the celebration of the Yugoslav national day in a Danish provincial town - the study uses anthropological fieldwork, personal biographies of migrants and a sociological survey to analyze different strategies of integration among "Danish" and "Swedish" Wallachians. The analysis elucidates develop­ments within two fields of social life: work and public community life. Conflicts and developments in these two fields are analyzed in conjunction with conflicts in the Wallachian family. It is argued that an autonomous cultural development and organization among immigrants is crucial for their positive integration into society. In the concluding part of the book this is discussed in conjunction with the development of the welfare state and in relation to different political ideologies in Scandinavia and Western Europe. digitalisering@umu

Extractive violence on Indigenous peoples’ lands is not only a violation against nature but also a violation against Indigenous peoples who experience close connection to land. This paper explores how Australian Aboriginal people and reindeer herding Sámi in Sweden connect with their lands and how these connections are threatened by extractivism. Extractive activities cause destruction of reindeer grazing lands and interrupts reindeer migratory patterns. The reindeer is the backbone of Sámi history, culture and society and is the foundation for language and traditional Sámi livelihoods. Reindeer herding Sámi communities in Sweden depend on the reindeer to exercise their rights to land, as the rights are connected to reindeer grazing. In Australia, where Indigenous peoples can be awarded certain land rights through Native Title, they are nonetheless still fighting to become recognized in the Australian constitution. Many Indigenous Australians also desperately work to save sacred sites from destruction due to extractivism. This creates complex dynamics between connection to land, rights and extractivism on Indigenous lands. Denna artikel är en omarbetad version av en presentation som hölls av författarna vid konferensen La Responsabilité de Protéger. Écologie et Dignité (The responsibility to protect. Ecology and dignity) vid Université Laval i Quebec i början av oktober 2017. Kristina Sehlin MacNeil och Niila Inga lärde känna varandra som forskare och forskningsdeltagare under Kristinas avhandlingsarbete, vilket avslutades i februari 2017. De har sedan dess inbjudits att tala tillsammans vid en rad olika konferenser. Detta är deras första gemensamma publikation, samt den första artikeln på svenska som behandlar Sehlin MacNeils resultat från hennes avhandling Extractive Violence on Indigeneous Country (2017), där hon med utgång i begreppet ”Extraktivt våld” diskuterar om urfolks perspektiv på marken och på kopplingen mellan människa och mark.

In the reform by the liberal-conservative government of Swedish upper secondary education in 2011, history was recognized as an important part of citizenship education and was introduced into the curriculum for vocational education and training (VET) tracks. Through the concepts of classification and framing, this article explores the process of constructing the history syllabus for VET. The data consist of archived material from the working group responsible for the history curriculum under the Swedish National Agency for Education. The analysis shows that there are competing discourses concerning the relative emphasis on competencies and skills and concerning the emphasis on contemporary and modern history. Although historians, history teachers and other agents are invited to respond to the content of the curriculum, the respondents have no influence on the knowledge structure of the curriculum, which is controlled by agents of the dominant educational ideology. From a critical perspective, this article suggests that the curriculum reflects the instrumental and neoconservative message of the reform through strong classification and framing and through the emphasis on general abilities and a contemporary history that has a more direct explanatory value to contemporary society.

Biographical item