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Resandets gränser : svenska resenärers skildringar av Ryssland under 1700-talet

Nyman, Maria LU (2013) In Studia Historica Lundensia 20.
Abstract
Maria Nyman

The Borders of travelling. Russia in Swedish travel accounts during the 18th century.

The primary objective of this study concerns how culturally created images of the Same and the Other, is

expressed in descriptions of a journey, a sojourn someplace else. More specifically, the dissertation investigates

how a number of Swedes, travelling during the eighteenth- and early nineteenth centuries, described their

experiences in and of, Russia. The analysis focus on how the journey is described, the person writing, and the

discursive formation of borders which inform the text. The first part of the study centre on the “scientific”

creation of Russia and its borderlands.... (More)
Maria Nyman

The Borders of travelling. Russia in Swedish travel accounts during the 18th century.

The primary objective of this study concerns how culturally created images of the Same and the Other, is

expressed in descriptions of a journey, a sojourn someplace else. More specifically, the dissertation investigates

how a number of Swedes, travelling during the eighteenth- and early nineteenth centuries, described their

experiences in and of, Russia. The analysis focus on how the journey is described, the person writing, and the

discursive formation of borders which inform the text. The first part of the study centre on the “scientific”

creation of Russia and its borderlands. Here, the travel writers make clear Russia’s key position as a borderland

between Europe and Asia, as well as the centrality of mapping the unknown for knowledge to underpin both

the Russian and the European self-image. The consequent knowledge of the Other, the people of north-east

Siberia in particular, could then be disseminated throughout Europe’s universities and Academies of Science.

Here, Russia is seen as a sort of”stage” were travelers, natural historians and mapmakers fought for positions in

this transmission of knowledge. Many of the travelers lingered on themes common in several accounts from

the time. The question; are they civilized? Echoes in the accounts. I have shown how traveler’s descriptions of

the religious practices of the Russians, of gender relations, and in particular, descriptions of women, were

frequently commented upon. Most notably, it was the encounter with the Russian orthodox religion that created

the clearest divide between a Swedish protestant ”Us” and a Russian ”Them”, but also, this divide decreased

when travelers encountered people and religious practices outside the Russian orthodox sphere. How

”othering” is a practice carried out on a floating scale, becomes evident here. Two concepts, or phenomena,

create boundaries in many of these accounts and in travel accounts in general, these are the concepts

representation/image and encounter. In the two last chapters, the Swedish/Finnish traveler and prisoner of war,

Adelaide von Hauswolff’s and the student Eric Gustaf Ehrström’s, travel diaries are studied. Here, the question

of why some travelers seem to describe encounters, and seemingly, comes close to the country and its

inhabitants, when others do not, is in focus. The traveler’s position within the texts is studied and categories

such as gender, class, and ethnicity are seen as categories directing the positions taken by the travel writer.

These categories influenced the texts to a great extent, but not always at the same time. Encounters were being

described, positions altered, discourses challenged, but also withheld. Travelers wrote on different subjects,

with different strategies, from different places and for different reasons. And still, centuries-old images and a

discursively constructed knowledge of Russia, put its strong mark on these 18th centuries’ texts.

Keywords:Travel, travel accounts, encounters, representations, colonial, discourse, gender, class/status,

Protestant, Russian-orthodox, religions, Siberia, Russia, Europe, Sweden,18th century.



Swedish With an English summary



ISSN 1652-7399 ISSN 1650-755X ISBN 978-91-7473-571-0 (tryck)

978-91-7473-572-7 (digital)

Södertörns högskola, SE-141 89 Huddinge, publications@sh.se

Organization Document name

LUND UNIVERSITY DOCTORAL DISSERTATION



Department of History

Box 2074

S-220 02 Lund

Sweden

June 2013 (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
supervisor
opponent
  • dr Hodacs, Hanna, University of Warwick, England
organization
publishing date
type
Thesis
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Travel, travel accounts, encounters, representations, colonial, discourse, gender, class/status, Protestant, Russian-orthodox, religions, Siberia, Russia, Europe, Sweden, 18th century.
in
Studia Historica Lundensia
volume
20
pages
251 pages
publisher
Södertörns högskola
defense location
Sal MA624, Södertörns högskola, Alfred Nobels allé 7, Huddinge
defense date
2013-06-05 10:00:00
ISSN
1650-755X
ISBN
978-91-7473-571-0
language
Swedish
LU publication?
yes
id
4a466d7a-6cc9-4e76-baaa-3d20a2e7cfb4 (old id 3795291)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 14:49:05
date last changed
2019-08-14 13:51:50
@phdthesis{4a466d7a-6cc9-4e76-baaa-3d20a2e7cfb4,
  abstract     = {{Maria Nyman<br/><br>
The Borders of travelling. Russia in Swedish travel accounts during the 18th century.<br/><br>
The primary objective of this study concerns how culturally created images of the Same and the Other, is<br/><br>
expressed in descriptions of a journey, a sojourn someplace else. More specifically, the dissertation investigates<br/><br>
how a number of Swedes, travelling during the eighteenth- and early nineteenth centuries, described their<br/><br>
experiences in and of, Russia. The analysis focus on how the journey is described, the person writing, and the<br/><br>
discursive formation of borders which inform the text. The first part of the study centre on the “scientific”<br/><br>
creation of Russia and its borderlands. Here, the travel writers make clear Russia’s key position as a borderland<br/><br>
between Europe and Asia, as well as the centrality of mapping the unknown for knowledge to underpin both<br/><br>
the Russian and the European self-image. The consequent knowledge of the Other, the people of north-east<br/><br>
Siberia in particular, could then be disseminated throughout Europe’s universities and Academies of Science.<br/><br>
Here, Russia is seen as a sort of”stage” were travelers, natural historians and mapmakers fought for positions in<br/><br>
this transmission of knowledge. Many of the travelers lingered on themes common in several accounts from<br/><br>
the time. The question; are they civilized? Echoes in the accounts. I have shown how traveler’s descriptions of<br/><br>
the religious practices of the Russians, of gender relations, and in particular, descriptions of women, were<br/><br>
frequently commented upon. Most notably, it was the encounter with the Russian orthodox religion that created<br/><br>
the clearest divide between a Swedish protestant ”Us” and a Russian ”Them”, but also, this divide decreased<br/><br>
when travelers encountered people and religious practices outside the Russian orthodox sphere. How<br/><br>
”othering” is a practice carried out on a floating scale, becomes evident here. Two concepts, or phenomena,<br/><br>
create boundaries in many of these accounts and in travel accounts in general, these are the concepts<br/><br>
representation/image and encounter. In the two last chapters, the Swedish/Finnish traveler and prisoner of war,<br/><br>
Adelaide von Hauswolff’s and the student Eric Gustaf Ehrström’s, travel diaries are studied. Here, the question<br/><br>
of why some travelers seem to describe encounters, and seemingly, comes close to the country and its<br/><br>
inhabitants, when others do not, is in focus. The traveler’s position within the texts is studied and categories<br/><br>
such as gender, class, and ethnicity are seen as categories directing the positions taken by the travel writer.<br/><br>
These categories influenced the texts to a great extent, but not always at the same time. Encounters were being<br/><br>
described, positions altered, discourses challenged, but also withheld. Travelers wrote on different subjects,<br/><br>
with different strategies, from different places and for different reasons. And still, centuries-old images and a<br/><br>
discursively constructed knowledge of Russia, put its strong mark on these 18th centuries’ texts.<br/><br>
Keywords:Travel, travel accounts, encounters, representations, colonial, discourse, gender, class/status,<br/><br>
Protestant, Russian-orthodox, religions, Siberia, Russia, Europe, Sweden,18th century.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
Swedish With an English summary<br/><br>
<br/><br>
ISSN 1652-7399 ISSN 1650-755X ISBN 978-91-7473-571-0 (tryck)<br/><br>
978-91-7473-572-7 (digital)<br/><br>
Södertörns högskola, SE-141 89 Huddinge, publications@sh.se<br/><br>
Organization Document name<br/><br>
LUND UNIVERSITY DOCTORAL DISSERTATION<br/><br>
<br/><br>
Department of History<br/><br>
Box 2074<br/><br>
S-220 02 Lund<br/><br>
Sweden<br/><br>
June 2013}},
  author       = {{Nyman, Maria}},
  isbn         = {{978-91-7473-571-0}},
  issn         = {{1650-755X}},
  keywords     = {{Travel; travel accounts; encounters; representations; colonial; discourse; gender; class/status; Protestant; Russian-orthodox; religions; Siberia; Russia; Europe; Sweden; 18th century.}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  publisher    = {{Södertörns högskola}},
  school       = {{Lund University}},
  series       = {{Studia Historica Lundensia}},
  title        = {{Resandets gränser : svenska resenärers skildringar av Ryssland under 1700-talet}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/4185166/3798246.pdf}},
  volume       = {{20}},
  year         = {{2013}},
}