A Moving Experience: A phenomenological study of what it means to be an immigrant in Sweden
(2010) PSYK01 20101Department of Psychology
- Abstract
- Moving to a new country and living in a new culture involves many processes of change and adaptation for the individual. Not only is the person surrounded by a new language, different norms, behaviour and traditions, but suddenly he or she is also an “immigrant” in this new society. This study was set out to examine the experience of being an immigrant in Sweden, with the aim to make the Swedish society more conscious about its own role in the acculturation process. By creating a better understanding of both hardships and remedies that individuals live through as immigrants in the Swedish society, we can more easily find the best way to live together. The study has a phenomenological approach and has been carried out with a qualitative... (More)
- Moving to a new country and living in a new culture involves many processes of change and adaptation for the individual. Not only is the person surrounded by a new language, different norms, behaviour and traditions, but suddenly he or she is also an “immigrant” in this new society. This study was set out to examine the experience of being an immigrant in Sweden, with the aim to make the Swedish society more conscious about its own role in the acculturation process. By creating a better understanding of both hardships and remedies that individuals live through as immigrants in the Swedish society, we can more easily find the best way to live together. The study has a phenomenological approach and has been carried out with a qualitative method where open interviews have been used. The participant’s accounts have been analyzed based on the theory of acculturation and with the help of Sphinx Lexica, a program for lexical analysis. The analysis demonstrate that many of the participants share similar experiences, such as that some of the Swedish characteristics complicate the acculturation process and that the language constitutes a strenuous obstacle in the relationships with the Swedish people. As a Swede one should try to be more open and welcoming towards new people, thus not be afraid of what one might find “different” or “strange”. One should strive to look beyond certain stereotypes of immigrants in order to see the individual, and be especially aware of one’s own role regarding the outcomes in the meetings with people from other cultures. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/1667246
- author
- Hultengren, Therese LU
- supervisor
-
- Roger Sages LU
- organization
- course
- PSYK01 20101
- year
- 2010
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- acculturation, experience, phenomenology, Swedish, Sweden, Immigrant, invandrare, integration, Sphinx Lexica
- language
- English
- id
- 1667246
- date added to LUP
- 2010-09-23 13:50:35
- date last changed
- 2010-09-23 13:50:35
@misc{1667246,
abstract = {{Moving to a new country and living in a new culture involves many processes of change and adaptation for the individual. Not only is the person surrounded by a new language, different norms, behaviour and traditions, but suddenly he or she is also an “immigrant” in this new society. This study was set out to examine the experience of being an immigrant in Sweden, with the aim to make the Swedish society more conscious about its own role in the acculturation process. By creating a better understanding of both hardships and remedies that individuals live through as immigrants in the Swedish society, we can more easily find the best way to live together. The study has a phenomenological approach and has been carried out with a qualitative method where open interviews have been used. The participant’s accounts have been analyzed based on the theory of acculturation and with the help of Sphinx Lexica, a program for lexical analysis. The analysis demonstrate that many of the participants share similar experiences, such as that some of the Swedish characteristics complicate the acculturation process and that the language constitutes a strenuous obstacle in the relationships with the Swedish people. As a Swede one should try to be more open and welcoming towards new people, thus not be afraid of what one might find “different” or “strange”. One should strive to look beyond certain stereotypes of immigrants in order to see the individual, and be especially aware of one’s own role regarding the outcomes in the meetings with people from other cultures.}},
author = {{Hultengren, Therese}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{A Moving Experience: A phenomenological study of what it means to be an immigrant in Sweden}},
year = {{2010}},
}