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Culture Unbound: Americanization and Everyday Life in Sweden

O'Dell, Thomas LU (1997)
Abstract
This book investigates the significance processes of Americanization have had in shaping and influencing the form and content of everyday life in Sweden. However, rather than simply viewing Americanization as an irresistible homogenizing force, it is argued that to the extent that Swedish everyday life has been Americanized, it has been Americanized in a very Swedish way. Here the dreams, actions, and consumption desires of individuals with different social backgrounds are seen as important filters through which America and American impulses are perceived and experienced.



The study is divided into six chapters, each with its own theme. The first chapter serves as an introduction to the rest of the book, concentrating... (More)
This book investigates the significance processes of Americanization have had in shaping and influencing the form and content of everyday life in Sweden. However, rather than simply viewing Americanization as an irresistible homogenizing force, it is argued that to the extent that Swedish everyday life has been Americanized, it has been Americanized in a very Swedish way. Here the dreams, actions, and consumption desires of individuals with different social backgrounds are seen as important filters through which America and American impulses are perceived and experienced.



The study is divided into six chapters, each with its own theme. The first chapter serves as an introduction to the rest of the book, concentrating upon an analytical consideration of the concept of "Americanization" as it has been invoked in popular debates as well as the academic discourse over the past century.



The second chapter focuses upon the narrative processes through which America has developed its symbolic power in Sweden in the period spanning from 1750-1900.



The third chapter uses the center/periphery metaphor as a means of framing the emigration debate which raged in Sweden in the decades around the turn of the century. The discussion centers around the manner in which images of America can be used as dynamic tropes in the construction of widely varying Swedish identities.



Chapter 4 focuses upon the American car and its interpretation as a symbol of modernity. While following the car from the twenties into the present, it is the history of class distinctions, aesthetic values, and social contestations in the Swedish context which are described. Chapter five considers the effects of Americanization upon the anti-war movement and the New Left, while Chapter 6 concentrates upon an even smaller group within the Swedish counter-culture: hippies.



In short, processes of Americanization are here framed within the Swedish context, and used to consider the manner in which the face of daily life is formed not only as a result of events unfolding within Sweden's borders, but even in connection with phenomena deriving from beyond them. (Less)
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author
supervisor
opponent
  • Professor Hylland Eriksen, Thomas, Department of Anthropology, Oslo University, Norway
organization
publishing date
type
Thesis
publication status
published
subject
keywords
ethnology, Cultural anthropology, Sweden, Americanization, Culture, Modernity, Everyday Life, Transnational Cultural Processes, Globalization, Flow, Center/Periphery, American Cars, Raggare, Counter-culture, Hippies, Kulturantropologi, etnologi
pages
256 pages
publisher
Nordic Academic Press
defense location
Palaestra, Nedre Hörsal
defense date
1997-12-12 10:15:00
external identifiers
  • other:ISRN: LUHFDA/HFET -- 97/1029 -- SE
ISBN
91-89116-02-X
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
0d404f33-30ef-477a-bff3-a2063eecb3e4 (old id 18242)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 09:55:09
date last changed
2018-11-21 20:55:39
@phdthesis{0d404f33-30ef-477a-bff3-a2063eecb3e4,
  abstract     = {{This book investigates the significance processes of Americanization have had in shaping and influencing the form and content of everyday life in Sweden. However, rather than simply viewing Americanization as an irresistible homogenizing force, it is argued that to the extent that Swedish everyday life has been Americanized, it has been Americanized in a very Swedish way. Here the dreams, actions, and consumption desires of individuals with different social backgrounds are seen as important filters through which America and American impulses are perceived and experienced.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
The study is divided into six chapters, each with its own theme. The first chapter serves as an introduction to the rest of the book, concentrating upon an analytical consideration of the concept of "Americanization" as it has been invoked in popular debates as well as the academic discourse over the past century.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
The second chapter focuses upon the narrative processes through which America has developed its symbolic power in Sweden in the period spanning from 1750-1900.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
The third chapter uses the center/periphery metaphor as a means of framing the emigration debate which raged in Sweden in the decades around the turn of the century. The discussion centers around the manner in which images of America can be used as dynamic tropes in the construction of widely varying Swedish identities.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
Chapter 4 focuses upon the American car and its interpretation as a symbol of modernity. While following the car from the twenties into the present, it is the history of class distinctions, aesthetic values, and social contestations in the Swedish context which are described. Chapter five considers the effects of Americanization upon the anti-war movement and the New Left, while Chapter 6 concentrates upon an even smaller group within the Swedish counter-culture: hippies.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
In short, processes of Americanization are here framed within the Swedish context, and used to consider the manner in which the face of daily life is formed not only as a result of events unfolding within Sweden's borders, but even in connection with phenomena deriving from beyond them.}},
  author       = {{O'Dell, Thomas}},
  isbn         = {{91-89116-02-X}},
  keywords     = {{ethnology; Cultural anthropology; Sweden; Americanization; Culture; Modernity; Everyday Life; Transnational Cultural Processes; Globalization; Flow; Center/Periphery; American Cars; Raggare; Counter-culture; Hippies; Kulturantropologi; etnologi}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Nordic Academic Press}},
  school       = {{Lund University}},
  title        = {{Culture Unbound: Americanization and Everyday Life in Sweden}},
  year         = {{1997}},
}