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Our latest publications registered in NVA.
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Koy, Ursula; Plessis, Pierre Louis du; Caple, Zachary & Schroer, Sarah Asu
(2026).
Multispecies Landscapes.
Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space.
ISSN 2514-8486.
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In this special issue, we gather contributors from across the world who develop a variety of approaches to the study of multispecies landscapes. The issue builds on ongoing dialogues between research hubs in the environmental humanities and social sciences, notably: University of California, Santa Cruz, University of Oslo, the University of Sydney, University of Cape Town, Aarhus University, and the University of Tromsø. Across these hubs, a shared interest in landscape has emerged, one that builds on earlier insights from the field of multispecies studies that took single species as an opening into a world of relations. As with Donna Haraway’s famous study of human-dog relations, the contributors in this special issue trace the implosions of nature and culture through which landscapes take shape:: “In layers of history, layers of biology, layers of naturecultures, complexity is the name of our game.” Haraway 2003, 16). While these groups and individuals have developed their own distinct conceptual insights and methodological trajectories, a shared interest in the significance of landscape has emerged as a key node of inquiry, in which individual species are not the primary object of analysis, but rather serve as guides into the complex dynamics of multispecies landscapes.
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Siem, Solveig Marie
(2026).
Jättiläislumme Oslossa: puutarhataitojen esillepanoa ja kasvitietoisuuden herättämistä.
In Koivunen, Leila & Syrjämaa, Taina (Ed.),
Puutarhanäyttelyistä biennaaleihin. Näyttelyiden moninainen historia.
Gaudeamus.
ISSN 9789523453906.
p. 139–143.
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Brenna, Brita
(2026).
Luonnontieteet näytteillä: taksonomisista lajinäytteistä dioraamoihin.
In Koivunen, Leila & Syrjämaa, Taina (Ed.),
Puutarhanäyttelyistä biennaaleihin. Näyttelyiden moninainen historia.
Gaudeamus.
ISSN 9789523453906.
p. 250–271.
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Koy, Ursula & T.R., Suma
(2026).
Soilscapes: Making and Unmaking Below-Ground Worlds with Earthworms.
Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space.
ISSN 2514-8486.
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Taking the mass death of earthworms in 2018 as a critical event in the political-ecological history of Wayanad, Kerala, South India, this paper has four aims. First, by following the stories of dying earthworms, this paper points to the pivotal role that soils play in the multispecies ecologies that all life depends on. Second, the paper expands the concept of a landscape to a “soilscape”. The paper shows that a soilscape is not static, but a process, an interconnected, more-than-human community in motion. The soilscape emerges as a multi-species community and a radically interconnected living process that requires human care and is experiential only through intimate attentiveness and participation. Third, the paper recognizes that the decline of Wayanad's soilscape—highlighted by the mass death of earthworms—is rooted in Wayanad's politicalecological history and is not simply a symptom of the planetary climate crisis. The paper conceptualize the soilscape as a “landscape’s memory,” as interactions between the “anthroposphere, biosphere, geosphere” as an archive of political ecology manifested in the manifested in the “human-natural” body of soils (Richter, 2012). We present Wayanad’s political ecology from the belowground up, analyzing how the region’s history of colonial resource extraction and monoculture, of capitalist, chemical dependent cash-crop agriculture, and of reductive scientific experiments to solve the crisis of soil and agriculture, have materially affected the soilscape. Finally, the paper argues that what we call intimate attentiveness is necessary for knowing and living in a multispecies soilscape.
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Wigen, Einar; Topal, Alp Eren & Trombino, Carlo
(2026).
The Last Great Plague of Istanbul, 1812: An Overture to Biopolitics in the Ottoman Empire.
Journal of the history of medicine and allied sciences.
ISSN 0022-5045.
doi:
10.1093/jhmas/jrag031.
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Starting in 1812, a plague epidemic killed a third of the population in Istanbul and a third of the population of Izmir. It lasted at least until 1819 and killed some 500,000 people across the Balkans and the eastern and southern coasts of the Mediterranean, including Malta, Algiers, and Bucharest. Historians have neither examined what this epidemic meant for life in the Empire’s capital, nor spelt out what it meant for the Empire’s future. In fact, the magnitude of the epidemic has been largely missed in the few descriptive studies that exist, possibly due to the silence of Ottoman state archives on the topic of plague. Plague epidemics had until then been a common occurrence, but the extent of this outbreak made it among the deadliest in the capital’s history. It also made Istanbul stand out in contrast to European cities, few of which had experienced major plague epidemics for generations. It furthermore sparked a flurry of Ottoman medical writings, including how to deal with epidemics. These writings, the increased social position of medical doctors in Ottoman politics, and the immediate experience of the epidemic itself are important for understanding how the Ottomans dealt with the cholera epidemic of 1831 and as a context for the introduction of quarantine in 1838. Beyond that, the epidemic came right before one of the most turbulent decades of the Empire, in which it witnessed the Greek revolt (1821) and abolition of Janissaries (1826), culminating in the brutal restoration of political power to the palace and the initiation of modernising structural reforms. The 1812 epidemic holds a key to understanding Ottoman death and reproduction in the nineteenth century.
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Johannsen, Dirk
(2026).
Placelore: Enacting Storyworlds.
In Valk, Ülo; Johannsen, Dirk; Bowman, Marion Irene; Būgienė, Lina & Misāne, Agita (Ed.),
Placelore. Pilgrim Routes, Restoried Sites and Contested Spaces.
Equinox Publishing.
ISSN 9781800509061.
p. 1–21.
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The introduction to Placelore. Pilgrim Routes, Re-storied Sites, and Contested Spaces, this chapter discusses the concept of placelore from a narratological perspective and introduces the contributions to the volume. Multilayered sites that have been re-storied through changing worldviews, historical events, changing political regimes, and partisan claims reveal how placelore anchors storyworlds to specific locations, defining both the experience of and the engagement with a place by locating it in a wider ontological landscape. The introduction approaches placelore as an analytical concept to capture the dynamic loop between storying the world and worlding the story, showing how placemaking needs to be understood as worldmaking.
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Johannsen, Dirk
(2026).
Enacting the Secular: Freethinker Stories of the Nordic “Modern Breakthrough”.
In Tonning, Erik & Tonning, Fionnuala O’Neill (Ed.),
Inventing the Secular.
De Gruyter Brill.
ISSN 9789004737853.
p. 214–234.
doi:
10.1163/9789004737860-012.
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In How God becomes Real: Kindling the Presence of Invisible Others, anthropologist Tanya Luhrmann argues that the reality of a faith does not come easy. In difference to "ordinary ways of seeing", it needs to be kindled. Using the case of the Nordic freethinker movement of the 1870s and 1880s, and its literary formation in the so-called Modern Breakthrough, I suggest that the secular (and its corollary, the ordinary) was historically enacted in a similar process of real-making. The storyworld promoted in freethinker stories was not simply a world without God. It was a world where the secular had to be made plausible and argued for given a society saturated with expressions of faith. I take inspiration from the active inference framework of enacted cognition, as it allows identifying religious and literary kindling practices as instantiations of more general perceptual and enactive sampling mechanisms by which culturally specific mental models of the world are self-evidenced and ‘realized.’ This active inference framework allows us to approach individual stories as attentional protocols, descriptive of events and experiences in a (story)world, but prescriptive of sensory, cognitive, and behavioural strategies that are best suited to reveal this world’s epistemic affordances and inhabit it. I show how the historical freethinker stories of the modern breakthrough are defined by dealing with societal expressions of faith in a (story)world stripped of the object of this faith, making religion a social phenomenon and, thus, teaching the audience (effortful) kindling and (effortless) sampling strategies that first facilitated the experience of a naturalistic world.
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Pepe, Teresa
(2026).
Futures.
In Allan, Michael & Halabi, Zeina G. (Ed.),
The Cambridge Companion to Modern Arabic Literature.
Cambridge University Press.
ISSN 9781009748803.
p. 57–72.
doi:
10.1017/9781009748810.005.
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How has modern Arabic literature imagined the future? Focusing on dystopian narratives as cultural responses to political, environmental, and social crises, this chapter examines the shifting concept of “the future” from a modernist ideal of progress to a site of uncertainty and threat, shaped by posthumanist and ecological thought. The analysis centers on Ahmad Khalid Tawfiq’s novel Utopia (2008), which portrays a near-future Egypt marked by extreme inequality, environmental degradation, and social collapse. The novel exemplifies “critical dystopia,” blending pessimistic visions with moments of resistance and open-endedness. The analysis situates Utopia within a broader tradition of Arabic speculative fiction, tracing its roots to the Nahda and its evolution through contemporary climate fiction. It argues that Arabic literature offers a vital space for reimagining temporality, critiquing slow violence, and envisioning alternative futures amid ongoing regional and global upheavals.
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Bjordal, Sine Halkjelsvik; Bjørkdahl, Kristian & Hidle, Charlotte
(2026).
Inn i prosaens sak.
In Bjordal, Sine Halkjelsvik; Bjørkdahl, Kristian & Hidle, Charlotte (Ed.),
Sak. Prosa. Forskning..
Cappelen Damm Forskning.
ISSN 9788202921316.
p. 9–19.
doi:
https:/www.cdforskning.no/cdf/catalog/book/292.
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In just a few decades, the field of non-fiction research has become an established one, with its own journals, professorships, and textbooks. Yet criticism has also grown: Has the term “non-fiction” become so all-encompassing as to lose precision? Has research done within the field become too narrow, despite a view of texts that extends from tram tickets and milk carton blurbs to legal code and multi-volume history surveys? This anthology brings together researchers who, each in their own way, challenge established non-fiction research, based on their own fields and perspectives. All of the contributions also attempt to point out new paths this type of research can take. A recurrent question is whether the time has come to view “non-fiction research” not as a separate field, but as an open, multidisciplinary, and multi-voiced area of research that revolves around research on the myriad of texts that help shape the society we live in. Non-fiction. Research. New Perspectives on Non-Fiction is aimed at researchers, students and teachers, but will also be of interest to publishers, bureaucrats, critics and anyone else who is concerned with understanding both non-fiction research and the texts that are researched.
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Hjemdahl, Anne-Sofie & Sørensen, Charlotte
(2026).
Disiplinering og omsorg. Begrepet utenforskap som politisk verktøy for arbeidslinja.
Søkelys på arbeidslivet.
ISSN 1504-8004.
43(2),
p. 20–20.
doi:
10.18261/spa.43.2.2.
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Hofheinz, Albrecht
(2026).
Good Enough to Read? Dirty OCR, Large Language Models, and Arabic Manuscript Triage.
Journal of Arabic and Islamic studies.
26(1),
p. 55–82.
doi:
10.5617/jais.13616.
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This article proposes a pragmatic workflow for accelerating access to and analy-sis of large Ara-bic manuscript collections. Faced with the immense volume of historical texts and the inherent challenges of traditional approaches to hand-written text recognition (HTR), the proposed meth-od combines off-the-shelf, cloud-based Optical Character Recognition (OCR) with large lan-guage models (LLMs). Despite the imperfect output often produced by Arabic HTR, this research demonstrates that LLMs can effectively derive meaningful summaries and key insights, enabling rapid triage for scholars. The workflow significantly enhances research efficiency by allowing for the swift identification of valuable documents, thereby freeing human expertise for in-depth analysis. While this approach holds particular importance for endangered archives, such as those in the Sudan, the paper points to its broader potential: manuscript scholars mastering AI tools not to replace but to support and enhance human understanding.
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Valk, Ülo; Johannsen, Dirk; Bowman, Marion Irene; Būgienė, Lina & Misāne, Agita
(2026).
Placelore. Pilgrim Routes, Restoried Sites and Contested Spaces.
Equinox Publishing.
ISBN 9781800509061.
326 p.
doi:
https:/www.equinoxpub.com/projects/placelore-pilgrim-routes.
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Places are meaningful locations that mark the human environment, defining its boundaries, limits, scopes, and coordinates. Their formation is often lost in history, and it can be difficult to determine their lifespan as they constantly transform and evolve. On the one hand, places determine who we are and where we belong: they manifest the traditions, values, habits, and memories that define us. On the other hand, we give life to these places, adding new layers of meaning to them, invigorating the past with individual interpretations and experiences, or contesting it by adding new stories. The volume presents an exploration of the intricate relationship between humans and their environment, focusing on the interplay of storytelling, traditional communities, and the concept of place.
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Tikhonov, Vladimir
(2026).
우크라의 아픔 공감할 수 있는 나라, 대한민국 Ukhŭraŭi Ap’ŭm Konggamhal su innŭn Nara, Taehan Min’guk [A Country that can Empathize with Ukraine’s Suffering: Republic of Korea].
Hangyoreh sinmun.
ISSN 1228-4017.
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The column argues that South Korea should empathise with Ukraine because both societies have suffered from great-power rivalry, geopolitical division, and war. Although the recent diplomatic dispute was partly triggered by Zelensky’s public disclosure of sensitive information concerning North Korean prisoners, the column criticises Seoul’s increasingly instrumental and unsympathetic approach to Ukraine, shaped by shifting US policy. Given South Korea’s own experience of war and division, as well as its prosperity gained through industrial development, it should continue—and expand—support for Ukrainian society, independently of its assessment of the Zelensky government.
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Fossdal, Olav Børesson
(2026).
Heksekunst inspirerer unge.
[Journal].
Journalen.
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Spiritualitet trender på sosiale medier blant unge. Er spiritualitet de unges nye "religion"?
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Fossdal, Olav Børesson
(2026).
Hvorfor velger noen nordmenn å konvertere til islam?
[Journal].
Utrop - Den flerkulturelle avisen.
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Utrop - den flerkulturelle avisen: "Da 21 år gamle Ingrid Kvalheim fortalte familien at hun hadde konvertert til islam, møtte hun både bekymring, fordommer og spørsmål. Noen trodde det var en fase. Andre mente hun hadde blitt radikalisert. Enkelte spekulerte til og med i om hun var psykisk syk".
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Brenna, Brita
(2026).
Näyttelyt, ilmasto ja antroposeeni.
In Koivunen, Leila & Syrjämaa, Taina (Ed.),
Puutarhanäyttelyistä biennaaleihin. Näyttelyiden moninainen historia.
Gaudeamus.
ISSN 9789523453906.
p. 272–274.
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Koy, Ursula
(2026).
Soil Justice: Political Ecologies of Degradation and Repair.
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Soil degradation is not simply an ecological process. Soils become depleted, contaminated, displaced, and destroyed through particular histories of industrial agriculture, extraction, pollution, urbanization, and unequal access to land. At the same time, soils are living multispecies worlds, continuously made and remade through relations among humans, plants, animals, microorganisms, water, and climate. What, then, would it mean to approach the current soil crisis as a question of justice?
This paper develops the concept of soil justice as a way of bringing political ecology into conversation with more-than-human approaches to justice, care, and repair. Soil justice asks how the harms and benefits associated with soils are distributed, whose knowledge and practices of soil-making are recognized, and who is able to participate in decisions about soil futures. But it also extends questions of justice beyond human communities by asking what responsibilities humans have toward soils as living ecologies.
Drawing on research from the Anthropogenic Soils project, the paper explores how histories of soil degradation intersect with practices of soil care, restoration, and regeneration. Rather than imagining justice as a return to an untouched or purely “natural” soil, I argue for understanding soil justice through the ongoing work of making and maintaining flourishing soilscapes. This shifts attention from soil as a resource to soil as a set of relationships—and from restoration alone toward questions of responsibility, care, and the possibilities of living well together in damaged landscapes.
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Koy, Ursula
(2026).
Anthropogenic Soils: Transdisciplinary and multispecies approaches to sustainable futures.
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Human survival depends on the invisible and still largely unknown world below our feet. Yet soils across the planet are being depleted, contaminated, compacted, and lost through industrial agriculture, extraction, pollution, urbanization, and climate change. Anthropogenic Soils: Recuperating Human–Soil Relationships on a Troubled Planet responds to this global soil crisis by asking how understanding the histories through which soils have been transformed can help us imagine and cultivate practices of soil repair and regeneration.
The project starts from a simple but consequential proposition: soils have always been anthropogenic. Humans have shaped soils for millennia through cultivation, irrigation, burning, composting, manuring, extraction, and other forms of labour and care. Rather than treating soils simply as natural resources or passive victims of human disturbance, we approach them as dynamic nature-cultures and living multispecies worlds, continuously made and remade through relations among humans, plants, animals, microorganisms, water, climate, and geological processes.
Led by the environmental humanities, our multidisciplinary team investigates the political ecologies and histories through which soils have become depleted, toxic, or lost, alongside technologies and practices of soil repair in landscapes affected by industrial agriculture, radioactivity, waste, and toxic substances. From South Asia to Norway and the Arctic, we combine fieldwork and perspectives from environmental humanities, anthropology, science and technology studies, microbiology, and science fiction with experimental collaborations involving artists, curators, and practitioners.
By bringing histories of degradation into dialogue with histories and practices of soil-making, care, and regeneration, Anthropogenic Soils explores what kinds of human–soil relationships can contribute to flourishing soilscapes and more sustainable futures.
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Fjellheim, Eva Maria Bircher
(2026).
Conference presentation of Home in Crisis at "Radical Interdisciplinarity: Indigenous Knowledge".
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Larssen, Marianne Friisberg
(2026).
Responding to Industry Encroachment: Mobilising the Sacred and Iconification of Sacred Sites.
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Larssen, Marianne Friisberg
(2026).
Registering the Sacred: Heritage Registration in the Context of Wind Farm Expansion in Finnmark.
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Gustavsson, Anders
(2026).
Clergy in the Northern Nordic region after the Reformastion.
Ethnologia Scandinavica. A Journal for Nordic Ethnology.
ISSN 0348-9698.
2026(56),
p. 173–175.
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Gustavsson, Anders
(2026).
The Bygone Nordic Countryside from a Gender Perspective.
Ethnologia Scandinavica. A Journal for Nordic Ethnology.
ISSN 0348-9698.
2026(56),
p. 171–172.
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Gustavsson, Anders
(2026).
Human Encounters with Wild Animals in a Norwegian National Park.
Ethnologia Scandinavica. A Journal for Nordic Ethnology.
ISSN 0348-9698.
2026(56),
p. 158–161.
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Gustavsson, Anders
(2026).
Migration mellan Norge och Sverige under de senaste 150 åren.
In Allwood, Jens (Eds.),
Migration : fokus på Sverige (9789190085288) | Akademika Bokhandel.
Vibery Press.
ISSN 9789190085288.
p. 87–134.
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Gustavsson, Anders
(2026).
FOLKLIGT SKRIVANDE. 1750–1950. DAGBÖCKER SOM KÄLLA TILL VARDAGLIGT LIV.
RIG: Kulturhistorisk tidskrift.
ISSN 0035-5267.
2026(3),
p. 173–176.
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Gustavsson, Anders
(2026).
KÅGETRÄSKDAGBOKEN. EN VÄSTERBOTTNISK DAGBOK 1891−1901 MED KOMMENTARER.
RIG: Kulturhistorisk tidskrift.
ISSN 0035-5267.
2026(3),
p. 172–173.
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Hjemdahl, Anne-Sofie & Sørensen, Charlotte
(2026).
På innsiden av retorikken om utenforskap.
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Gjennom de to siste tiårene har begrepet utenforskap fått en selvsagt plass innenfor det politiske språket og dels inngått som synonym til, og noen ganger også erstattet, ord som fattig, arbeidsledig, sykmeldte og trygdet. Vi tar utgangspunkt i den politiske bruken av begrepet og spør: Hva er det begrepet utenforskap gjør, og hvorfor er det så virksomt? Gjennom en diakron og synkron analyse av norske stortingsmeldinger undersøker vi hvordan utenforskapsbegrepet er blitt konstruert i den offentlige politiske samtalen i perioden 2006–2023, og hva slags politiske virkninger bruken av begrepet kan sies å ha. Med teoretisk inspirasjon fra Kosellecks begrepshistorie og Faircloughs maktkritiske tilnærming bidrar artikkelen inn i en diskusjon om begrepenes betydning som virksomme politiske redskap og deres rolle i arbeidet med å produsere samfunnsideologier. Vi argumenterer for at introduksjonen av begrepet utenforskap har bidratt til å gi arbeidslinja i norsk politikk et nytt språk. Videre argumenterer vi for at den politiske samtalen om utenforskap i stortingsmeldingene presenterer to ideologiske fortellinger: «fortellinger om utenforskap: den onde sirkel» og «fortellingen om arbeid: sitt eget gode liv». Vi understreker hvordan begrepets iboende dualisme (innenfor/utenfor) gjør det til et politisk anvendelig redskap som virker disiplinerende, fremmer skam og appellerer til omsorg. Samtidig skaper begrepet en form for kriseforståelse som kaller på og legitimerer politiske tiltak.
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Tikhonov, Vladimir
(2026).
호르무즈 파병, 명분도 실리도 없다 Horŭmujŭ p’abyŏng, myŏngbundo sillido ŏpta (A Troop Deployment to Hormuz has neither Justification nor Practical Benefit).
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I argue strongly against South Korea deploying forces to the Strait of Hormuz. I contend that such a deployment would draw South Korea into an illegal U.S.–Israeli war against Iran, lacking both international legitimacy and authorization under U.S. constitutional procedures. The deployment would be politically disastrous at home: it could alienate the Lee Jae-myung administration’s core supporters, provoke public opposition, and become especially damaging if Korean personnel were harmed. It would not win meaningful support from conservative voters either. Internationally, joining the operation would make South Korea appear to be a subordinate instrument of the United States, damaging its ability to maintain balanced relations with China, worsening risks to Middle Eastern energy supplies, and undermining prospects for engagement with North Korea. The proposal offers no strategic or political gain while exposing South Korea to serious moral, diplomatic, and domestic costs.
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Tikhonov, Vladimir
(2026).
무기 수출의 그늘 Mugi Such'ul ŭi Kŭnŭl (“The Shadow of Arms Exports”).
Munhagin.
ISSN 2765-3323.
23,
p. 5–13.
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The paper critically examines South Korea’s emergence as a major global arms exporter and questions the overwhelmingly celebratory discourse surrounding the success of “K-defense.” It argues that arms production and exports have long been closely associated in both South and North Korea with projects of industrialization, modernization, national power, and economic development. This historical legacy helps explain why the expansion of South Korea’s defense industry is commonly presented in the domestic media as an unambiguous national achievement. The paper challenges this perspective by highlighting the geopolitical and humanitarian consequences of arms exports. It draws attention to South Korean weapons sales to countries involved in armed conflicts and repression, arguing that the economic benefits of the defense industry may come at the expense of civilians and vulnerable populations in conflict zones. The author further situates the Korean case within a longer international history of pacifist and socialist criticism of the arms trade, contrasting South Korea’s relatively weak domestic opposition with stronger traditions of anti-militarism elsewhere, particularly in Japan. Ultimately, the paper calls for a more critical understanding of the relationship between arms exports and the national interest. Rather than treating the defense industry as an inherently positive engine of economic growth and national power, it argues that South Korea’s growing military-industrial capacity entails corresponding political and ethical responsibilities. The paper concludes that a mature civil society should scrutinize the international arms trade and consider whether economic development based on the export of weapons is compatible with South Korea’s professed commitment to peace on the Korean Peninsula and beyond.
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Tikhonov, Vladimir
(2026).
위기와 혼돈의 자본주의 – 트럼프 2.0 시대 국제정치 동향을 중심으로 (Capitalism in Crisis and Chaos — Focusing on International Political Trends in the Trump 2.0 Era).
doi:
https:/www.youtube.com/watch?v=bY4v3uOPt9E.
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This lecture, delivered for a Workers' Party socialism meeting on September 5, 2026, presents a Marxist analysis of the current global "polycrisis" — the overlapping crises of capital accumulation, U.S. hegemony, and ecology. It is argued that capitalism now is in a transitional phase between accumulation regimes, with falling manufacturing profit rates driving financialization and a speculative AI investment bubble (estimated at ~$600B in 2026 U.S. investment). The lecture examines the multifaceted crisis of American hegemony — political polarization, deindustrialization, mounting federal debt/interest costs, and military strain exposed by the Iran war (depleted missile stockpiles). It argues Trump's tariff-driven "re-industrialization" agenda intensifies contradictions rather than resolving them, redirecting working-class grievances toward nationalism and anti-immigration politics rather than class politics.
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Tikhonov, Vladimir
(2026).
The Present and Future of Korean Studies in Europe.
doi:
https:/www.aks.ac.kr/cop/bbs/selectBoardArticle.do?nttId=323203&bbsId=BBSMSTR_000000000082&menuNo=4010110000.
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The opening speech argues that Korean Studies in Europe are experiencing two contradictory trends at once. On one hand, the spread of Hallyu (the Korean Wave) since the 2000s has driven explosive growth: roughly 129 European universities now offer Korean Studies degree programs (154 offer related courses), with about 25,000 students studying Korean. Research quality has also risen, with several Europe-based scholars' works now translated and well-received in Korea itself, turning the field from a one-way "introducer of Korea" role into a genuine partnership with Korean academia. On the other hand, the field faces serious structural challenges, many shared with the humanities broadly: the rise of academic "precariat" labor, poor job prospects for graduates, and stark funding disparities between wealthy Western European institutions and poorer universities in Southern/Northern Europe or on the periphery. Geopolitics compounds this: researchers from Russia and Belarus face exclusion from EU academic networks and labor markets, and Ukrainian scholars remain in a precarious in-between status. The lecture also raises the question of whether Korean Studies risks becoming a "sect" — a self-contained enclave — since most funding and conference activity flows through Korean institutions (e.g., the Academy of Korean Studies) rather than European funding bodies, leaving the field only loosely connected to broader European humanities and to North America-centered Asian Studies networks (e.g., low European participation in the U.S.-based Association for Asian Studies).
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Tikhonov, Vladimir
(2026).
"Han Pin: A Border-Crossing Revolutionary" (한빈, 국경을 넘는 혁명가).
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This lecture traces the life of Han Pin (also known as Mikhail Han), a Soviet Korean (Koryo-saram) revolutionary born in 1902 in the Russian Far East. As a bilingual, Russian-educated second-generation Korean diaspora member, he joined the Communist Youth League in 1920 and rose through party posts before studying at the Communist University of the Toilers of the East in Moscow, where he likely crossed paths with future Chinese revolutionary leaders. Frustrated by patronage politics in the Soviet Korean bureaucracy, he moved to Manchuria and then Seoul, becoming a founding member of the "ML" (Marxist-Leninist) faction of the Korean Communist movement. After a period back in Moscow as a Comintern interpreter and law student, he returned to Korea to work underground, was arrested by Japanese police in 1930, and spent years in colonial prisons, where he took part in acts of prisoner defiance. Released in 1936, he fled to China, joined the Korean National Revolutionary Party, taught at a Nationalist military academy, and later became a leading political figure in the communist-aligned Korean Volunteer Army and the North China Korean Independence League, engaging in guerrilla resistance against Japan. After Korea's 1945 liberation, he entered North Korea as a member of the "Yan'an faction," but was gradually marginalized relative to Kim Il-sung's circle, serving as vice-president of Kim Il-sung University and later as director of the Pyongyang central library, before disappearing from record amid the late-1950s purges of the Yan'an faction.
The lecture uses Han Pin's biography to illustrate six broader themes: the inherently transnational/international character of East Asian revolutionary movements; the crucial bridging role diaspora figures played between the Comintern and national revolutionary movements; the persistent importance of elite education/credentials within revolutionary hierarchies; the difficulties former revolutionaries faced adapting to post-revolutionary bureaucratic order; the dual role of the Soviet Union as both a "revolutionary" model and an occupying great power in North Korea; and the human type of the "professional revolutionary" who thrived in struggle but struggled to survive in peacetime institutions.
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Rots, Nhung Lu
(2026).
Stranding beach ridges: Plastic materiality and sediment crisis in the Mekong Delta.
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Vĩnh Châu (Sóc Trăng) is a river estuary where one of the Mekong’s streams meets the South China Sea (called East Sea in Vietnam). The town’s surrounding landscape is comprised of small sand ridges of 1-4 meters high and muddy swamp in between. In recent years, these beach ridges have been swamped with landfill plastics. In order to solve the problem, Vĩnh Châu authorities have mobilized international donors, national campaigners, and domestic volunteers to clean up dumping grounds and raise environmental awareness of plastic ocean. However, plastic’s materialities have become embedded in local moral economy and deeply entrenched in their social relations. Based on fieldwork data and semi-structured interviews with waste management officers, local scientists, and cleaning volunteers, this paper shows the complexity of plastic materiality, Anthropocene sediments, local practices, and global initiatives to tackle ocean pollution. It concludes that plastic sediment is an on-going crisis in the Delta regardless of international cleanup efforts in the Mekong Region.
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Rots, Nhung Lu
(2026).
Buddhist Modernity and Anti-colonialism in southern Vietnam: the case of Hòa Hảo Buddhism.
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Hòa Hảo Buddism (Phật Giáo Hòa Hảo) is a religious tradition based in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam that blends ancestor worship, nationalism, and Buddhism. In recent decades, Hòa Hảo followers have actively participated in volunteer work and been engaged across social arenas. Their social engagement constitutes an alternative trajectory towards a Buddhist modernity, providing religious devotees with new ways to reconnect their Buddhist cosmology with everyday needs in a changing society.
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Rots, Nhung Lu
(2026).
Redirecting Anxiety: : The Affective Labour of Hòa Hảo Buddhist Volunteers in the Mekong Delta.
doi:
https:/buddhist-studies.ed.ac.uk/2026-ukabs-conference-buddhism-and-emotion.
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Hòa Hảo Buddism (Phật Giáo Hòa Hảo) is a religious tradition based in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam that blends ancestor worship, nationalism, and Buddhism. In recent decades, Hòa Hảo followers have actively participated in volunteer work and engaged across social arenas. Their social engagement constitutes a form of religious mobilisation grounded in affective relationships with the founder and other religious pioneers, as well as Buddhist cosmology and the environment. Joyful affects from social work and mutual care have improved their mental and physical well-being, eased grief-related pain and sadness, and enhanced their capacity to cope with varying levels of anxiety. Based on ethnographic interviews with Buddhist volunteers, this paper examines anxiety as an emotional response to human insecurity, health vulnerabilities, environmental hazards, and market uncertainties in the Mekong Delta. I argue that this negative emotion can be redirected and transformed into a new form of labour in which affect is central to economic production, emphasizing feelings and passions as drivers for productivity. Accordingly, the affective labour in Hòa Hảo Buddhist practice of volunteering not only brings together the mind and the body, but also potentially produce new subjectivity and sociality.
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Tikhonov, Vladimir
(2026).
개혁 부진과 주식 광풍 Kaehyŏk Pujin kwa Chusik Kwangp'ung (Stalled Reforms and the Stock-Market Frenzy).
Hangyoreh sinmun.
ISSN 1228-4017.
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The article argues that South Korea’s current “stock-market boom” is less a sign of healthy prosperity than a symptom of stalled social reform. The article notes that stock ownership has become extraordinarily widespread—around 14.42 million people, or roughly half of the economically active population—especially among younger people who face precarious employment, unaffordable housing, and limited prospects for upward mobility. The article contrasts this with Norway, where stronger employment security and social welfare reduce the incentive to gamble on stocks as a route to financial security. The article also warns that widespread individual investment can encourage people to view themselves as “small capitalists,” potentially weakening solidarity with workers and fostering a greater emphasis on profitability over social and environmental concerns. At the same time, the article argues that ordinary retail investors should not be blamed: their turn toward domestic and foreign stocks is largely a response to structural insecurity. The central criticism is directed at the failure of successive governments—including the current reform-oriented government—to address housing, health-care coverage, and especially precarious employment. The stock-market frenzy, in this interpretation, is ultimately a symptom of a society in which insufficient redistribution and stalled reform leave individuals feeling that speculative investment is one of their few remaining avenues for escaping economic insecurity.
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Madore, Frédérick; Hiribarren, Vincent; Błoch, Agata; Hofheinz, Albrecht; Harris, Ashleigh & Ndione, Augustin
[Show all 24 contributors for this article]
(2026).
For Whom and For What Purpose? A Position Paper on Digital Humanities and AI in African Studies.
doi:
10.58144/20260827-000.
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African Studies scholars have been involved in Digital Humanities (DH) projects since the 2000s. Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI), particularly large language models (LLMs), have expanded the possibilities for textual analysis and archival research, but implementation raises difficult questions: who controls access, whose data trains these systems without consent, whose languages remain underserved, and who bears the labour and environmental costs. This position paper is the collective work of a Volkswagen Foundation-funded scoping workshop in Hanover, Germany, in February 2026, with twenty-six scholars from sixteen countries. Across four working groups – language technologies; archives and visual heritage; infrastructure, governance, and access; and epistemologies, decoloniality, and ethics – one question recurred: for whom and for what purpose is this work undertaken? Ownership and sovereignty, access, sustainability, and standardisation emerged as transversal problems, which we set in dialogue with critiques of data colonialism and extractivism. We propose situated practices: licensing that conditions openness on return to source communities; digitisation agreements as living documents; ontologies built collaboratively; design grounded in access, governance, and sovereignty; and ethics treated as a process rather than a deliverable. Many of the problems we examine are common across DH and AI: consent, standardisation that erases variation, algorithmic bias, hidden labour, and the funding of innovation over maintenance. African contexts make them sharper and more visible, and Africa-based practice has produced concrete responses. We therefore argue that African epistemologies and decolonial critique belong at the centre of both fields, and that African scholars, practitioners, and institutions belong where these technologies are designed and governed.
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Tikhonov, Vladimir
(2026).
러시아 민주주의와 전쟁_체첸전쟁부터 우크라이나 전쟁에 이르는 러시아식 군사주의를 고찰하며 Rŏsiaŭi minjujuŭi wa chŏnjaeng: Chech'en chŏnjaengbut'ŏ Uk'ŭrain'a chŏnjaeng e irŭnŭn ‘Rŏsia-sik kunsajuŭi’rŭl koch'alhamyŏ (Russian Democracy and War: Examining ‘Russian-Style Militarism’ from the Chechen War to the War in Ukraine).
Sŏngch'al kwa chŏnmang.
ISSN 2289-0475.
43,
p. 8–21.
doi:
https:/demopark.or.kr/bbs/board.php?bo_table=journal&wr_id=44.
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This article examines the erosion of Russian democracy after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, focusing on the relationship between recurring warfare, militarism, and the consolidation of authoritarian rule. After discussing the broader historical relationship between war and state formation, the article traces Russia's military interventions from the early post-Soviet conflicts in Transnistria and Tajikistan to the First Chechen War (1994–1996). The latter is presented as an important turning point in the strengthening of authoritarian tendencies and the political influence of the military. The Second Chechen War (1999–2000) subsequently contributed decisively to the consolidation of Putin's authoritarian regime. The article situates the later wars in Georgia, Russia's intervention in Syria, and the war in Ukraine within this longer trajectory of Russian militarism. The article further argues that warfare has become structurally embedded in Russia's political economy. Growing military expenditure and the expansion of the military-industrial complex have diverted resources away from civilian economic development and reinforced the state's dependence on military power. Under Putin, war has also become an important instrument for concentrating political authority and sustaining the regime's legitimacy. The war in Ukraine therefore represents not an isolated departure but the culmination of a longer process in which militarism has contributed to the authoritarian transformation of the Russian state. The article concludes that Russia's democratic regression should consequently be understood not merely as the product of Putin's personal authoritarianism, but as part of a long-term interaction between war, militarization, and authoritarian state-building.
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Batmanghelichi, Kristin Soraya & Chen, Xu
(2026).
Negotiating Cultural and Gender Identity through Diasporic Culinary Memoirs. A Case of Donia Bijan and Ariana Bundy in the Iranian- American Diaspora.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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Stene, Nora & Siddiq-Hansen, Jasmin Nimrah
(2026).
«Minoritet i minoriteten». Hvordan kristne norsk-pakistanere uttrykker og forstår sin identitet.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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Denne masteroppgaven undersøker hvordan kristne norsk-pakistanere forstår og uttrykker sin identitet. Problemstillingen belyses gjennom tre underspørsmål knyttet til religiøs praksis, relasjoner til majoritetssamfunnet og det norsk-pakistanske miljøet (som i stor grad er muslimsk dominert), samt betydningen av erfaringer fra Pakistan.
Målet med studien er å bidra til nyansert kunnskap om en liten og lite forsket gruppe i Norge, og gi økt innsikt i mangfoldet som eksisterer innenfor den pakistanske befolkningen. Studien søker å utfordre etablerte forestillinger om hva det vil si å være pakistaner. Slike forestillinger bygger ofte på muslimske praksiser, og antakelsen om at pakistaner er synonymet med muslim. Ved å synliggjøre erfaringene og perspektivene til kristne norsk-pakistanere bidrar dette til å utfordre tankegangen om pakistanere som en homogen gruppe.
Empirien bygger på kvalitative intervjuer og deltakende observasjon i kristne norsk-pakistanske miljøer i Oslo og omegn. Gjennom feltarbeidet har det vært mulig å få innsikt i religiøse samlinger, sosiale praksiser og hverdagslige erfaringer som preger gruppens identitetsforståelser.
Funnene viser at kristne norsk-pakistanere befinner seg i en posisjon som kan beskrives som en «minoritet i minoriteten», altså en religiøs minoritet innenfor en større etnisk minoritet i Norge. Basert på denne posisjon viser studien hvordan identiteten deres formes i møte med både det norske majoritetssamfunnet og det norsk-pakistanske miljøet. Studien belyser hvordan grensedragninger oppstår i møte med begge disse kontekstene, samtidig som slike grenser også kan viskes ut. Kristne norsk-pakistaneres identitet forhandles kontinuerlig gjennom tilpasning, innpass, bevaring og videreføring av egne religiøse og kulturelle tradisjoner og uttrykk. Menighetene brukes her som eksempel på en arena for kulturell videreføring, tilhørighet og fellesskap.
Studien viser også hvordan transnasjonale erfaringer, særlig knyttet til begrenset trosfrihet, marginalisering og blasfemilovgivning i Pakistan, former og preger diasporaidentiteten. Avslutningsvis understreker oppgaven også behovet for videre forskning på religiøst og kulturelt mangfold innenfor diasporagrupper i Norge.
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Pepe, Teresa & Eiken, Nora Abidi
(2026).
Beyond Blood. Kafalah and Motherhood in Contemporary Egypt.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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In the last decades, kafalah, a form of childcare and guardianship that provides an alternative to adoption in Islamic societies, has become more accessible to people wanting to become parents in Egypt. This study seeks to explore the realities of women who are living as kafalah mothers today, focusing on how they encounter kafalah, why do they choose it, and how they navigate both the personal and public sphere as mothers. This thesis is based on ethnographic research, including participant observation and interviews (performed in Cairo in 2024 and 2026). It adopts theories and methods from Middle Eastern anthropology and history, and from the field of Child Care and Welfare studies. Key theoretical concepts used in these studies include: ‘motherhood as a mandate’ (Inhorn, 1996) and the symbolic power of the child (Hennum, 2015), to explain the infertile woman’s social marginalisation in Egypt and beyond; the concept of ‘kinning’ (Howell, 2003), which illuminates how the women integrate their children into their own family and social groups in absence of blood relations. The study also places these mothering practices within a history of Egyptian-national building where mothers hold a particular role (El Shakry, 1998), and in the discursive tradition of the anthropology of Islam (Asad, 2009). The findings in this thesis suggests that, although kafalah motherhood can be challenging within the legal and cultural context of Egypt, the mothers interviewed experience their motherhood as real and rewarding, on par with biological motherhood. The thesis present research findings than can be significant to researchers in Middle East Studies, Social Anthropology, as well as Child Care and Welfare.
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Tuastad, Dag Henrik & Myhre, Hannah Håmpland
(2026).
Remembering the Storm. Social Memory in Kuwait After the Gulf War (1990-1991).
Universitetet i Oslo.
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This thesis examines the social memory in Kuwait after the Iraqi invasion (1990-1991).
Kuwait was invaded by its neighbour Iraq in August 1990, which resulted in a seven-month occupation. Kuwait was liberated through the American-led international military operation, Operation Desert Storm.
How is the war remembered in Kuwait, and why is it remembered the way it is?
I visited museums and ruins in Kuwait, in addition to conducting semi-structured interviews to gain a deeper understanding of how the Gulf War is remembered by Kuwaitis. I also consulted media coverage from during and before the war, which gave insights into the creation of a social memory for Kuwaitis who were abroad at the time of the invasion and foreigners from countries that participated in the war efforts. I observed that Kuwaiti narratives were underrepresented in the international memory of the war, both in international media and in pop-culture, which highlights the pertinence of researching the Kuwaiti social memory.
The concept of places of memory is usually used when eyewitnesses are no longer present. Nevertheless, I argue that the ruins and museums in Kuwait are cases of places of memory after the Gulf War. There was an international war effort, and a substantial portion of the Kuwaitis were abroad at the time of the invasion. I show that there has been a creation of prosthetic memories through media, ruins, and museums. The national narrative is that of a resilient people, more founded in being Kuwaiti than being a part of the Arab nation. I argue that this shift is a direct result of the Gulf War.
Despite Kuwait’s strategic position in the north of the Persian Gulf, it is an understudied country in Middle East Studies and social memory research. Understanding the social memory in Kuwait after the Iraqi invasion is crucial, especially as, at the time of writing, Kuwait is topical on the international stage.
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Suter, Rebecca & Dahl, Margrethe
(2026).
Between Otaku and Autistic. Reader Reception of Delicious in Dungeon's Laios Through a Cultural Lens.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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This thesis examines why the protagonist Laios from Ryōko Kui’s Delicious in Dungeon is frequently interpreted as autistic and what these interpretations reveal about cultural perceptions of autism in Japan. Combining close reading of selected manga scenes with a qualitative analysis of Japanese online reader reception, the study investigates both the character’s portrayal and the ways audiences engage with it.
Drawing on disability studies and cultural models of autism, the analysis identifies several traits commonly associated with autism, including intense interests, difficulties navigating social expectations, and challenges with indirect communication. The reception analysis demonstrates that Japanese readers frequently interpret these traits through culturally familiar frameworks such as otaku identity, social awkwardness, and foreignness rather than through explicitly clinical language. At the same time, autistic readings emerge as a distinct strand of reception.
The thesis argues that Laios is read as autistic not simply because he displays autistic traits, but because those traits intersect with culturally specific expectations surrounding communication, conformity, and social belonging. By combining textual and reception analysis, the study contributes to scholarship on autism, disability representation, and contemporary Japanese popular culture.
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Stegewerns, Dick & Lauritzen, Håkon
(2026).
The Emergence of Third-Place Characteristics in Kyoto. A Study on Social Interaction within Japanese Izakaya and Bars.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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Koch, Gabriele & Skarphédinsson, Ævar Ingi
(2026).
Affective Gambling. Gacha Games, Oshikatsu, and the Emotional Triggers of Loot Box Investments.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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This thesis is an ethnographic study of the potential for character-focused gacha games to act as affective spaces, fostering parasocial bonds between players and virtual characters. For this purpose, the titles Genshin Impact, Love and Deepspace, and Break My Case were examined using social media research and analysis. While the random-chance reward business models typical of these types of games have generally been studied through the lens of gambling and addiction, I propose that emotionally charged player-character bonds act as largely overlooked triggers of loot box investments, what I call affective gambling. Furthermore, utilising fieldwork conducted in Japan, this research investigates how such virtual relationships enter the real world through retail opportunities and fandom culture known as oshikatsu, creating an industry that promotes and capitalises on the devotion of fans. Ultimately, this thesis elucidates how virtual game worlds are significant spaces of emotionally charged interactions with fictional characters, where the resulting affective bonds are major drivers of not only commercial engagement, but also meaning-making, personal development, and social life.
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Teewen, Marcus Jacobus & Rødseth, Jørgen Sivert Sunde
(2026).
Love Live! Sunshine!! Anime Pilgrimage in Numazu, and its Influence on Later Instalments in the Love Live! Series.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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Anime pilgrimage is the act of visiting the real-life locations that appear in anime. Love Live! Sunshine!! is a slice-of-life music anime that first began in 2015 as the second instalment of the franchise known as Love Live! School Idol Project (often shortened to The Love Live! Series). It is set in Numazu, a seaside town in central Japan, where it and the town have for the last eleven years had a close relationship through fans of Love Live! Sunshine!! visiting Numazu on anime pilgrimage. Fans come here to see the places they recognise from the anime. While there, they match locations from the anime in photographs, leave behind mementos of their stay, and interact with the local community. Numazu itself also caters to the fans, as a number of events and collaborations are in place for fans. Anime pilgrimage is not only limited to Numazu in the Love Live! Series. Later instalments also have real-life setting where fans can not only visit but also expect to find active collaborations with the local areas. How these newer instalments’ anime pilgrimage is inspired by Love Live! Sunshine!! is debatable, and depends on what generation we are talking about. The third instalment is harder to make an argument for, but niche factors in the fourth instalment can more easily be used to draw comparisons with the anime pilgrimage phenomena in Numazu.
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Rots, Aike Peter & Rognholdt, Kristine
(2026).
Green branding, Indigenous realities. Ecotourism and Ainu in Lake Akan, Hokkaido.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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This thesis explores how ecotourism in Lake Akan affects the Ainu community, the expression of Ainu culture, and the role of Ainu in tourism-related decision making. Ainu, the Indigenous people of northern Japan, were systematically and forcibly assimilated by the Japanese state and have faced social stigma and discrimination for decades. As a consequence, members of the Ainu community are working to restore their cultural identity.
Ainu villages have had a central place in Hokkaido tourism since the 1960s, and the Lake Akan Ainu village still draws many tourists every year. The Lake Akan area is also a place of natural beauty, with forests and mountains providing opportunities for nature-based activities for town residents and tourists alike. In 2019, the Canadian company Moment Factory produced the nightwalk experience Kamuy Lumina, and it has been held since at the Bokke forest by the shore of Lake Akan.
The findings from my fieldwork and research suggest firstly that when Ainu guides are in control, ecotourism can deliver direct economic benefits to the local community and allows visitors to learn not only about ecological facts but also the worldview that underpins Ainu knowledge through guided tours in Hikari no mori. Secondly, the degree of cultural ownership determines whether commodification becomes destructive or not. Anytime, Ainutime! showcases Ainu led content that places the power to decide what is “authentic” and “Ainu culture” in the hands of Ainu guides. By contrast, Kamuy Lumina remains an externally driven project that simplifies Ainu stories and the residents of the town feel alienated from it. Thirdly, Ainu participation in decision making repositions the community within a landscape historically labelled “terra nullius” by the imperial state, turning tours into sites of cultural transmission, language revitalisation, and ecological stewardship.
I argue that ecotourism can move beyond simply being a buzzword to become a tool for Indigenous people to reclaim their culture, provided that decision-making power and control of cultural representation are given to Ainu themselves.
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Stegewerns, Dick & Boulifa, Simen Elias Bugtene
(2026).
Cultural Differences in the Reception of Realistic, Violent Video Games: A
Comparative Case Study on The Last of Us.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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Abstract
In recent decades, playing video games has entered the mainstream of leisure activities, drawing
audiences from all ages and corners of the world. Improvements to graphical fidelity, writing and
acting provide players with highly realistic, interactive game worlds. Violence in video games
has been prevalent since the early days of game design. Exposure to virtual violence has been
studied from many angles, including morality and player agency. Comparatively little focus has
been placed on how violence in video games is narratively constructed, then received and
interpreted across different cultural contexts. The aim of this thesis is to examine cultural
differences in the reception of realistic, violent video games in English and Japanese-language
online discourse. This thesis is built on established theoretical frameworks within reception,
literary interpretations and game studies. In order to answer the research question, I used
qualitative content analysis (QCA) on user reviews of the game series The Last of Us. Findings
were further contextualised by paratextual analysis of marketing materials and popular content
discussing the games. Results strongly suggest that in complex fictive worlds, interpretation and
navigation of moral ambiguity expands beyond rationalisations of virtual violence and cannot be
isolated from the broader reception environment.
Keywords: Violent video games, reception, qualitative content analysis, paratext. Japan
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Reinert, Hugo & Egeberg, Solveig Myrstad Wøllo
(2026).
Nyksund på nytt. En undersøkelse av arven etter Det internasjonale Nyksundprosjektet.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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Mellom 1984 og 1992 var omtrent 3000 unge voksne, hovedsakelig fra Vest-Tyskland, i Nyksund i Vesterålen for å bidra i Det internasjonale Nyksundprosjektet, et sosialpedagogisk prosjekt drevet av pedagoger fra Technische Univärsitet i Berlin. Hva var det som lokket europeisk ungdom til å reise over 2500 km nord for å jobbe frivillig i et restaureringsprosjekt av et forlatt fiskevær? Dette var det første jeg ble nysgjerrig på da jeg hørte om Nyksundprosjektet for første gang i 2024. Nysgjerrigheten min for dette prosjektet har gitt meg mange svar på dette spørsmålet – og nye spørsmål.
I denne oppgaven undersøker jeg Nyksundprosjektets etterliv i Nyksund og i det pågående prosjektet Nyksund Reloaded. Jeg tar utgangspunkt i begrepet dissonans for å analysere spenninger, konflikter og ulike fortolkninger av Nyksundprosjektet. Jeg stiller tre spørsmål: Hva er dissonant i Nyksundprosjektet, og hvordan håndteres denne dissonansen lokalt i Nyksund og i prosjektet Nyksund Reloaded? Og til slutt, hva kan dissonans tilføre som et teoretisk begrep i kulturarvssammenheng?
Ut ifra et empirisk materiale fra arkiver, intervjuer, feltarbeid og deltakende observasjoner, analyserer jeg hvordan dissonans preget selve Nyksundprosjektet, og hvordan dissonans har formet diskursen rundt prosjektet i Nyksund i ettertid. Videre analyserer jeg hvordan prosjektet Nyksund Reloaded aktiverer dissonans gjennom inkludering og samarbeid på tvers av ulike aktører. Jeg konkluderer med at dissonans ikke bør forstås som et problem, men som en ressurs i kulturarvsprosesser som åpner for refleksjon, dialog og mer inkluderende fortolkninger av fortiden.
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Resløkken, Åmund Norum & Hansen, Amund Gullberg
(2026).
Skuggsjá hjá Tími.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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I denne masteroppgaven undersøkes hvordan den tidlige middelalderen synliggjøres og usynliggjøres i museer, med fokus på utstillinger, formidlingsstrategier og bruk av kulturarv. Studiet baseres på feltarbeid ved de utvalgte museene: Anno Domkirkeodden og Midgard Vikingsenter, og analyserer hvordan utstillinger og levendegjøring av historie påvirker publikums forståelse av perioden mellom vikingtid og høymiddelalder.
Oppgaven bygger på teorier om middelalderisme, periodisering, historieproduksjon og autentisitet, og baserer seg på kvalitativ metode i form av observasjon, utstillingsanalyse og feltarbeid. Analysen viser at den tidlige middelalderen i liten grad fremstår som en tydelig og selvstendig periode i museenes formidling. Midgard Vikingsenter tar for seg vikingtiden, gjennom Borrehaugenes lokalhistorie og nåtidens populærkulturelle uttrykk, mens Domkirkeodden i større grad vektlegger middelalderen gjennom lokalhistorie i form av katedralruinen og Hamarkaupangen med materielle spor fra fortiden.
Funnene viser at perioden ikke er fraværende, men i liten grad fremhevet. Den er til stede i landskap og gjenstander, men fremstår som en overgangsfase uten en klar egen identitet. Oppgaven viser dermed hvordan museenes formidling bidrar til å strukturere historien på måter som påvirker den besøkendes forestilling av vår fortid.
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Tikhonov, Vladimir & Marambio, Joel Bernhard Gabriel Wara
(2026).
A Memory of Taiwan; A City of Sadness and the Taiwanese Narrative.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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Taiwan’s history is a turbulent one. Continuous colonization efforts by other regimes culminating in the Kuomintang (KMT) regime has led to the question of Taiwan’s history being just as much a question of Taiwanese identity. Identity does not exist in a vacuum; rather, it is informed by several different factors, notably among them collective memory. Through our shared experience of the past, we make sense of the present and our place within it. However, collective memory is not static. It is a malleable entity, susceptible to influence from external sources. In this paper, we will examine film in Taiwan as just one such source, through the example of the film A City of Sadness (1989), directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien.
First, in our introduction we give a brief overview of the initial period of KMT rule. We then outline our theoretical framework and choice of methodology, providing reasoning for our choices as well as addressing criticism or potential challenges of said choices. We then move on to applying our theoretical framework to examine whether there is any correlation between what collective memory states about the telling of “stories” and processing of memory and the change in the Taiwanese film industry. We use A City of Sadness as an example here, before moving on to the analysis of the film itself. In the analysis, we look at how the narrative choices affect transmission of memories, and what memories that are transmitted. Following the analysis, we conclude with our findings regarding how the narrative choices in A City of Sadness not only serve to potentially influence our experience of the memories transmitted, but how they also serve to present a Taiwanese narrative.
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Koch, Gabriele & Birkeland, Aslaug Alice Ravnå
(2026).
Women Business Owners and Entrepreneurs in the Japanese Service Sector. Individual Stories of Identity, Legitimacy, and Community.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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Japan has seen many laws and policies since the 1980s to improve gender equality, yet the situation of a significant gender gap in the labor market and political sphere still remains with few women in management and decision-making positions. Women entrepreneurs and business owners are also few and far between. This study, through a multi case-study approach with in-depth semi structured interviews along with a follow-up questionnaire, seeks to shed light on what women business owners (or entrepreneurs) themselves report in terms of gendered constraints, identity and legitimacy, and community. The findings of this study indicate that less weight is put on gender, but rather on identity and community, through the reported speech of five women engaged in business ownership in the Japanese Service Sector, or adjacent industries.
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Tikhonov, Vladimir & Rezanov, Mikhail
(2026).
Evolution of the Pearl River Delta electronics industry in the late 20th and early 21st centuries: An analysis of the interaction between Central, Provincial, and Municipal authorities in China.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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Ringdal, Siv & Daleng, Ida Sofie
(2026).
Møte Med Minner - Demensvennlig formidling på museum.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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Denne masteroppgaven i museologi og kulturarv undersøker Møte Med Minner, et demensvennlig formidlingstilbud utviklet gjennom samarbeid mellom helse- og kulturfeltet i Oslo. Oppgaven tar utgangspunkt i museenes rolle som stadig mer inkluderende og samfunnsrelevante institusjoner, og utforsker hvordan gjenstander, historiske omgivelser og sanselige opplevelser brukes i møte med personer som lever med demens.
Oppgaven bygger på kvalitative metoder i form av observasjoner gjennomført ved Norsk Teknisk Museum, Oslo Museum og Norsk Folkemuseum, samt semistrukturerte intervjuer med Ellen Wasserfall og Linken Apall-Olsen, som begge har vært sentrale i utviklingen av Møte Med Minner. I tillegg inngår analyse av håndboken for tilbudet, demensplaner og relevante politiske styringsdokumenter.
Det teoretiske rammeverket bygger på perspektiver knyttet til materialitet, materiell kultur og museumsformidling. Sentralt står forståelsen av hvordan mennesker, gjenstander og omgivelser påvirker hverandre, og hvordan gjenstander kan fungere som utgangspunkt for minner, erfaringer og sosial interaksjon, blant annet sett i lys av aktør-nettverksteori.
Et sentralt funn i oppgaven er betydningen av samspillet mellom mennesker, gjenstander, omgivelser, sansing og formidling. Gjenstander og historiske miljøer fremstår ikke bare som passive objekter for kunnskapsformidling, men som aktive deler av opplevelsen som kan bidra til samtaler, kroppslige handlinger, gjenkjennelse og sosial deltakelse. Observasjonene viser også hvordan museenes tilgang til samlinger, historiske miljøer og sanselige omgivelser gjør dem særlig relevante som arenaer for denne typen formidling.
Oppgaven belyser hvordan Møte Med Minner representerer en form for museumsformidling hvor relasjonelle, sanselige og materielle møter står sentralt, og hvordan museer gjennom slike tilbud arbeider med sitt samfunnsoppdrag knyttet til inkludering, deltakelse og relevans.
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Tuastad., Dag & Elmofty., Nora Hjelde
(2026).
Gahzīn Yā Rigāla? - Are You Ready, Guys?. Egyptian Female Footballers Navigating the Field.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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Despite Egypt’s strong football identity, there are huge disparities between male and female football in Egypt. In the Egyptian context, women are not prohibited by law – neither religious nor governmental, to play football, and there has been initiated various efforts to increase football participation for Egyptian girls and women. Even so, the Egyptian football culture is characterized by highly masculine identity notions, and female footballers are, in addition to not being prioritized funding-wise, both subject to bullying and social obstacles. The inconsistency that lies within Egypt’s football interest and the difficulties to strengthen female football participation in Egypt is examined trough the following overarching research question: How do Egyptian women navigate societal and cultural barriers to their football participation, and how can their strategies be understood in light of Egyptian gender relations?
Based on participant observation and qualitative interviews at a grassroot-level coaching course for women in Cairo, this thesis suggests that the ways in which the footballers grapple with the structures and limitations of their specific social context can be understood through Deniz Kandiyoti’s concept of the patriarchal bargain, a concept which in this thesis spans across three dimensions: family structures, gender norms and religious norms.
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Lia, Brynjar; Batmanghelichi, Kristin Soraya & Hajizadeh, Moloud
(2026).
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s “Field Policy” in the Middle East and Beyond, Operational Logic and Transnational Adaptation in Scandinavia.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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--- Abstract and files will be published: 2027-06-01
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Brenna, Brita & Lutnæs, Ingebjørg Strømsrud
(2026).
Eksterne aktørers rolle i utstillingsproduksjon.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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SAMMENDRAG
Denne oppgaven undersøker hvordan eksterne aktørers roller i utstillingsproduksjon ved kulturhistoriske museer formes gjennom forhandlinger, samarbeid og posisjonering i et komplekst nettverk av menneskelige og materielle aktører. Bakgrunnen for studien er en utvikling der eksterne leverandører i økende grad bidrar i produksjonen av museumsutstillinger, noe som aktualiserer spørsmål om hvordan disse aktørene forstår sin egen rolle, hvordan de arbeider, og hvilken innflytelse de har på utstillingens endelige form.
Studien er basert på kvalitative intervjuer med representanter fra to ulike leverandørmiljøer: et større arkitektfirma og et mindre utstillingsproduksjonsfirma. Disse er valgt med utgangspunkt i to konkrete utstillinger ved samme museum, med beslektede temaer, men tydelig ulike estetiske og romlige uttrykk. Dette gir et godt grunnlag for å undersøke hvordan ulike aktører arbeider og hvordan deres tilnærminger kommer til uttrykk i praksis.
Som analytisk rammeverk anvendes aktør-nettverksteori (ANT), brukt som et sett av sensitiviserende begreper. Dette gjør det mulig å rette oppmerksomheten mot relasjoner, prosesser og samspill mellom både menneskelige og ikke menneskelige aktører, som designforslag, bygninger, gjenstander og økonomiske rammer. Analysen viser hvordan roller ikke kan forstås som faste eller forhåndsdefinerte, men etableres og forhandles gjennom slike nettverk.
Funnene viser for det første at eksterne aktørers roller er fleksible og kontekstavhengige. Roller som designer, prosjektleder og fasilitator overlapper, og forhandles blant annet gjennom designforslag og arbeidsprosesser. For det andre viser analysen at samarbeid mellom museer og eksterne leverandører foregår som et kontinuerlig nettverksarbeid, der både faglige ambisjoner og materielle rammer spiller en avgjørende rolle. Videre viser oppgaven at eksterne aktører ikke bare tilpasser seg museenes behov, men også i betydelig grad bidrar til å forme utstillingens uttrykk. Dette kan forstås som en form for definisjonsmakt, der enkelte løsninger får gjennomslag og stabiliseres i prosjektet, i tråd med et ANT-perspektiv på makt som resultat av vellykkede oversettelser i nettverk. Til slutt viser studien at konkurranse i markedet for utstillingsproduksjon ikke bare handler om pris, men om hvordan aktører posisjonerer seg gjennom kompetanse, arbeidsform, erfaring og relasjoner. Samtidig kan konkurransen bidra til å forme feltet mer overordnet, ved at aktørene påvirker hverandres praksiser og utvikler gjenkjennelige uttrykk. Samlet sett bidrar oppgaven til å nyansere forståelsen av eksterne aktørers rolle, og viser hvordan utstillinger kan forstås som resultat av komplekse forhandlinger i nettverk av mennesker, materialitet og institusjonelle rammer.
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Hansen, Mette Halskov & Alvsvåg, Peter
(2026).
Navigating and Interpreting Space in Contemporary China. A Case Study of Six Environmental Organisations.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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This thesis explores the space environmental organisations in China navigate and what this tells us of responsive authoritarianism in contemporary China. Since the 1990s environmental civil society organisations have grown to become a large sector in China. Today environmental organisations are working on multiple issues such as waste collection, sorting, nature restoration, education and volunteering. However, although the Chinese party-state is open to participation from civil society they nevertheless impose limits to participation. Through laws, regulations and discourse the state shapes the space available to environmental organisations. This thesis asks: what space does environmental organisations in China navigate, how do they interpret it and why in those ways? Based on fieldwork carried out in Zhejiang province from autumn 2025 till winter 2026 and analysis of multiple policy documents this thesis argues that the party-state allows for diverse forms of participation, but within a space shaped by the party-state. Environmental organisation’s space to act is limited physically through state regulations and laws, discursively through party-state propagation of certain frameworks for understanding e.g. green work, but is also limited through organisation’s own interpretation of the space they believe is available to them. Despite limitations the organisations nevertheless have multiple sources of funding available and draw on volunteers for help, which enables the environmental organisations to navigate space and contend with environmental issues in diverse ways. However, the space the environmental organisations navigate and their interpretation of it does not challenge or expand the space as defined by the party-state, staying within accepted limits. The organisations are still embedded in party-state discourses and structures that keep them from being autonomous. This study contextualises our understanding of responsive authoritarianism in contemporary China by showing how the party-state is responsive towards environmental organisations in granting space, but still limit their participation through regulations and discourses.
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Wigen, Einar & Ismayilbayli, Rustam
(2026).
Borrowed Nationalism. Turkish Nationalism and the Azerbaijani National Identity.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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This thesis examines the impact of Turkish nationalist ideas on the construction of Azerbaijani national identity from the 1870s to the truce that ended the First Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1994. By engaging in scholarly research on nationalism, transnational ideological diffusion, and a new concept introduced here: asymmetric cultural dependence (the "Belarus scenario"), this study challenges the assumption of passive acceptance and diffusion of mainstream nationalist templates from the Turkish center to the periphery of Azerbaijan. This demonstrates that selectivity, adaptation and instrumentalization are by no means the 'recipient' side. Rather, it examines the principles of interaction and overlap between "donor" and "recipient".
This thesis follows the mentioned process by dividing it into four stages: the environment of intellectual discussion and exchange in the 1870s-1920s, when personalities like Əli bəy Hüseynzadə and Məmməd Əmin Rəsulzadə brought the ideas of Pan-Turkism to the Azerbaijani print culture; the Soviet period (1920-1991), when Moscow simultaneously suppressed Pan-Turkism and inevitably strengthened the new and sovereign Azerbaijani ethnic identity; The collapse of the USSR and the beginning of the Karabakh conflict, which created a sharp ideological vacuum; and the early years of independence (1991-1994), when President Əbülfəz Elçibəy established Turkish-oriented nationalism as both a foreign policy position and a domestic governance strategy, a project strongly opposed by critics, including Zərdüşt Əlizadə and the social democratic wing of the AXC.
The thesis is mainly based on primary Azerbaijani language sources, including Əlizadə's memoir "The End of the Second Republic", Elçibəy's speeches, Xəlil Rza Ulutürk and Bəxtiyar Vahabzadə's poems, and the language law dated December 22, 1992.
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Haugen, Heidi Østbø & Gjems, Sinikka Wasland
(2026).
Producing rural pasts and futures. How migrant entrepreneurs in China navigate a culture of striving.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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This thesis examines how rurality is produced in contemporary China by focusing on the experiences of urban to rural migrant entrepreneurs. Historically, state discourse in the People’s Republic of China has portrayed rural places and people as backward, legitimising policies of separation, neglect and displacement. Since 2015 the state has increasingly encouraged people to go to the countryside to become entrepreneurs as part of its rural development policy. This thesis asks: How do urban to rural migrant entrepreneurs and the Chinese state’s discourse produce ruralities? I further also analyse the implications of these produced ruralities on ideals for rural entrepreneurship. Based on ethnographic fieldwork between August 2025 and January 2026 with migrant entrepreneurs in Guangdong and Yunnan, I argue that many migrant entrepreneurs produce a rurality of the past that turns the previous view of the rural as backwards into something desired. This rurality of the past is produced as simple, authentic and slow, where rural entrepreneurship is seen as providing an alternative to the fast-paced competitive work culture in contemporary China, that I refer to as a culture of striving. In contrast, state discourse entails a further displacement of modern, technological promise onto the rural that produces a rurality of the future that seeks to replace the rural as backwards. In this rurality of the future hard-working, high-suzhi and rich rural entrepreneurs are seen as ideal and as conducive to implementing rural development policies. By placing productions of rurality in the context of the urban labour regime, I extend our understanding of how different ruralities are produced in China beyond backwardness.
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Rots., Aike P. & Tejlgaard, Lea Elisa Nurminiemi
(2026).
Reframing Risk. Comparing News Media Discourse on the Tōkaimura Criticality Accident (1999) and the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster (2011).
Universitetet i Oslo.
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This thesis investigates whether there is a discursive shift in Japanese nuclear risk discourse from the Tōkaimura criticality accident in 1999 to the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, and what it consists of. Focusing on two articles from Sankei Shimbun, the thesis uses Norman Fairclough’s three-dimensional model of Critical Discourse Analysis to examine how nuclear risk, responsibility, authority, and trust are represented. The theoretical framework draws on Ulrich Beck’s theory of risk society, understanding Japan’s nuclear accidents as examples of manufactured risks produced within late capitalist societies.
The analysis shows both continuity and change. In the Tōkaimura article, nuclear risk is mainly framed as a failure of government crisis management and regulation, while the legitimacy of nuclear power itself remains largely intact. In the Fukushima editorial, the focus shifts toward risk communication, as the Level 7 classification is presented as exaggerated and damaging to Japan’s national image, economy, and international reputation. Through repeated comparisons with Chernobyl, Sankei Shimbun attempts to redefine Fukushima as serious, but not as equivalent to the worst nuclear disasters.
The thesis argues that this represents a shift from nuclear safety discourse toward radiation safety discourse. After Fukushima, nuclear risk is not denied, but discursively managed through classification, communication, and the control of public anxiety.
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Esborg, Line & Revdal, Sanna Maarit
(2026).
D/S Stadshauptmand Schwartz, "Eikerns hvite svane" - et kulturminneprosjekt med frivillige i aktørrollen.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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Oppgaven omhandler et frivillig kulturvernprosjekt der målet var å heve og restaurere vraket av dampskipet D/S Stadshauptmand Schwartz og gjøre det til et kulturminne på land. Prosjektet tok flere tiår: arbeidet startet på 1980-tallet, skipet ble hevet i 1995, og kulturmin-net ble åpnet i august 2023. Skipet er tett knyttet til lokalhistorien til det historisk betydnings-fulle tettstedet Eidsfoss i tidligere Hof kommune i dagens Holmestrand. Skipet gikk i rute mellom Eidsfoss og Vestfossen (1903-1925) med post, passasjerer og gods for Eidsfoss Jernverk, før det ble tatt ut av drift og til slutt sank ved brygga vinteren 1931. Prosjektet ble gjennomført av frivillige og en forening som ble opprettet til dette formål. Arbeidet har blitt gjennomført uavhengig av paraplyorganisasjonene for kulturvern og organisert frivillig arbeid, og de frivillige som har vært med har organisert aktivitetene sine selv. Oppgaven fokuserer på rollen og betydningen til denne typen fri frivillig kulturvernarbeid, sett fra de frivilliges perspektiv. Oppgavens hovedproblemstilling er «Hva er frivillighetens rolle i omgjøring av D/S Stadshauptmand Schwartz fra et vrak til et kulturminne?» Oppgaven er en casestudie basert på empiriske data, og fem prosjektfrivillige ble intervjuet.
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Reinert, Hugo & Sørensen, Susanne Fjærn
(2026).
Mellom Finnskogen og Oslofjorden. Revitalisering av skogfinsk røykbadstuepraksis i Oslo Badstuforenings prosjekt.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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Denne masteroppgaven undersøker hvordan skogfinsk røykbadstuepraksis revitaliseres og oversettes i en urban, frivillig kontekst, gjennom en casestudie av Oslo Badstuforenings arbeid med å bygge en skogfinskinspirert røykbadstue i Oslo-området. Prosjektet analyseres som en pågående kulturarvprosess der spørsmål om autoritet, autentisitet, kunnskap, deltakelse og minoritetsforankring får praktisk betydning.
For å undersøke dette bygger oppgaven på deltakende observasjon og kvalitative semistrukturerte intervjuer. Materialet omfatter blant annet deltakelse på tømmerworkshop på Finnskogen og laftedugnad i Oslo, samt intervjuer med aktører i Oslo Badstuforening, frivillige, håndverkere og personer med skogfinsk tilknytning eller relevant fagkunnskap.
Analysen viser at revitaliseringen ikke handler om å gjenskape en historisk røykbadstuepraksis uendret, men om å videreføre den gjennom selektive valg, praktiske tilpasninger og relasjonell forankring. Studien peker på at prosjektets legitimitet avhenger av hvordan kunnskap, representasjon og ansvar forhandles mellom ulike aktører. Oppgaven bidrar dermed med et empirisk eksempel på hvordan minoritetsforankret immateriell kulturarv kan aktualiseres utenfor tradisjonelle kulturarvinstitusjoner, samtidig som dette reiser spørsmål om definisjonsmakt, deltakelse og ansvar.
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Reinert, Hugo & Fønhus, Emma Vanberg
(2026).
Å bevare forfall: kuratert forfall som mulig bevaringsstrategi for kystkulturmiljøet Måstad.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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Denne masteroppgaven handler om forvaltning av forfall i dag i den fraflyttede grenda Måstad på Værøy. Denne oppgaven tar for seg kuratert forfall som en mulig bevaringsstrategi, som et alternativ til den tradisjonelle måten å forvalte kulturminner i forfall. Problemstillingen i denne oppgaven er: hvordan kan kuratert forfall fungere som en mulig bevaringsstrategi for kystkulturmiljøet Måstad? Det teoretiske grunnlaget tar utgangspunkt i Caitlin DeSilveys begrep om kuratert forfall, Laurajane Smiths teorier om Authorized Heritage Discourse og Emma Waterton og Steve Watsons perspektiver på semiotikk i turisme. Det empiriske grunnlaget er basert på et feltarbeid i Måstad i 2025 i tillegg til dokumentstudier av en rekke offentlige forvaltningsdokumenter. I oppgavens analyse undersøker jeg hvilken grad av forfall som finnes i Måstad i dag og hvilke strukturelle forhold som har vært forutsetningene for dette. I analysen undersøker jeg også hva som potensielt kan bli utfordringene ved en mer forfallsorientert bevaringsstrategi. Kuratert forfall representerer et alternativ der man lar kulturminner forfalle under kontrollerte rammer og benytter forfallet som en del av presentasjonen og formidling av kulturhistorie.
Diskusjonen tar for seg hvilke premisser som finnes for at kuratert forfall er et alternativ, samt på hvilken måte man kan benytte forfallet som en ressurs. I dag handler forvaltning av forfall i stor grad om å restaurere og konservere. I oppgavens konklusjon, konkluderer jeg med at kuratert forfall som bevaringsstrategi kan være et fungerende alternativ til den tradisjonelle bevaringen av Måstad.
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Halland, Ingrid & Roland, Frida
(2026).
Tomme kister. Forvaltningen av tillit i flerfaglig kunnskapsproduksjon.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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Å stille ut egyptiske levninger er en praksis som fører seg inn i en betent etisk diskurs. Ofte blir museumsansatte konfrontert med et vidt spekter av overlappende og ofte motstridende hensyn når egyptiske levninger skal stilles ut, spesielt i henhold til hvordan døde kropper kan stilles ut på en verdig måte som respekterer og reflekterer deres menneskelighet. Måten de etiske dilemmaene imøtekommes på viser hvordan museene lener seg på og forsøker å imøtekomme tilliten de har i samfunnet.
Denne undersøkelsen dreier seg rundt forvaltningen av tillit i flerfaglig kunnskapsproduksjon, hvordan kunnskap og definisjonsmakt blir håndtert, og hva det sier om museet som aktør i samfunnet. Tillit sees her i sammenheng med kunnskap og makt, og hvordan maktforholdet i museets organisering utøves gjennom relevant kunnskap. Ved å gå veien om institusjonell og organisatorisk analyse av kunnskapsforståelse, maktforhold og tillit i arbeidet med utstillingen MUMIE ved Historisk museum, søker dette studiet å se hva mistillit kan fortelle oss om museers håndtering av kulturarv. Mistillit som analytisk verktøy – ved å dekonstruere når, hvor og hos hvem mistillit oppstår – kan blottstille interne konflikter, motstridende verdier, ulike kunnskapsforståelser og asymmetriske maktforhold som preger moderne museumsorganisasjoner når de må forholde seg til nye politiske føringer, økonomiske realiteter og publikumsforventninger i en ny medievirkelighet.
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Rota, Andrea & Bye, Morten Tannåneset
(2026).
Fra fetisjbabyer til filantropi. En religionsvitenskapelig studie av The Satanic Temples satiriske aktivisme.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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Denne masteroppgaven undersøker The Satanic Temple (TST) som nyreligiøs bevegelse, med
særlig vekt på hvordan satire, filantropi og juridisk aktivisme brukes til å regulere
annerledeshet gjennom annerledesgjøring og alminneliggjøring. Utgangspunktet er at TST
befinner seg i en overgangsfase der sjokkerende og grensesprengende aktivisme gradvis
erstattes av en mer byråkratisk og strategisk organisert aktivisme, der satire i økende grad
profesjonaliseres og underlegges juridiske hensyn. Studien bygger på syv semistrukturerte
dybdeintervjuer, nettnologiske observasjoner på åpne nettfora og et utvalg offentlige
dokumenter. Analysen er organisert rundt TSTs tre taktikker – reklameknusing, filantropi og
giftpillen – og viser hvordan satanistisk aktivisme både utfordrer opplevd kristent hegemoni og
tester grensene for religionsfrihet. Jeg argumenterer for at TST ikke kan forstås bare som
provokasjon eller bare som religion, men som en kompleks blanding av bitende satire og
religiøs praksis. Bevegelsen forhandler kontinuerlig sin egen annerledeshet, og synliggjør
gjennom dette hvordan makt, rettigheter og tilhørighet forhandles i samtidens USA.
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Rota, Andrea & Koren, Peter Christian
(2026).
Prosesser og manifestasjoner - engasjert buddhisme i dag.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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Buddhismen er en levedyktig og tilpasningsdyktig religion. Den har overlevd i nærmere 2600 år og har forflyttet seg mellom verdensdeler, land og kulturer. Underveis er det oppstått et stort antall retninger og praksisformer. Og den er blitt en verdensreligion.
Midt på 1900-tallet begynte veletablerte buddhistiske lærere fra å snakke om engasjert buddhisme, som religiøse tilpasninger til de store, sosiale endringene etter 2. verdenskrig. Tilnærmingene deres var svar på spørsmål om hvordan buddhistisk praktiserende skal eller bør forholde seg til endringer og utfordringer som har preget verden etter 2. verdenskrig. I studiens første del finner leseren en presentasjon av ideene i den engasjerte buddhismen og en del av prosessene som har gitt denne den form som den har.
Samtidig med disse globale prosessene har buddhisme fått en tydelig plass, en arena i Norge. Det er delvis skjedd ved at mennesker med buddhistisk tilhørighet og bakgrunn er kommet hit, og har valgt å holde på "sine" former for buddhisme. I tillegg har mennesker med annen bakgrunn valgt buddhisme som sin personlige tilhørighet. Videre beskrives deler av buddhismens tilpasning her, herunder hvilken plass ideene om engasjert buddhisme har på det jeg kaller den norske arenaen.
Siden engasjert buddhisme, i alle fall delvis, har vært svar på utviklingstrekk som har endret liv og perspektiver for buddhistisk praktiserende, kan man tenke seg at sosiale og økologiske utfordringer i vår tid kan skape grunnlag for ytterligere endring. Studien avsluttes med noen tanker om i hvilken grad og hvordan buddhistisk praktiserende i Norge kan tenkes å forholde seg til samfunnsendringer og religiøse perspektiver, og hva slags former for engasjement det vil kunne skape.
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Mahmood, Amna & Hashemi, Maryam
(2026).
Hvem får være nøytral?
Religion, synlighet og lærerollen i norsk skole.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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Denne masteroppgaven undersøker hvordan unge muslimske lærere i norske (offentlige)
ungdomsskoler beskriver sine møter med en sekulær utdanningspraksis. Studien tar
utgangspunkt i at skolen ofte forstås som en sekulær institusjon preget av idealer om
nøytralitet, profesjonalitet og likebehandling, samtidig som lærere tar med seg egne
erfaringer, verdier og identiteter inn i arbeidet. Formålet er å belyse hvordan muslimske
lærere forstår og navigerer forholdet mellom religion, profesjon og sekularitet i sin
arbeidshverdag.
Masteroppgaven bygger på et kvalitativt forskningsdesign og baserer seg på semistrukturerte
intervjuer med seks unge muslimske lærere som arbeider ved (offentlige) ungdomsskoler på
Østlandet. Datamaterialet er analysert ved hjelp av tematisk analyse inspirert av Braun og
Clarke (2006). Det teoretiske rammeverket kombinerer Meredith McGuire (2008) sitt
perspektiv på lived religion, Nancy Ammerman (2013) sitt arbeid med everyday religion og
Sara Ahmed (2012) sine analyser av institusjoner, mangfold og representasjon.
Analysen resulterte i fire hovedtemaer: (1) religion som etisk og kroppslig hverdagspraksis,
(2) synlighet og representasjon, (3) profesjonalitet og nøytralitet, og (4) sekularitet som
ramme, norm og avgrensning. Funnene viser at religion ofte fungerer som en implisitt
referanseramme som påvirker lærernes verdier, vurderinger og relasjoner, uten nødvendigvis å
komme til uttrykk gjennom eksplisitt religiøs praksis. Samtidig viser studien at enkelte lærere
opplever å bli lest som representanter for islam, særlig når religiøse markører gjør dem
synlige i skolekonteksten. Representasjon fremstår ikke som en formell rolle, men som en
forventing som oppstår i møte med elever, kolleger og institusjonelle normer. Videre viser
analysen at profesjonell nøytralitet ikke forstås som et fast prinsipp, men som noe som
kontinuerlig må tolkes og forhandles i konkrete situasjoner.
Masteroppgaven konkluderer med at religion, profesjonalitet og sekularitet er tett
sammenvevde dimensjoner i lærernes arbeidshverdag. Funnene bidrar til en mer nyansert
forståelse av religionens plass i norsk skole, og synliggjør hvordan muslimske lærere
navigerer mellom personlige erfaringer og profesjonelle forventninger i en sekulær
skolekontekst.
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Ahlers, Anna Lisa & Hanssen, Oda Kristine Sigurdsdatter
(2026).
Redefining “cyber-sovereignty”: a discourse analysis of Chinese state and media coverage.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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The concept of sovereignty is a cornerstone in Chinese politics. The advent of the internet created new challenges in the question of its governance, and on state power within a “placeless space”. China, in their effort to assert cyberspace as falling under governance of state actors, has proposed the concept of “cyber-sovereignty”. Cyber-sovereignty is presented as an extension of state sovereignty in Chinese discourse. With the Chinese government adopting and promoting cyber-sovereignty as an alternative to existing norms in the international cyberspace, an exploration and further scrutiny on this concept is warranted. On this background, I aim to answer the question: How is cyber-sovereignty framed in Chinese official discourse in relation to power structures in international cyber-governance? Similar research has been conducted previously, but this thesis uses under-utilized and more recent sources. In order to answer this question, I will be conducting a Discourse Analysis (DA) of speeches and publications from Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership and relevant publications such as those by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), the World Internet Conference (WIC) and news coverage by the CCP’s official newspaper, the People’s Daily from 2014 to early 2025. While previous research on discourse prior to, and during the early days of Xi Jinping’s presidency found fragmentation and disagreements in the definition of cyber-sovereignty, this thesis find that the recent (2014-2025) discourse on cyber-sovereignty has been consistent and uniform since Xi Jinping discussed the topic in a 2015 opening speech at the WIC. Cyber-sovereignty is framed as an ideal principle of on non-interference in internal affairs manifested in four layers: physical layer, logical layer, application layer and social layer. Cyber-sovereignty is part of a larger discourse on the PRC’s proposals for the reform of international cyber-space governance called “Jointly building a shared future in cyberspace”, which is being exported to countries, particularly in the global south, through the WIC and infrastructure projects in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and it’s digital component the Digital Silk Road (DSR).
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Papelitzky, Elke & Rogstad, Kristiane Lillehaugen
(2026).
The Chinese modern female citizen: suzhi discourse, social roles and femininity in the female images of Chinese women’s magazines. A critical discourse analysis of the suzhi discourse and the concepts of population quality, improvement and empowerment in the construction of female images in Family and Vogue China.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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Chinese modern citizenship has been a central topic of discussion in China’s public sphere since social and economic reforms from the 1980s onward that aim to redefine and adapt China and Chinese citizens to an increasingly globalised and modern world. The discussion concern topics of population quality and value and is referred to by researchers as the suzhi 素质 discourse. Furthermore, since the early 2000s the suzhi discourse has been a topic of research in relation to Chinese public institutions, policymaking and popular media as a tool of governance and “social engineering” strategy.
In relation to the subject of Chinese modern citizenship and population quality of the suzhi discourse, this study explores the discussion of Chinese modern female citizenship in Chinese women’s magazines. With regard to the publication’s background and focus the selected women’s magazines are categorised as either local or international. The study applies a semiotic approach to critical discourse analysis as proposed by Norman Fairclough (2023) using the suzhi discourse as a lens to explore concepts of identity, social roles, improvement and empowerment in the construction of female images in the local magazine Family and the international magazine Vogue China.
The analysis finds female images in the women’s magazines that balance traditional values and neoliberal cosmopolitanism in presenting middle-class identity and social roles as consumers, caretakers and drivers for innovation and development as central aspects in the definition of the Chinese modern female citizen. As such, Chinese women’s magazines as women’s popular media can be regarded as important channels for the reproduction of the ideas of suzhi specifically to women in Chinese contemporary society.
Moreover, the conclusion reviews the findings of the analysis in relation to the over- and de-politicisation logic by Johannes Gerschewski (2023) and discusses the discourse on suzhi and modern female citizenship in Chinese women’s magazines as a strategy of social engineering constructing social identities, roles and modes of femininity for the middle class female population. Finally, discussion of the differences in magazine content and readership of the local magazine Family and the international magazine Vogue China highlights the versatility of the Chinese modern female citizen ideal and explores how the magazines present multiple social roles in different life stages in addressing different female identities of their audiences.
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Ohrvik, Ane & Heum, Anna Måløy
(2026).
"Det sitter i veggene". Spøkelsesvandringer på norske herregårdsmuseer.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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For mange museer kan det være utfordrende å tiltrekke ulike publikumsgrupper. Dette gjelder også herregårdsmuseene. Dette er museer som består av hus og hjem som har tilhørt velstående og privilegerte familier, og vil derfor symbolisere en elitekultur, noe som de fleste besøkende ikke kjenner seg igjen i. Ifølge de kulturpolitiske føringene som er satt av ulike aktører, blant annet Kultur- og likestillingsdepartementet eller UNESCO, skal museene fremme mangfold og demokrati. I denne oppgaven skal jeg undersøke et alternativt formidlingstilbud som noen herregårdsmuseer har satt i gang med for å lokke til seg nye besøkende og skape engasjement. Gjennom samtale med både nåværende og tidligere ansatte ved fire ulike norske herregårdmuseer, skal jeg undersøke hvordan og hvorfor de gjennomfører Halloween- og spøkelsesopplegg på herregårdene. Denne oppgaven skal redegjøre for hvorfor de har valgt spøkelsesfortellingene og hvilke publikumsgrupper denne formidlingen kan nå ut til. Videre skal jeg se på hvordan dette gjennomføres ved å se på hvordan museene tar stedet og bygningen i bruk, og hvilke fortellinger og sagn som får plass i spøkelsesvandringene.
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Hjemdahl, Anne-Sofie & Opdøhl, Selma
(2026).
Museene i Oslo og Ungdommen. Hvordan museene i Oslo arbeider for å inkludere og engasjere ungdom, og tilbyr seg selv som et møtested.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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Denne oppgaven undersøker når og hvordan museene i Oslo er tilgjengelige for ungdom. Den ser på hvordan museene gjennom forskjellige strategier involverer og aktiviserer ungdom, og bruker sitt potensial som møtested for ungdom, på ungdommenes fritid. Dette blir undersøkt for å se hvilken betydning museer kan ha i et bredere samfunnsperspektiv. Videre utforsker oppgaven hvilke hindringer museene opplever i arbeid med ungdom, og hvilken betydning og omfang et slikt arbeid kan ha.
Teoretisk bygger oppgaven på to perspektiver: 1. museer som sted, og 2. makt, medvirkning og deltakelse på museer. Til sammen gir dette et rammeverk for å analysere både museets romlige og sosiale funksjoner, og relasjonene mellom museum og ungdom. Metodisk kombinerer oppgaven en case-studie av to museer – Interkulturelt Museum (IKM) og Munchmuseet – med en kvalitativ kartlegging av åpningstider for 30 museer i Oslo, samt dokument- og innholdsanalyse av relevante styringsdokumenter og årsrapporter. Det ble gjennomført tre semistrukturerte intervjuer med ansatte ved IKM og Munchmuseet som arbeider med ungdom.
Funnene viser at de fleste museene i Oslo hovedsakelig er åpne i skoletid og vanlig arbeidstid, og i liten grad på ettermiddager og kvelder, noe som begrenser deres funksjon som fritidsarenaer for ungdom. Munchmuseet fremstår her som et unntak med lange åpningstider og målrettet tilrettelegging for unge gjennom blant annet gratis inngang. For det andre viser analysen av IKM og Munch at begge institusjonene, til tross for ulik størrelse og tilgang på ressurser, arbeider aktivt med å inkludere ungdom gjennom medvirkning, ansettelse, samskaping, og sosiale arrangementer (f.eks. Ungrådet, Hasansens fabrikk, MUNCH UNG, og Ung Kollektiv). Disse tiltakene styrker ungdoms opplevelse av mestring, tilhørighet, og innflytelse.
Oppgaven konkluderer med at museer kan fungere som lavintensive møteplasser og kontaktsoner som motvirker utenforskap.
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Hofheinz, Albrecht Hermann & Nguyen, Thi Mong Huong Rodriguez
(2026).
Stay but not work: administrative exclusion and everyday survival among Sudanese refugees in Cairo.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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This thesis examines how Egyptian administrative policies shape Sudanese refugees’ access to informal employment in Cairo after the outbreak of war in Sudan in 2023. Based on qualitative fieldwork in the Faisal neighborhood, the study focuses on how refugees experience and navigate legal uncertainty, documentation barriers, and limited access to formal employment. The findings show that Sudanese refugees are not simply excluded from Egypt, but incorporated in a limited and conditional way that allows them to remain in the country while restricting their access to economic participation. This creates a separation between the right to stay and the right to work. Drawing on Cecilia Menjivar’s concept of legal liminality, the thesis argues that refugees live in a legal grey zone where temporary documents provide partial recognition and require constant renewal without granting meaningful access to the formal labor market. Combined with Didier Fassin’s notion of bureaucratic violence, the analysis shows how exclusion is reproduced through everyday administrative practices such as long waiting periods, repeated document checks, and complex renewal procedures. Moreover, the findings show that these forms of exclusion are unevenly distributed across refugee groups as Syrian refugees for example, often receive faster processing and better access to services than Sudanese.
Under these conditions, informal employment becomes not a personal choice, but a structural necessity. Most refugees work in precarious sectors such as factories, domestic service, and small shops where wages are low, protections are absent, and exploitation is common. A smaller group with English language skills can access better-paid call center jobs, though these positions remain insecure and unstable. Social networks therefore become central to everyday survival. Through family ties, community connections, and digital platforms, refugees share information about housing, work, and support. However, access to these networks is uneven. Men face constant police checks and threat of deportation, while women face less state surveillance, but greater risk of harassment and exploitation in domestic work. Legal status, class background, and tribal ties further shape who is able to benefit from community support. While social capital helps refugees navigate everyday life, it does not remove the structural barriers that keep them in precarious conditions. The thesis therefore argues that Sudanese refugees in Cairo live in a condition of partial inclusion: legally present, but economically excluded. Their everyday strategies show agency, but also reveal the limits of survival under a system where informal work becomes a necessity rather than a choice.
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Stene., Nora & Røisgård., May-Linn
(2026).
Muslimsk maskulinitet i et norsk tettsted. Mellom splittelse og forsoning.
Universitetet i Oslo.
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Denne oppgaven undersøker hvordan muslimske menn forstår og praktiserer maskulinitet i en ikke-urban norsk kontekst, med særlig vekt på familielivet. Studien analyserer hvordan maskulinitet forhandles i møte med religiøse idealer, kulturelle normer og strukturelle betingelser. Analysen er basert på kvalitativt feltarbeid gjennomført i en moské i et norsk tettsted, og omfatter semi-strukturerte intervjuer, fokusgrupper og deltakende observasjon. Studien retter særlig oppmerksomhet mot mennenes egne refleksjoner om maskulinitet på tvers av tre sentrale arenaer: lokalsamfunnet, moskéen og familien.
Funnene viser at maskulinitet i stor grad knyttes til ansvar, forsørgelse, moralsk fremtreden og selvbeherskelse. Samtidig beskriver mennene erfaringer med sosial isolasjon og strukturelle begrensninger som påvirker hvordan disse idealene kan realiseres i praksis. I denne konteksten fremstår maskulinitet som noe som må forhandles aktivt, særlig i møte med velferdsstatlige strukturer, minoritetsposisjon og forventninger knyttet til familielivet.
Studien antyder at fremfor å erfare maskulinitet som en krise, inngår mennene i kontinuerlige prosesser preget av forhandling og forsoning. Dette kan forstås som et dynamisk samspill mellom motstridende forventninger, hvor maskulinitet formes gjennom håndtering av spenninger fremfor deres oppløsning. Oppgaven bidrar til eksisterende forskning ved å tilby en empirisk forankret analyse av muslimske maskuliniteter i en ikke-urban norsk kontekst, og synliggjør hvordan maskulinitet formes gjennom hverdagslige praksiser, institusjonelle møter og relasjonelle dynamikker.
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