Den mångskiftande mångkulturalismen : En kritisk diskursanalys av mångkulturalism i bibliotekskontext utifrån ett intersektionellt etnicitetsperspektiv

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this thesis in Library and Information Science (LIS) is to examine concepts related to multiculturalism in Sweden. It aims to look beyond the rhetorical construction of these concepts, in an attempt to clarify the actual purpose of commonly emphasizing the importance of mulicultural library services. Norman Fairclough's critical discourse analysis (CDA) as well as theories on ethnicity and intersectionality constitute the theoretical frame. The material consists of selected anthologies, handbooks and articles in Biblioteksbladet from 1974–2014, as well as a small case study. CDA is furthermore used as method of analysis, with a focus upon how multiculturalism is constructed in relation to libraries and also on how this might be explained with regard to the social and political contexts surrounding these reasonings. The results of the analysis show that multiculturalism is continually mainly connected with the integration of immigrants by drawing upon ethnic and cultural characteristics. However, in a more present-day context, this tendency is challenged and other social elements as well as the majority culture are included in the construction of multiculturalism. In the concluding discussion, the results are considered in the view of how libraries can draw upon them to broaden their understanding of multiculturalism. This is a two-year master thesis in Archive, Library and Museum studies.