Den tigrerade svenskheten : konstruktionen av en ”svensk” identitet i Jonas Hassen Khemiris roman Montecore: En unik tiger

Sammanfattning:

This paper is about the construction of a ”Swedish” identity in the novel Montecore: en unik tiger by Jonas Hassen Khemiri (translated in English to Montecore: the silence of the tiger). In the paper I start by, after a short introduction, introducing the theoretical background against which the novel will be analyzed. The main focus is postcolonial theories with Edward Saids work about making “the Other” as a base. I then go through some contemporary Swedish studies about race as a category and internalized racism, make a brief introduction to performativity, to finish with the thought provoking theories about the cyborg by Donna J. Haraway.

In the section about method I present discourse analysis and the social constructionism that permeates postcolonial studies and discourse analysis and therefore the paper.

Finally I analyze the material. In this section I use made-up dialogues to illustrate the different positions the characters take when responding to the imagined community that is Sweden, and the conditions imposed on those wanting to be accepted as Swedes. I use policy documents of a Swedish political party, Sverigedemokraterna (the Sweden Democrats) as a counterpart in the dialogues. Thereafter I have a short conclusion, and then you’re free.