Papers/journal articles by Ebba Lisberg Jensen
Conspicuous conservation: The green clothing of swedish environmentalists absTraCT Focusing on th... more Conspicuous conservation: The green clothing of swedish environmentalists absTraCT Focusing on the notion of 'green clothing', this article shows how a sartorial aesthetic informs group cohesion for environmentalist activists. Using qualitative data gathered through open-ended questions posted on the Field Biologists's Facebook group, which is no longer active, the article explores subjects' memories and opinions on clothing and style covering the period from the late 1960s to the present. The article mixes this method with historical textual analysis of the tradition of frugality and asceticism back to nineteenth-century forerunners. This mixed method approach provides rich material on counter-consumerist aesthetics in both cultural and political contexts within a historical framework. Theoretically, the article revises the classic notion of clothes as a cultural membrane between body and society, showing how a third element – nature – works in certain ideological frames to dissolve that membrane between body and society. In this way, clothes are worn in order to demonstrate harmony between the wearer's body and the environment. This dissolution of culture into 'nature' serves the collective pursuit of political community espoused by the Field Biologists. Through tracing a number of 'vestemes' (units of sartorial semiotics), this article decodes an identity formed around nature as opposed to culture; the old as opposed to the new; second-as opposed to first-hand; as well as around a complex relationship with gender.
This article deals with the process of change from industrial land to recreational area on a 60 h... more This article deals with the process of change from industrial land to recreational area on a 60 ha piece of land 12 km southeast of Malmo ̈ , southern Sweden, called Lake Arrie. The area is an abandoned gravel quarry in the midst of an agricultural landscape. We present a short background and the current situation in Arrie, setting out to capture the tendencies of the contemporary construction of nature for outdoor recreation. We then move on to discuss the salutogenic aspects of outdoor recreation, and how these can be traced in the actual landscape at Arrie. Furthermore, we open the discussion on diversity as a cherished post-modern ideal both in nature and culture. Key words: Cultural and biological diversity; Outdoor recreation; Participatory planning; Post-industrial; Public health; Urban
The Inner Settlement of Swedish Norrland : model of an extractive periphery ?
This article deals ... more The Inner Settlement of Swedish Norrland : model of an extractive periphery ?
This article deals with the historical and current socio-economic situation of the northern interior of Sweden. Its forestal resources, hydro-energy and minerals have all been heavily extracted to the benefit of the Swedish state, forming a basis for the development of Sweden as a highly modernised wellfare-state. The environmental, cultural and economic costs for the Norrland regions are here analysed from the perspective of world system theory, seeing accumulation of wealth in central regions as dependent on the deprivation of geographical and economic peripheries. Today, the high-days of the extraction era are over, and researchers, politicians and civilians all suggest different solutions.
Extraction, Global theory, Internal colonization, Periphery, Sweden, Swedish Norrland
Our Schools – Our Selves (The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives), 2009
Does knowledge of nature automatically lead to an environmental awareness and a willingness to sa... more Does knowledge of nature automatically lead to an environmental awareness and a willingness to save nature? Sweden has a more than century-long tradition of outdoor education and learning about species, often referred to as the "linnean" tradition, after the famous Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus. The question whether this tradition has helped inspiring or making Swedish pupils and students more geared towards environmentalism, thus promoting a more sustainable society, is discussed in this paper.
Anthology chapters by Ebba Lisberg Jensen
In this article, we investigate how allotment garden owners of immigrant origin associate certain... more In this article, we investigate how allotment garden owners of immigrant origin associate certain varieties of plants with their country of origin and their specific food culture - and use them to delimit their cultural identity towards other ethnic groups. We also investigate how certain plants, like a nut replanted in a new setting, can be a symbol of the gardeners transition to a new place.
Låt det här vara mörkt! Samrådsmöten kring ett strövområde. . ...
On the discourse of modernity in Swedish forestry, and its dissolution into postmodern ideas of d... more On the discourse of modernity in Swedish forestry, and its dissolution into postmodern ideas of diversity in landscape, forestry and biology, with the help of an environmental activism enhanced by economic strategies and ethical and aesthetical change.
When authorities planned for organising a recreational area in Arrie in 2007, just outside Malmö ... more When authorities planned for organising a recreational area in Arrie in 2007, just outside Malmö in southern Sweden, a large number of stake-holders took part in the process. This chapter examines the diversity of preferences, needs and territorialities expressed, sometimes harshly, in the negotitative meetings. The title of the chapter says "Let this stay dark" , an expression from the villagers living close to the recreation area, meaning "Don't make this rural place into a park".
This chapter examines outdoor recreation from a cultural analysis perspective, with a focus on la... more This chapter examines outdoor recreation from a cultural analysis perspective, with a focus on language and ecological literacy. The chapter is based on two focus group studies, conducted in field, in an area just outside Malmö, southern Sweden. One of the groups consisted of middle-aged and older Arabic-speaking women with a background in a number of countries in the Middle East. The other group had the same mix of national origins. The two groups, as it turned out, represented contrasting life-styles in terms of traditionalism/modernity, ruralism/urbanity and in knowledge of species in their first language and in Swedish, i.e. their "ecological literacy".
Books and reports by Ebba Lisberg Jensen
This book is the result of a research project investigating the outdoor recreation habits, prefer... more This book is the result of a research project investigating the outdoor recreation habits, preferences and ecological literacy of different ethnic groups in Sweden.
Planera för friluftsliv är en lärobok för eftergymnasiala utbildningar som baseras på aktuell for... more Planera för friluftsliv är en lärobok för eftergymnasiala utbildningar som baseras på aktuell forskning kring friluftsliv och naturturism. Här kan du läsa om motiv till, och hinder för friluftsliv, om friluftslivets historia, om ekonomiska aspekter på friluftsliv och naturturism, om hur man planerar för ...
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Papers/journal articles by Ebba Lisberg Jensen
This article deals with the historical and current socio-economic situation of the northern interior of Sweden. Its forestal resources, hydro-energy and minerals have all been heavily extracted to the benefit of the Swedish state, forming a basis for the development of Sweden as a highly modernised wellfare-state. The environmental, cultural and economic costs for the Norrland regions are here analysed from the perspective of world system theory, seeing accumulation of wealth in central regions as dependent on the deprivation of geographical and economic peripheries. Today, the high-days of the extraction era are over, and researchers, politicians and civilians all suggest different solutions.
Extraction, Global theory, Internal colonization, Periphery, Sweden, Swedish Norrland
Anthology chapters by Ebba Lisberg Jensen
Books and reports by Ebba Lisberg Jensen
This article deals with the historical and current socio-economic situation of the northern interior of Sweden. Its forestal resources, hydro-energy and minerals have all been heavily extracted to the benefit of the Swedish state, forming a basis for the development of Sweden as a highly modernised wellfare-state. The environmental, cultural and economic costs for the Norrland regions are here analysed from the perspective of world system theory, seeing accumulation of wealth in central regions as dependent on the deprivation of geographical and economic peripheries. Today, the high-days of the extraction era are over, and researchers, politicians and civilians all suggest different solutions.
Extraction, Global theory, Internal colonization, Periphery, Sweden, Swedish Norrland