"Identitet över gränser" : En analys av resejournaler från det svenska 1800-talet

The purpose of this study is to examine conception of identity in the early 19th century Sweden, and how it is reflected in domestic traveling. The study aims to answer questions regarding which identities are to be found in the material, and why. This is done by looking into three swedes’ traveling letters and journals, which contain accounts of journeys to the very southern and northern parts of Sweden. The methodical tool used in the study is qualitative text analysis. By using a theoretical framework made up by Barth´s ethnic groups and boundaries, the term ”otherness” from Said´s Orientialism, results of a different worldview held by the 19th century travelers emerges. There seems to be distinct regional differences, which the traveler believes are culturally and mentally based, and the distance from the known to the unknown appears to be surprisingly short. The travelers are keen on giving attributes to whole groups, such as Scanians or the indigenous people of Lappland, the Sámi. Scanians are portrayed as stupid and dull, while the Sámi people in many instances are said to be unorganized and barbaric. Two of the traveler accounts, written by the noblemen Linnerhielm and Törneros, contain identities focused on class and ethnicity, whereas Laestadius, who is sent to the north by the church, has a christian narrative