| Summary: | This paper explores a hotly contested concept, namely ”cultural appropriation” (CA), in a Swedish context. In January 2019, Amanda Lind - a white woman with dreadlocks - was appointed the Minister for Culture. This event sparked a public debate about CA and race, unfolded in the media landscape and thus making for an intriguing examination of the discursive architecture of the debate. Designed as a case study, the purpose of this paper, then, is not to investigate CA in itself but rather to understand the discourses surrounding it; why the analytical focus is on the leading media outlets in Sweden given their position(s) of power. Thus, this paper is an attempt to consider CA from a critical standpoint. It does so by employing a critical discourse analysis (CDA) and drawing on the theoretical frameworks of Michel Foucault and postcolonial theory. Based on discourse analysis of a dozen editorials, CA is generally viewed from the lens of “inspiration” whilst ideas of “appropriation” are rejected, belittled and vilified. The analyzed articles also expresses a fair share of racism and discriminatory language along the lines of “Us and Them” discourses.
|
|---|
