Sune Qvotrup Jensen

Doing Intersectional Analysis: Methodological Implications for Qualitative Research

This article is about doing intersectional analysis and how to practise intersectionality in qualitative research. The overall objective is to contribute to the development of concrete intersectionality methodologies. The first part of the article discusses important aspects of intersectionality, bringing methodological implications into focus, e.g. the number of social categories to include and the status and differences between categories. The second part of the article argues that taking life-story narratives and the analysis of everyday life as a point of departure has potential for empirical analyses of intersectionality. This argument is illustrated by two empirical analyses. The first is about roots and routes in life-story narratives; the second is about the constructions of respectability in everyday life in relation to the intersection between gender, class, and ethnicity.

Rethinking subcultural capital

The aim of this article is to contribute to the rethinking of the notion of subcultural capital as coined by Sarah Thornton. Drawing on Bourdieu, I argue that Thornton’s original work on the notion is flawed by a reluctance to devote analytical attention to the social position and other socio-structural variables of the participants in the subculture. With my fieldwork among underprivileged young men of non-Danish ethnic origin as the point of departure, I reason that a sociological grasp on hierarchical differentiation and intersections between different socio-structural variables is necessary to explain and understand subcultures and subcultural capital adequately. The relation between the subculture and its surroundings is best understood by focusing on what is appreciated within the subculture (i.e. subculture capital) and at the same time analytically situating the subculture in terms of class, gender, ethnicity and ‘race’.

Combining hegemonic masculinity and intersectionality

This article discusses the most influential contribution to studies of men and masculinity, i.e. the concept of hegemonic masculinity developed by R.W. Connell. It points to some problematic elements of the theory and some suggestions for improvement. One criticism is that the use of the concept during recent years has been characterized by ambiguities. We argue that these problems are not based on Connells original conceptualization but on the ways the concept of hegemonic masculinity has been adapted and used by different researchers. We argue that this ambiguity is especially a problem when it comes to questions of power relations. In the article we first outline the reception of the concept. This is followed by a critical discussion of whether dominant masculinities are necessarily always related to legitimizing patriarchal gender relations. As an alternative we suggest that an intersectional approach may offer a theoretical tool for analyzing the complexities of differences and hierarchic power relations between men. In the concluding discussion we advance some suggestions that can improve and clarify the use of the concept of hegemonic masculinity, e.g. distinguishing between internal and external hegemony and emphasizing that both dimensions of power presume an open empirical and contextual analysis.

Territorial stigmatization and local belonging

Loïc Wacquant has made a widely read and debated contribution to critical research on contemporary urban marginality. A central part of the theoretical framework is that residents of deprived areas internalize territorial stigmatization, which then has a range of negative effects. Based on empirical research this paper assesses Wacquants conception of territorial stigmatization and suggests some points where urban sociology might go beyond or adjust Wacquant. The empirical research focuses on Aalborg East, a deprived area in the northern part of Denmark. Through media analysis it is documented that Aalborg East is subject to territorial stigmatization, and it is suggested that cultural racism plays an important role. Qualitative interview data suggest, however, that the residents do not internalize or resign to the stigma. They become sad or angry when confronted with the stigma, but they have an either positive or ambivalent view of the area and most of them are content to live there. This finding is validated by survey data. Wacquants conception cannot be entirely rejected, though, as the construction of internal dividing lines in some interviews can be interpreted as a way of managing territorial stigmatization. Nevertheless, the data provide little support for a theory of clear-cut internalization of territorial stigmatization in the case of Aalborg East. This conclusion leads to three discussions: a confirmation of Wacquants claim that the role of the state matters; a discussion of the specific political culture of Scandinavian societies; and a problematization of Wacquants reliance on Bourdieus conception of symbolic violence.

Roots and Routes

Roots and Routes This article is about transnational migrants, how they construct belonging to ‘new’ places where they have arrived, and how the feelings of belonging to their places of origin change when they go back. The theoretical part of the article outlines the relationship between migration and belonging arguing that there is a dynamic interplay between roots and routes in peoples lives. The empirical point of departure is narratives about roots and routes by ethnic minorities settled in Aalborg East, an underprivileged neighbourhood in northern Denmark. One of the main findings is a gap between the national exclusion of transnational migrants marked as ‘strangers’ and border figures of the nation and a relatively high degree of local belonging to the neighbourhood. This is followed by an in-depth empirical analysis inspired by Alfred Schutzs distinction between the stranger and the homecomer. A somewhat paradoxical finding is that it appears to be more difficult for transnational migrants to maintain their roots in the country of origin when they go back than it was to establish new roots in the host country.

The commodification of the personal: labour market demands in the era of neoliberal postindustrialization

This article takes as its point of departure the observation that contemporary labour markets of highly developed capitalism have witnessed a new and profound focus on personal traits and characteristics such as social skills. We believe this focus is indicative of a new standard of ascribing value in contemporary capitalism and ask which are the societal and paradigmatic changes that may have led to this change. After an outline of demands to the labour force during earlier phases of capitalism the article seeks to establish an explanatory framework in current societal transformations towards neoliberalization and logics of postindustrialization. The effect of these shifts is on the one hand that the well-being of human beings is made to depend entirely on their individual competiveness, and on the other hand that postmaterial, cognitive, connexionist, and emotional assets that were hitherto considered personal and irrelevant to the sphere of production are now considered central to the labour market value of human beings. The combined result of shifts towards neoliberalism and the advent of logics of postindustrialism is thus the commodification of the personal. In order to arrive at this conclusion we merge different theoretical contributions to the critic of modern capitalism, as we regard theories about cognitive, connexionist and emotional capitalism as complementary rather than competing approaches.

Masculinity Ideals in a Contemporary Danish Context

What are the prevailing masculinity ideals among contemporary Danish men? As one of the Nordic welfare states, Denmark has for decades focused on gender equality and changes in the gendered division of labour. Research has suggested a shift in masculinity ideals, but processes of change comprise not only changes but also continuities, as well as ambivalences and contradictions. This article investigates how normative masculinity ideals—the most accepted ways of being a man in a certain context—are expressed and negotiated by contemporary Danish men, and how these ideals are related to overall discourses of gender. The article is based on a mixed methods design, consisting of: (1) a quantitative survey among lower-educated men in two male-dominated occupations, and (2) a qualitative, explorative analysis of data from five focus group interviews with both lower- and higher-educated men. The two occupations in the survey constitute a critical case, based on the argument that if traditional masculinity ideals are rejected here—among lower-educated men, who are likely to be more supportive of traditional gender ideals than the more highly educated—then Danish men in general are likely to reject traditional masculinity ideals. Both the quantitative and qualitative analyses indicate that traditional patriarchal masculinity ideals are not the most legitimate among the men. They seem to subscribe to more gender equality friendly masculinities, although this picture is not clear-cut as we also see negotiations and variations between the men. Thus, the article concludes that in a Danish context we can identify authoritative masculinity ideals that do not reproduce patriarchy or support traditional masculinity ideals in an unambiguous way.

After Subculture: Critical Studies in Contemporary Youth Culture

I contemporary youth culture research, the well-known subcultural theory of the late 1970s scholars advanced by the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies, University of Birmingham (CCCS) is continually criticized, discussed and modified. The edited volume After Subculture is a contribution to this intellectual and theoretical work attempting to ‘reassess critically the value of subcultural theory as an analytical model in the study of youth’ (p. 1). The aim of the book is to take stock of the way subculture has been used by researchers, to consider whether the concept of subculture is still relevant in a social world ‘increasingly characterized by social fragmentation’ (p. 2), and to consider whether or not the concept of subculture can be applied in new ways, or whether the CCCS’s use of the term has ‘for ever predetermined its connotation’ (p. 2). The book contains an Introduction, 11 chapters divided into 2 parts (theoretical readings and case studies) and an Afterword. The theoretical part has two chapters. In the first, Martin criticizes ascribing causal power to collective entities and argues for a focus on situated interactions of ‘real people’. In the second chapter, Chaney argues that the concept of subculture has become redundant in a world characterized by a ‘fragmentation of culture’. The remaining nine chapters are case studies. Stahl’s account of a Montreal indie rock label demonstrates the analytical scope of the concept of ‘scene’. Carrington and Wilson’s thoughtful contribution stands out positively for insisting that key concerns of the CCCS, such as power and social inequality, are not rejected, and for insisting that youth culture research considers race and gender carefully. Sweetman’s work on body modifications is critical towards overemphasizing the neotribal characteristics of contemporary subculturalists and suggests distinguishing between ‘tourists’ and ‘travellers’. Lincoln reworks McRobbie’s notion of ‘bedroom culture’, with special attention to the importance of ‘zoning’. Kahn-Harris’s fascinating account of the Global Extreme Metal Scene revolves around the deep commitment and strategies used to balance the spectacular and the mundane. Pilkington’s interesting account of Russian youth culture stands out for challenging key assumptions of post-subcultural theory by demonstrating that Russian youth cultural strategies are not in all cases characterized by individualism and do not in all cases revolve primarily around consumption. Hodkinson’s stimulating contribution stands out for pointing towards the existence of a ‘subcultural substance’, and for emphasizing that contemporary subcultures are perhaps not as fluid and unstable as is sometimes claimed. Bloustien takes us on a journey to a weekly event for Australian fans of the teenage TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and, through her account of media fandom, demonstrates the importance of young people’s struggle for ‘a temporary free enclave’. Bennett discusses the importance of young people’s involvement with the Internet, and argues that this cannot be understood through conventional use of the concept of subculture,

Sociale kompetencer, selvarbejde og det sociale arbejdes alligevel omsorgsfulde praksis

Artiklen analyserer den stigende interesse for sociale kompetencer i lyset af et etnografisk feltarbejde pa en daghojskole i en storre dansk provinsby. Den overordnede forskningsstrategi er adaptiv, idet den soger at fremanalysere savel muligheder som problemer ved det teoretiske afsaet. Der tages udgangspunkt i teorier om governmentality, teorier om en ny form for kapitalisme samt et kritisk magtperspektiv pa socialt arbejde. I tillaeg hertil udfoldes begrebet om selvarbejde, som udgor et forsog pa at begribe det arbejde pa og med selvet, der foregik pa daghojskolen. Analysen viser, at det er muligt at skelne mellem intrasubjektivt og intersubjektivt selvarbejde. Derpa diskuteres det empiriske materiale i forhold til artiklens teoretiske afsaet. Det vises, at selvarbejdet til en vis grad har karakter af governmental styring, men at der samtidig indgar et omsorgsmoment, som vanskelig kan begribes ud fra magtkritiske perspektiver, ligesom relationerne mellem socialarbejdere og kursister i nogen grad var praeget af rummelighed og ligevaerdige relationer. Pa denne baggrund diskuteres om selvarbejdet ogsa kan forstas som et bidrag til kvalificering af socialt nodstedte mennesker hverdagsliv. ENGELSK ABSTRACT: Sune Qvotrup Jensen: Social Competences, Self-Work, and Social Work’s Caring Practice This article analyses the growing interest in social skills and is based on eth-nographic field work at a daghojskole (day institution for people with social problems) in a small Danish town. The overall research strategy is adaptive, as it attempts to clarify both the potentials and the problems of the theoretical approaches. The theoretical points of departure are theories of governmentality, theories of new capitalism as well as a power critical perspective of social work. In addition a concept of ”self-work” is developed in an attempt to grasp the work on and with the self that the service users did at the daghojskole. The analysis shows that it is possible to distinguish between intra-subjective and intersubjective self-work. Then the empirical material is analyzed in relation to the theoretical points of departure. The analysis shows that self-work can in part be characterized as neoliberal conduct of conduct but there are also elements of care in the social work that are difficult to grasp within a power critical perspective. Furthermore the relation between social workers and social service users were characterized by inclusion and symmetry. The article then discusses whether self-work can also be understood as a contribution to qualifying the everyday life of socially vulnerable citizens. Keywords: social skills, power, care, self-work, social work, the self.

Towards a neo-Birminghamian conception of subculture? History, challenges, and future potentials

ABSTRACT This article discusses the theoretical development of subcultural theory. It first provides a brief history of subcultural theory. It then attempts to outline the central requirements which should be fulfilled by a neo-Birminghamian conception of subculture that takes valid critiques of the CCCS into account, while maintaining the theoretical richness and analytical qualities of the concept. This includes putting social structures, including class in intersection with gender and ethnicity, back into subcultural theory, in a way that allows for grasping complexity. The article moves on to argue that the development of such a conception of subculture could potentially be realized by entering a theoretical dialogue with Bourdieu’s sociology and feminist accounts of intersectionality. Furthermore, it suggests that such a theoretical conception may be highly relevant to current research areas such as gangs/street culture and Jihadism.