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When a constant stream of normal folk came in through the door: An exploration of conditions for and experiences of belonging at a drug user-led organisation in Stockholm
Uppsala University, Disciplinary Domain of Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Sociology.
2021 (English)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 20 credits / 30 HE creditsStudent thesis
Abstract [en]

There is a dearth of theoretically grounded research on initiatives that support drug users ingeneral, and on drug user-led initiatives in particular. Moreover, the body of research that existshas primarily been conducted in North America, thus eliciting a need for further researchconducted in other national contexts – in this case Sweden. The present thesis thereforeexplores conditions for and experiences of belonging that take place at a drug user-ledorganisation in Stockholm. It also examines how such conditions and experiences have beenaffected by the introduction of covid-19 prevention measures.The thesis both seeks to explore how conditions and practices allow experiences to emerge andwhat such experiences are like and therefore employs a qualitative phenomenologicalethnographic methodological approach. Data were collected through 6 semi-structuredinterviews and 34 hours of participant observation undertaken at the organisation duringFebruary and March 2021.The results of the study suggest that the inclusive and situation-centred approach of theorganisation is what allows a diverse group of marginalised people who use(d) drugs toexperience a sense of ease within it. The results also demonstrate how this inclusive approachis limited by the organisation’s position within a broader institutional and sociomaterialcontext, particularly in the face of the covid-19 pandemic. Moreover, the thesis will highlighta tension that can arise between this inclusive approach and the creation of equal participationopportunities.Going forward, it would be especially beneficial to conduct a multi-sited ethnographic studycomparing different harm reduction initiatives in order to explore how practices andexperiences vary between them. This would allow for more nuanced knowledge on how suchinitiatives could best provide a sense of ease for marginalised drug users in the future. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2021. , p. 60
Keywords [en]
Drug user-led organisation, covid-19 pandemic, marginalisation, belonging, phenomenological ethnography
National Category
Sociology (excluding Social Work, Social Psychology and Social Anthropology)
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-445495OAI: oai:DiVA.org:uu-445495DiVA, id: diva2:1565514
Educational program
Bachelor Programme in Social Sciences
Supervisors
Examiners
Available from: 2021-06-14 Created: 2021-06-14 Last updated: 2021-06-14Bibliographically approved

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CiteExportLink to record
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Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association
  • vancouver
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More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
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Output format
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