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
2021 (English)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 20 credits / 30 HE credits
Student 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
2021-06-142021-06-142021-06-14Bibliographically approved