Svensk-amerikaner i Kalifornien: En studie av lågaktiv etnicitet

Sammanfattning: What does it mean to be a Swedish American?", is the major question addressed in this dissertation. This is divided into several more manageable questions, e.g., how Swedish-Americans express their ethnic identity, and how they are affected by ethnic constructions made in Swedish-American organizations. The first chapter ends with a theoretical part where the concept of 'low-active ethnicity', introduced by the author, is discussed.

Chapter two discusses Swedish-Americans in general, especially their organizational life. The Swedish-American fraternal organization Vasa Order of America is also discussed in the following two chapters on district and local levels.

Chapter three studies organized Swedish-American life in Northern California. Three associations in particular are analyzed and compared.

Chapters four through six constitute a local study of Turlock, California. Chapter four contextualizes Turlock, and how it has developed into a "Swedish" community through time. The Swedish-Americans were not alone though; an ethnically diversified community began to develop. This chapter contains three small case studies.

Chapter five is a study of the Christian religion and ethnicity in Turlock. Here Turlock's evangelical environment is discussed, and how also this affects people.

Chapter six studies Skandi-Fest, a Scandinavian festival that began being celebrated in 1991. The first festival engaged about 90 volunteers but it has since grown rapidly and now has almost 1000 volunteers, making it the largest Scandinavian festival in California.

The concluding chapter tries to answer the initial questions. On the group level, Swedish-Americans have long been invisible in the U.S., except at ethnic festivals and similar expressive occasions. Their national identity is not questioned by anyone – they are Americans. Some conclusions are made about Swedish-American identity, mainly of psychological character: they have an emotional connection to an intangible reality that their forebears experienced; a longing for an extraordinary identity, away from the everyday ones; a symbolic connection to the Vikings, who are regarded as distant relatives. Most Swedish-American organizations and associations struggle with the same problem: they attract few young people, and have an aging body of members.