The research in ethnology has two primary orientations, both of which work with historical as well as contemporary perspectives. The first orientation focuses on practices of everyday life – that is to say the study of what people do in their daily lives and how such activities constitute the grounds for different cultural patters of thought and societal values. Research in this area of study problematizes the manner in which we can understand daily life in Sweden, in the past as well as presently. The other orientation focuses on the study of different forms of cultural meetings and encounters, and what it is that happens in the meeting of different people, groups, and culturally bound trends. This research is oriented towards phenomena associated with national or ethnic belonging, age, and gender which affect how people perceive the world around them, and their own potential to change the conditions of their daily lives. The division has a PhD program in Ethnology.