Mikael Karlsson

My PhD-project focuses on political struggle about sexuality, intimacy and disability in contemporary Sweden. I start from a tension, or a paradox, within this movement. At one hand, there is an on-going austerity that has had a clear impact on the possibility for political struggle, at the other hand, many of my research participants talks about “a breakthrough for issues of sexuality and disability the last five years”. I use the Crip theorist Robert McRuers term discursive climate of tolerance in order to understand this paradox.  

Regarding methodology, my PhD project starts from a combination of Smith’s institutional ethnographyand Burawoy’s extended cases studies. More concretely, I interview several activists and participate in as many activities as possible. By combining Crip theory and feminist methodology such as institutional ethnography, I want to participate in cripping the ruling relations and deepening our understanding of the institutional framework social movements in Sweden acts within today.