The Not-Quite Child | Colonial Histories, Racialization, and Swedish Exceptionalism

Liina-Ly Roos

ISBN 10: 029575382X / ISBN 13: 9780295753829

Published by University of Washington Press, 2025

About this Item

The Not-Quite Child | Colonial Histories, Racialization, and Swedish Exceptionalism | Liina-Ly Roos | Taschenbuch | New Directions in Scandinavian Studies | Einband - flex.(Paperback) | Englisch | 2025 | University of Washington Press | EAN 9780295753829 | Verantwortliche Person für die EU: Libri GmbH, Europaallee 1, 36244 Bad Hersfeld, gpsr[at]libri[dot]de | Anbieter: preigu.

Seller Inventory # 133938688

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Not-Quite Child | Colonial Histories, Racialization, and Swedish Exceptionalism
• Publisher: University of Washington Press
• Publication Date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 029575382X
• ISBN 13: 9780295753829
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 151W x 229H x 14D millimeters 151 millimeters width by 229 millimeters height by 14 millimeters depth
• Weight: 278 grams
• Seller catalogs:
  • Bücher

About this title

Synopsis

Examines Swedish depictions of childhood that expose the country's colonial past and racial hierarchies

Figures like Pippi Longstocking and Greta Thunberg exemplify an ideal mainstream Swedish childhood: they are autonomous, competent, and the voices of moral truths. In this innovative work, Liina-Ly Roos analyzes the figure of the “not-quite child”―children who, while appearing white, have been marginalized due to historical racialization and colonialism―to challenge this established ideal. Through analyses of films and literature that portray Indigenous Sámi, Tornedalian, and Finnish-speaking children, The Not-Quite Child reveals how these figures disrupt the normative understanding of growing up in Sweden. These cultural texts are filled with tensions of assimilation, invisibility, and the struggle to grow in a society that demands conformity to a specific “Swedishness.”

The children in these stories are both minoritized and, at the same time, have the privilege of passing, and share a long cultural history with and within the dominant culture. Through nuanced attention to these important narratives, The Not-Quite Child contributes to dialogue on the complexities of identity, race, and the hidden colonial legacies that continue to shape understandings of childhood in Sweden.

Open access edition: DOI 10.6069/9780295753836

About the Author

Liina-Ly Roos is an assistant professor in the Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic+ at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.