Fantasi som diskursteoretiskt begrepp och etnologiskt blickfång

Abstract

This article reviews the possibilities for utilizing the concept of fantasy in studies combining discourse theory and ethnology. It considers the Lacanian concept of fantasy that has been worked into socio-economic and cultural analysis by Jason Glynos, David Howarth and Joan Wallach Scott. The author suggests that the concept of fantasy could make analytical contributions for answering questions of why subjects get caught up in, and are gripped by, norms and social rules that they might not agree with. It could also contribute with a theorization of the critical practices of creating counter narratives and revealing contingencies.