Från "Mohrens sista suck" till "Unionen som sprack"

Om studentspex som kulturyttring och forskningsfält

Abstract

The aim of the article is to present the cultural expression of the typical Swedish student farce (studentspex) as deserving of academic research. After a short definition of the concept "studentspex", several analytical tools are discussed as means of examining the subject. Among these are the Cultural Studies and the History of Ideas approaches as well as gender and genre perspectives. Furthermore special attention is paid to the possibility that the changing frames of reference among the students, who are both the participants and the main audience of the "studentspex", may have brought about a change of the subjects and the humour of this cultural form. Finally the article stresses the importance of taking the student culture in general into account for a deeper understanding of the varying attraction of universities among the student groups.