Diaspora i varornas rum. En etnografisk studie av tillhörighet, materialitet och social begriplighet i polska matbutiker i Sverige

Sammanfattning

The study examines how belonging is produced in and through a Polish grocery store inSweden. Rather than approaching the store only as a place of consumption or as a simpleexpression of ethnic community, the study understands it as a relational, material, and sensoryspace where diasporic belonging is created through everyday practices. The analysis focuseson recurring shopping, small talk, customer recognition, language use, smells, tastes, music,rhythms, and seasonal goods. The main argument is that belonging is not fixed or self-evident,but is continuously produced, maintained, and negotiated through material, sensory, and socialpractices. The store functions as a diaspora space where Polish, Swedish, Slavic, and Balkanexperiences intersect in everyday life, while familiar products and routines create bothcontinuity and adaptation across geographical distance. The study draws on the theoreticalconcepts of parochial space, micro-publics, and social intelligibility to scrutinize howeveryday encounters, recognition, and shared cultural references create both intimacy andexposure. Methodologically, the thesis is based on participant observation and sensoryethnography with particular attention to how everyday life, embodied and sensory experiencesshape social belonging. The study is written in Swedish.