Hjärtat av en sann student : First curators, performativity and reproducing tradition at an Uppsala Student Nation

Sammanfattning

In the city of Uppsala, Sweden the experiences of the student population are very connected to the world of the student nations. This study explores the position of first curator at a student nation as the leader of the student societies hierarchy and how their position influences the production of community and tradition. In this study I present ethnographic research focused on the experiences of the first curator and their role within the nation. This included extended periods of participant observation, in person and digital interviews, and consultation of media connected to the nations. The primary theoretical perspectives utilized in my analysis are performativity and embodiment as used by Judith Butler, in addition to theories concerning tradition and ritualization. I also reference theory concerning norms and social capital as part of my discussions about the structure and practices of the nation community. The figure of the first curator represents both a unique subjective person, while also embodying and representing the spirit, traditions, and goals of a student organization and community. It is simultaneously an individual and shared experience. Through performativity they are repeating the norms, traditions, and social values of the community, and through this they embody the experience of the nation, being both impactful and impacted. The COVID-19 pandemic influenced this research through the way it interrupted and disrupted the normative practices and traditions of the nations and led to curators reflecting and changing their approach to how they facilitated events as a leader. This reaction and adaptation led to a larger conclusion about the disruption affected the whole of the student nations and their concerns about the continuity of social knowledge and its potential in their community structure. The analysis and conclusions presented in this study contribute to anthropological and humanities literature on performativity, embodiment, the production of tradition, as well as the study of student societies and specifically the knowledge of the student nations in Uppsala.