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The main purpose of this paper is to provide a biographical sketch of the late Hans L. Zetterberg and a historical background to a translation of an essay based on a lecture given by Zetterberg in Stockholm in 1995. In it, he recounts his time at the Department of Sociology at Columbia University in the years 1953–1964. This essay is full of insights into an inspiring and formative period for Zetterberg in the United States, particularly in the stimulating milieu that was Columbia, at this time the center of American sociology led by Robert K. Merton and Paul Lazarsfeld. In the introduction to this translated essay, I give a brief overview of the establishment of sociology as a discipline in Sweden, and the transfer of knowledge between the United States and Sweden (and Europe, more broadly), embodied in Hans Zetterberg. In the post-WWII years, American sociology, which had a strong positivistic imprint, played an important role in shaping the beginnings of Swedish sociology. However, the transfer of knowledge went both ways, with Zetterberg, a semi-central and often neglected figure, being both a significant contributor to sociology at Columbia in its period of greatest prominence, and in his native Sweden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Classical sociology has long served as a locus for the discipline's self-understanding, and is a phenomenon increasingly studied in its own right. The growing literature is synthesised in Peter Baehr's renowned framework for scrutinising reception and formation processes. By theorising on the trajectories of multiple classics, Baehr has helped pave the way for sociology's understanding of how classicality becomes established. This paper deploys this framework in order to appraise neglected work with classicality potential in early sociology, namely the bulky production of Sweden's main candidate for a classic, Gustaf F. Steffen (1864–1929), with special attention given to his magnum opus Sociology: A general theory of society (1910–1911). The analysis exposes some of the conceptual ambiguity in Baehr's framework, while proposing that both the notion of a 'classic' and the sole focus on reception and formation need to be expanded. This article also argues that our understanding of classicality could be advanced if we were to distinguish between author, text, and theory, since each of these plays different roles in reception, formation, and neglection processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Nordic countries sport has a particular connection to civic society, and this is reflected in the Nordic governments 'sport for all' policies. The region also includes large voluntary non-profit sport organizations with an implicit monopoly on competitive sport. During the last decade scholars in Sweden have noted that commercial entrepreneurs have emerged in the child and youth sports landscape. However, empirical research on this phenomenon is scarce. Hence, in this article the aim is to map different commercial businesses and the services they offer on their websites. We make use of a Deleuzioguttarian inspired theory and method and a post-qualitative research practice, which is informed by an ontological (re)turn to realism(s) in social theory. We present four different commercial de-territorialization processes and discuss how they affect the Swedish Sport Confederation in different ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decolonisation was first known as the return of land when the colonial states let go of their illegal settlements in the countries or territories they conquered by violence. However, today decolonisation is also known as the practice of how structures may be decolonised, through knowledge production. The aim of this article is to decolonise Swedish transnational and transracial adoptions through the lens of feminist post-colonial theory and theorisation. The methods involve analysing the field through theoretical concepts within feminist postcolonial theory, followed by autoethnographic writing and theorising of new concepts which can lead to new theoretical positions and thus a decolonisation. New theoretical concepts added to the field are 'the first world mother', 'the second world citizen' and 'adopting a position'. By using these theorised concepts, the article contributes to the decolonisation of transnational and transracial adoptions. This new knowledge can be of use for various stakeholders. More specifically, it can be useful for therapists and counsellors if they want to follow and explore adoptees' lived experience and contribute to decolonisation. Although the article is based on the Swedish context, it is relevant to a wider European and global setting, in that it deepens the theoretical understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]