PhD School presentation by Syrine Jemour.

Description:

"My research explores the increasing fascination of France with Scandinavian countries, a phenomenon I refer to as 'scandimania.' It examines the representation of Scandinavian otherness in French media, aiming to understand how these cultural narratives contribute to the construction of national identities. By focusing on Denmark as a case study, my work analyzes the exoticization of Scandinavia from a cultural and linguistic perspective. This analysis specifically employs discourse analysis methods on press discourses, combined with cultural theories, especially Edward Saïd’s concepts on exoticism. I propose that Scandinavian otherness is subject to a form of reversed exoticism, where the process does not conceal a patronizing fascination of the exoticized but, on the contrary, considers them as superior to oneself."