Masterthesis over de praktische realiteit van leven met EHS (in het Engels)
- Gegevens
- Gepubliceerd: zondag 04 oktober 2026 13:27
“It’s not psychological, but it certainly affects your psyche”: Practical Realities of Living with Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity in a Modernising World
2026 (English)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 20 credits / 30 HE creditsStudent thesis
Abstract [en]
This master’s thesis in Social Anthropology investigates the lived experiences of individuals in Sweden suffering from Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS), a medically unrecognized condition where self-diagnosed sufferers report various physical symptoms when exposed to electromagnetic frequencies (EMF) emitted by electricity-powered devices. As technological landscapes rapidly modernize, this study explores how these individuals contend with the perils of EMF exposure on a daily basis and how their experiences shape their understandings of health, environment, and society. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted with members of the Association for the Electrohypersensitive (SAE), the research utilizes in-depth semistructured interviews and participant observation. While the study constitutes a foray into a previously unexplored field, it draws from, and contributes to, anthropological works on patient mobilisations around contested illnesses (CI), as well as on the socially hegemonic role of biomedicine. Incorporating theories of disease enactment, as well as environmental dispossession, the study explores how EHS is brought into being and sustained through interlocutors’ illness-specific practices, and what role their immediate environments play in these processes. Using insights gained from this, the study also explores how the medically contested nature of EHS impacts sufferers’ lives and sense of identity, as they seek to legitimise their condition.
https://su.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A2097398&dswid=2233
