Saviours : The opinionated and dangerous students at Uppsala university in 1793

Abstract: This thesis sets out to investigate the students at Uppsala university’s self-image and the image that they had of the Swedish population at the start of the 1790s. During this time the Swedish state was fearful of the Swedish students and their political opinions due to, amongst several reasons, the involvement of French students during the French revolution. The students at this time were also regarded in two different ways, firstly as youths, secondly as the future power wielders in the state bureaucracy. Due to these aspects the students view of themselves, and the population were regarded as political and dangerous. The problem this thesis aimed to investigate was therefore to investigate what exactly these opinions were.  The research has shown that students often portray themselves as the future teachers and saviors of the country. They do this by creating an image of a population that is uneducated and subject to both prejudice and oppression. In the narrative they create, they portray a conceptual ruling elite that is made out to represent the old, wicked ways that the students are going to save the population from through their virtues. The influence of social classification and influence from the French Revolution is adamant throughout the entire pamphlet and provides an opportunity to understand the students’ opinions in a larger contemporary framework. The findings in this thesis can aid in understanding an early power relationship between those who are governed and those who govern. Showing how the students, who would become the future societal elites, may have viewed those whom they would later on wield power over