Social Sciences

Abstract

Geography is a school subject that embraces both natural sciences and social sciences, as well as the crossroads between the two.

1 Geography

Geography is a school subject that embraces both natural sciences and social sciences, as well as the crossroads between the two. A variety of multimodal representations have long been used in geography textbooks, such as different kinds of maps of nation states and cities, weather conditions and natural resources, or production and trade. Today we can also find digital representations of dynamic changes, for example, the development of the earth or the changes of contemporary local landscapes.

It is interesting to note that since a majority of the population on earth today live in urban areas, the city itself has become an important part of what geography is about—such as questions concerning the planning of urban development and the need to foresee, for example, overflow damage to the city structure. In the following, we will give examples from one Spanish and one Singaporean textbook.

2 Geography—A Spanish City: Madrid

In the following we will present a short textbook description of Madrid as an autonomous region, based on a bookspread taken from Tierra 5. Medio Natural, Social y Cultural (Botines et al. 2006) (Fig. 8.1).

Fig. 8.1

Schematic image of Madrid, Tierra 5 (Botines et al. 2006, pp. 178–179). Image changed for copyright reasons

2.1 General Structure and Setting

This book spread describes “Madrid, an autonomous region” (Sp. Madrid, una comunidad autónoma) (1 in Fig. 8.1.). On the left page, the main text is presented in the left column (2, 3, 4). The authors describe Spain and its 17 autonomous regions according to the legislation from 1978 (2) and that Madrid gained its independence 1983 (3). The authors then describe different kinds of services available to the citizens, such as health care, schooling, and transports (4). In the right column, a green-shaded text box presents the legislative statutes for Madrid as an independent region (5). Underneath is a photo of houses and streets in central Madrid (7), with a caption explaining that this is a big city hosting most of the central institutions and official services (of the region as well as of the whole of Spain) (8).

On the right page, in the left column, we find two different illustrations. On top, there is a map of all the autonomous regions in Spain (10), and underneath a diagram with illustrated examples of public services financed by taxes (11): education (12), health care (13), public transport (14), communal parks (15), and sports arenas (16). A caption underneath the diagram says that a large part of the taxes go to public services (17). A yellow-shaded textbox to the right consists of a number of questions divided in three different areas: “Study the map”, “Comment”, and “Respond” (18–20). The first area is connected to the map (18), the second one to the image of the network of services (19), and the third one consists of questions, the answers to which can be found anywhere in the text (20).

2.2 Interaction Between Text Resources

In this textbook, we note a fairly high degree of proximity between different text resources. In the example used here, on the left page there is a written text about autonomy, illustrated by an excerpt from the by-laws of the city (6). The description of Madrid is illustrated by a photo of the city (7), and the description of the city given in writing at the bottom of the page is connected to the diagram at the bottom of the subsequent page (11–17).

On the right page, the map (10) is linked to different questions under the heading “Observe the map” (Spa. Observa el mapa), explicitly requesting the student to use the map in different ways (18). These questions emphasize factual knowledge, such as the number of autonomous regions and their names. The diagram on the same page (11–17) is linked to questions about the commitments of the city, focusing on aspects such as the responsibility of the city (19). The questions on the bottom of the page (20) concern facts given somewhere in the book spread.

2.3 Classroom Focus: To Create a Narrative

In this example, it seems necessary for the teacher to create a narrative in order to explain the significance of the different factual pieces of information. Why, for example, was 1983 an important year for the city of Madrid, and what were the consequences for the city, the region, and the country? In doing this, the teacher can link the narrative to the illustrations on the right-hand page, for example to clarify public services (with the aid of the diagram at the bottom of the page), and also to compare Madrid as a region with other regions in the country (the upper map).

In other words, the multimodal resources in this book can be linked together by the teacher to present an overarching story about the historical and social significance of the information.

In the next example, which is from Singapore, we may note a narrative structure in the textbook, which can result in a more precise engagement of (possible future) actions by the student. Here the information is framed in environmental terms, not only in terms of political or administrative functions, and the role of the teacher might in this case be to support discussions among students, and to discuss different solutions to complex problems.

3 Geography—Urban Living: Singapore

The following example is from the textbook All About Geography, Urban Living (Goh et al. 2015), where we will focus on the example “Floods. How can cities prepare for flood?”.

3.1 General Structure and Setting

We here begin our analysis with a book spread about “River floods” and “Flash floods” (Fig. 8.2). At the top of the left page we find a drawing—a cross-section of a river channel, and at the bottom two different aerial photos of the Mississippi River near Memphis in normal conditions (to the left) and during the flood in 2011.

Fig. 8.2

River floods and Flash floods. All About Geography, Urban Living (Goh, Yu & M.C. 2015, pp. 156–157, Reproduced by permission of Hodder Education, photographs blurred for copyright reasons)

The top of the right page shows a photo taken from the air during the flood in Brisbane, 2011, and at the bottom a flash flood in Kuala Lumpur, 2012. In the right margin there is an explanation of “Geographical Concepts—Scale” such as large-scale floods (Brisbane in 2011) and small-scale floods (the flash flood in Orchard Road, Singapore, 2010). Here there is also a “Bookmark” with a link to a video film about “the experience of people during a flash flood”.

Most of the space is dominated by visual illustrations, which underline severe effects of flooding throughout the world. These pages also underline that a flood can happen suddenly, and for different reasons.

On the following pages there are descriptions of different causes of floods, such as rainfall (intensity, duration, frequency), snowmelt, storm surge, and tsunami, height of land above or below sea level and proximity to water bodies, or the failure of man-made structures (such as dams, levees, and floodwalls, or an under-dimensioned channel capacity). Here the reader can also find out how floods affect people living in cities, such as the spread of diseases and loss of life, homelessness, disruption of clean water supply, damage to transport infrastructure, or disruption of energy supply. This leads to the question how cities then should prepare for floods (Fig. 8.3).

At the top of the left page in Fig. 8.3 we find a heading and a list of what “you will learn”. Underneath we find two photos, one showing a flash flood at Lucky Plaza in Singapore in 2010, and the other showing people placing sandbags along a road in Bangkok in 2011. On the right page different “mitigation measures” are presented such as “Regulation”, here exemplified by “Zoning”. On the following pages we also find other examples such as “Elevated properties” and “Investment in infrastructure”, “Forecasting and warning system”, and “Evacuation drills”.

Fig. 8.3

How should cities prepare for floods? All About Geography, Urban Living (Goh et al. 2015, pp. 180–181, Reproduced by permission of Hodder Education, photographs blurred for copyright reasons)

3.2 Interaction Between Text Resources

In our first example from Urban Living (pp. 156–157, Fig. 8.2), the relations between visual illustrations and written text are close and congruent. The illustrations are the predominant resource, and they can function as a starting point for discussions. Central here is the phenomenon “floods”, including different descriptions of “scales”. However, through the sketch of the cross-section of a river channel, there is also an opportunity to start a discussion about causes (which can be followed up and taken deeper later in the book).

Our second example (pp. 180–181, Fig. 8.3) is focused more on the socio-economic impact and the concern for communities that are affected by natural hazards. The central theme here is preparations to handle floods of different kinds, with a stronger emphasis on explanatory and descriptive texts. The teacher can of course, if necessary, clarify how the information, the descriptions, and explanations on the following page can be used to answer the questions on the upper left page (p. 180).

4 Social Sciences as a Multimodal Challenge

We have focused here on two kinds of representations of geography: one more traditional textbook focusing on political and administrative legislations, and one more modern focusing on overarching themes, which also has references to sources outside the book. However, by using these examples, we would not want say that the first is “wrong” and the second one is “right”. What we want to underpin here is that the different resources present different affordances for the teachers and the students, as well as different opportunities to use the information: different resources give different opportunities for teaching and learning. In both cases, it is up to the teacher to frame the information so that the pupils will have an opportunity for meaningful learning. Therefore, it is not enough to (only) explain what the words as such mean; these words must also be framed in relation to other kinds of multimodal representations.

5 History, Secondary School—A Matter of Values

In our model for reading texts with a focus on multimodal and educational aspects (Table 4.1, Sect. 4.5), we differentiate between the overall structure and setting of the text, the relation between different parts of the text, as well as the role of figurative language and values. We have also stated that you do not have to use all the categories every time you analyze a specific text. In our analysis of history textbooks, we would like to emphasize the specific role of values, looking at two textbooks about the war in Vietnam: the Swedish book Utkik, Historia, Grade 7–9 (in English “Lookout, History—History Grade 7–9”, Nilsson et al. 2013) and All About History. The Making of the Contemporary World Order, 1870s–1991, Cheong and Huang 2015) from Singapore (Fig. 8.4 and 8.5).

Fig. 8.4

The Vietnam War, Utkik Historia (Nilsson et al. 2013, pp. 270–271, with permission from Gleerups)

Fig. 8.5

How did the Vietnamese succeed in getting the French to relinquish its control over Vietnam by 1954?, All About History (Cheong and Huang 2014, pp. 50–51, Reproduced by permission of Hodder Education, photograph blurred for copyright reasons)

5.1 General Structure and Setting

At a general level, one can immediately notice that the Singaporean book emphasizes “the making of nation states”, whilst the Swedish book more vaguely focuses on “the time after the war”. A closer look reveals that the heading in the Swedish book announces “Vietnam”, and the subtitles focus on “History and statistics” and “Killed Americans in Vietnam” (our emphasis) respectively. In the Singaporean book, the heading talks about “Decolonisation of Vietnam”, and the subtitles are phrased as follows: “How did the Vietnamese succeed in getting the French to relinquish its control over Vietnam by 1954?” (our emphasis): “To what extent was the establishment of an independent Vietnam in 1976 more a result of internal rather than external factors”? At the end we find the subtitle “Think like a historian: Causation: categorising factors” and “Practising history: Developing and concluding a causal argument”.

Both the thematic orientation and the sequencing of information are obviously differently designed in these two textbooks. We can also notice that the Swedish book introduces the term “domino theory” (i.e. in the political language of those days in the West—if one country falls into the hands of the communists, others will follow), whilst the Singaporean book instead emphasizes the question of “anti-colonialism”.

If we now continue with the question of what different semiotic resources offer, we will find the following caption in the Swedish textbook: “The Vietnam War”, although most of this part talks about the different wars in Southeast Asia. This is followed by subheadings and short, descriptive texts. The map on the left page (Fig. 8.4, at the place of “the given” according to Kress and van Leuwen 2006) shows where in the world we can find Vietnam, whilst the information on the right page (“the new” information) shows American soldiers as active agents (those who do things), albeit with some negative hints.

The Singaporean textbook shows on its left page General Giap (at the place of “the given”), and on the right page (the “new” information) a subheading about “Vietnamese anti-colonial sentiments” (Fig. 8.5). In this book, the world map is not that necessary, since those who read the book probably know very well where in the world they are situated. Instead, the Vietnamese victory is the given starting point, and the Vietnamese people are seen as the active agent. And in addition, under the subheading “Background”, we find different “Tasks” for the reader to solve.

5.2 Interaction Between Text Resources

Regarding the interaction between text resources we may notice interesting differences. In the Swedish book, the map is linked to the escalating war in Southeast Asia. It starts with the war with “the French” and the battle at Dien Bien Phu, followed by the war with “the US”. The photo on the right page (Fig. 8.4) is talked about in terms of “severe sufferings”.

The text book from Singapore emphasizes to a larger degree the war against the French colonial power. On the left (Fig. 8.5) we find, as mentioned, General Giap and the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. On the right side, we find different pieces of information: tasks, websites (and later also “sources”, for example with quotations from books and speeches) and a text that describes the background to the anti-colonial movement. The war with the US comes much later in the book.

In this book, we also find a thematic thread from victories and anti-colonialism to the building of new nation states. Even though the Swedish book also talks about “The liberation of the colonies” (pp. 268–269, not shown in the figures), it is with a very distant voice: “The so-called de-colonization started in Asia at the end of the 1940’s and spread to Africa 10 years later”. Furthermore, the perspective of colonization is not directly linked to what then follows about the Vietnamese war.

5.3 Figurative Language and Values

We do not find a lot of explicit figurative language in these texts. However, the Swedish book refers to the “domino theory” or “crushing defeat”, and in the Singaporean book expressions like “power vacuum” and “puppet government” are used. On the other hand, the values that are brought to the fore are quite obvious, even though they are not explicitly stated. For example, the Swedish book emphasizes that out of 2.5 million people that were killed during the Vietnam war, 58,000 were Americans, and on the following page we find a map showing how many Americans were killed in different provinces. In the book from Singapore it is instead the suffering of the Vietnamese people that is emphasized (during both the French and the American occupation)—when peasants lost their land and higher education was accessible only for students from privileged groups.

Obviously, the socio-political place in the world frames perspectives and the selection of facts—where the western hemisphere gradually seems to lose its control over different parts of the world, and where the eastern hemisphere grows in importance and self-government, and self-esteem. A way for teachers (in both countries) to highlight these aspects could be to compare multimodal representations, descriptions and explanations of the “same” historical situation from different points of view, as can be found in different learning resources—which also will reveal the underlying (often immanent and “natural”) value statements.

5.4 Representing History

The discussed differences between the two books can of course also be found in other parts in each of them. For example, the captions on the following pages in the Swedish book highlight such themes as “Humans on the move”, “The end of the Cold War” and “Towards a global world”, whilst the Singaporean book focuses on “decolonisation” and “the construction of nation states” in Southeast Asia.

However, the fact that different textbooks have different perspectives does not need to be problematic. On the contrary, in a field like history, one can discuss different perspectives, different values, and different ways of representing the historical knowledge—and by doing so, deepen the historical understanding (cf. Insulander et al. 2016; Wheatly 2001).

Yet another aspect we would like to emphasize here is the question of activity linking (Selander 2018). In the book from Singapore, we find clear links between the kind of activities the pupils are supposed to perform, and the kind of information, sources, websites, etc. that can be found in the text. In other words, the text is modeled on how information is to be understood and used by the reader. The pupils are also encouraged to work collaboratively, to think like a historian, and it is clear which (in this case) four questions the pupils are supposed to focus on. The Swedish book is much more superficial and vague. One example: “From your geography studies, you are used to maps that show different places. In this case, the map is used to describe a certain kind of event. Can you think of anything else that you can show with the help of maps”? Hence, instead of a question that helps the pupils to deepen their understanding of historical processes and events, they are here suddenly moved away from the topic to something totally different.

6 Religion, Elementary School

In the Scandinavian countries the subject Religion has its origin in the subject Christianity. Today, this subject is supposed to be a guide to the stories, holy places, rituals, and symbols of different religions, and furthermore, to be an arena where ethical questions can be discussed. It might seem inevitable that in description of religions from a Western perspective there is a central, symbolic space—in Lotman’s (1990) terms, a semiosphere¹—in this case with Christianity as the natural point of departure. This can be explained by quite divergent things, such as the dominance of Christianity since the Middle Ages, or the historical roots of the school subject, but also the political discussion. Here we will examine how different religions are introduced in different ways in a Swedish textbook. The differences concern things like what facts to present and the different illustrations chosen with regard to the religions and those who practice the religion in question. We will return to these questions under “Values” (Sect. 8.6.4).

In the following, we will focus on the sections “Visiting a Christian home” (Sw. På besök i ett kristet hem) and “Visiting a Muslim home” (Sw. På besök i ett muslimskt hem; Figs. 8.6 and 8.7) in the textbook Upptäck Religion (Eng. Discover religion) (Ring and Sandin 2008), produced for elementary school years 4–6.

Fig. 8.6

Visiting a Christian home. Upptäck Religion (Ring and Sandin 2008, pp. 12–13, with permission from Liber)

Fig. 8.7

Visiting a Moslem home. Upptäck Religion (Ring and Sandin 2008, pp. 72–73, with permission from Liber)

This textbook is also produced in an online version, with the same layout as the printed version.² The online version supplements the printed version through resources such as Internet links, the possibility to add notes to the text, or to have an electronic voice reading sections of the text. When you click a button for “extra resources”, a page with a video film is shown. Apart from the film, the online version contains links to other electronic resources connected to the textbook. We will comment briefly on the content of the video films in relation to the different sections examined.

6.1 General Structure and Setting

The general structure is similar in both chapters, but we also note differences in the ways that a number of phenomena are presented. In both sections, the central written text is placed in the middle of the book spread, and illustrations and text boxes are placed around this written text. In the presentation of Christianity, we find a book of prayers in the upper left corner. Under the book, the Lord’s Prayer, “Our Father”—in a modernized version—is given in a blue-shaded text box. A large image to the right at the bottom of the left page shows a family saying grace before eating. Below that image, a yellow-toned text box explains words like “prayer” (Sw. bön) and “hallowed” (Sw. helgat). The text box has a heading “Word list” (Sw. ordlista) placed vertically to the left. Text boxes containing explanations of words are used throughout the textbook. Also, all the words explained in text boxes are italicized in the running text and the explanations are bolded.

The right page contains two headings: “The cross is an important symbol”, and “Baptismal Candle” (Sw. dopljus). The cross is illustrated through hands clasped in prayer, holding a cross above a book (presumably the Bible). The baptismal candle is illustrated by two newly lit candles. Below that photo are two more explanations: “symbol” and “rise from the dead” (Sw. uppstå). In the rightmost lower corner is a yellow-toned text box “Did you know…” (Sw. Visste du att…), which explains the word “amen”. Two of the illustrations depict things (a book and a candle), while the others depict people in some kind of action (praying).

In the corresponding section on Islam we find the heading “When the sun sets the fast is broken” (Sw. när solen går ner bryts fastan) on the left page of the book spread. The right page contains the headings “Then it is time to pray” (Sw. Sedan är det dags för bön) and “During Ramadan you are supposed to be particularly nice” (Sw. Under ramadan ska man vara extra snäll). The left page contains two illustrations, a photo of dates in a box with a hand taking one date, and a photo of “Muslim food” (Sw. muslimsk mat) with a text about halal in a blue-toned text box. On the right page, we find a photo showing a big table, and a small girl laying the table. Another photo depicts different kinds of prayer compasses. Here a text says “You can even use a mobile phone to show the direction to Mecca”. At the bottom of the page, to the right, there is a text box toned in yellow: “What do you think?” (Sw. Vad tycker du?) with the text: “During Ramadan you are supposed to avoid having disputes with others. Among Christians it is common to try to be especially kind at Christmas. Is it a good thing that you are sometimes forced to be kind?”.

In the online version of the textbook three short video films are connected to the sections above. In the section about Christianity the film “Talking to God” is introduced through a short sequence from a ceremony in a Swedish church. After that a longer sequence follows, where a woman explains her relation to praying. In the section about Islam, there are two films, “Religion at home” (connected to the left page in the book spread) and Ramadan (which is connected to the right page). In both films, informative sequences are mixed with short sequences with children’s comments, and sequences showing people praying or reading the Quran.

6.2 Interaction Between Text Resources

Different semiotic modes interact in the section about Christianity. One theme is prayer: the main text on the left page deals with prayer, illustrated by a book of prayers and the text of the Lord’s Prayer. The main image depicts a family praying at the table. Another theme is the cross (eternal life), sometimes used in prayer (the image to the right on top of the page). A third theme is the baptism (being christened) and a baptismal candle. The text box “Did you know…” deals with “amen” the final word in a prayer. Five central concepts are explained here: prayer, hallowed, symbol, rise, and amen.

In the Muslim home, fasting is a central theme. The text says that you break the fast with a date, which is illustrated by a hand taking a date. At the bottom of the page “halal”—in this case admissible food—is illustrated by plastic bags with chicken legs in a deep freezer. Another theme is prayer, illustrated by a prayer compass, and a third theme is the fact that you are supposed to be kind during Ramadan, which is compared to a Christian rule for Christmas. Three words are explained: fasting, prophet, and role model. There is no “Did you know…” text box in this section, but instead the reader is invited to ponder over calls for kindness.

6.3 Figurative Language

In the Christian home, the candle is a symbol of the transition from darkness to light, which in this case means the transition from not being Christian to becoming a Christian. The word ‘symbol’ is explained as something which is “used as a sign for something”, and it is exemplified by a heart, which is “as symbol of love, to care about”.

The text about Islam states that you cannot eat while the sun is up, and that you break the fast when the sun sets, then eating a couple of dates and drinking a few sips of water. The text also says that the reason why this is done is because Muhammad did so, and that many Muslims want to do “what he did”. In what sense the position of the sun affects the fasting remains unexplained.

6.4 Values

If we once again use Lotman’s (1990) concept of “semiosphere”, we can clearly see the different perspectives that are used. In the Christian home we are invited to “an ordinary evening” (Sw. en vanlig vardagskväll) where the family say grace before having dinner. Here, the center is a (Swedish?) middle-class family, acting in a shared religious ritual (praying).

In the Muslim home, on the other hand, we are invited to a family celebrating Ramadan. In this case we (as viewers and readers) are not placed in the center, but look out from a distance. The text deals with fasting, and then prayer. No human beings are engaged in shared activities, instead the images depict individual activities: a hand taking a date, two arms lifting a packet of chicken from a freezer, and the young girl who is helping someone to lay a table.

In the Christian home, the different actions connected to a Christian’s relation to God are described as a strong feeling of love. In the Muslim home, only the prayer ritual is described, and instead of love, the text focuses on the fact that you are supposed to be kind and helpful. It is worth pondering over how a Western reader would have perceived a description of “an ordinary day” in the Muslim home, with explanations of the relation to God, including a heart as a symbol for love, while the Christian home was described in terms of observable rituals during Christmas celebrations, and the expected kindness. Here we probably would not need any close analysis to experience where the center and periphery of the semiosphere are located.

In the films that are available in the digital version of the textbook, we can hear the voices of Muslim children. However, since the films have been created in an English-speaking country, Swedish children are reading translations from the original, which creates a distance. The title of the film is “Religion at home” with a subheading “Many girls pray and read the Quran at home”. The film shows two sisters praying at home and how their mother teaches them about the Quran (while it is said that boys more frequently pray in the mosque among the other men, and that they go to Quran classes).

A couple of other things are worth noting in the films, for instance that the speaker says that the girls are learning Arabic “to be able to read the Quran”. But is not the language a means of communicating at home or with relatives? In the film it is not clear whether the girls speak another language than Arabic at home (there is a Swedish voice-over when the children in the film talk during interviews), or if the film refers to the fact that the girls are learning the Arabic written language and classic Arabic, which differ from the spoken dialects. Of course, it might be asking too much if the film were to explain how the language of the Quran differs from spoken dialects, but the comment about learning the language contributes to maintaining a world of “us” and “them”. That perspective is especially noticeable from a comment about the Arabic written language: “before you have learnt the language it looks really tricky”. Does that mean that, for instance, the Swedish orthography looks less tricky for anyone not used to it? Also, “to know a language” (regardless of language) does not imply that it is easy to read the language, even though language knowledge is a prerequisite for reading with understanding.

The film titled “Ramadan” has (just as in the printed version) a sub-heading “During Ramadan you must not eat or drink until the sun has set”. In the film a boy tells us how hungry and tired he is during Ramadan, while a girl comments on the fact that you then will experience how it can feel when you are poor (and that it is easier when Ramadan falls during the winter months, when the sun is up for a shorter time than during summer). The film also shows that in the children’s school, there are two rooms where the Muslim children can pray.

As mentioned, the film connected to the section about Christianity is introduced with a short sequence from a ceremony in a Swedish church. The speaker voice says that in the Swedish church there are many different kinds of sermons, and that this particular sermon includes a lot of music. This is followed by a longer sequence in which a Swedish woman tells the viewer about her relation to prayer. She says that the prayer can be different depending on whether she is on her own or if she is praying in a larger context, and she also says that the actual location is of no importance. Instead she can pray wherever she can feel the presence of God and the deeds of God, for example by the sea. As a whole, Christianity appears to be a flexible religion.

If we compare the images we get through the video films, we note some clear features. For instance, Islam appears to be more distant for a Swedish reader than Christianity. The films about Islam haven’t been made in a Swedish context; instead films from an English-speaking context have been used, in which children’s voices are replaced with Swedish voices reading a translation. Also, these films focus on what is “different”: the Arabic orthography “looks really tricky”, and you learn the language to be able to read the Quran. The children in the films comment on how hard it can be during Ramadan, for instance when seeing “everyone else” eating.

The video film with the Christian woman was made in Sweden and we get a personal image of her belief, which is a flexible way of practicing your religion. Does that mean that a Muslim cannot be different in different contexts, or that you cannot speak to your God whenever you experience the presence of God? How would the relation to “the unfamiliar” have been affected if Swedish Muslims had been focused on, or if the film had examined why you are supposed to pray at specific hours (not to risk forgetting your belief in God), or the importance of always remembering that you are lucky to have food every day?

The fact that children of the same age as the supposed viewer are involved in the films about Islam could possibly diminish the distance between “us” and “them”. At the same time, the Muslim children in the films do not live in a Swedish context, which might appear misleading. People practicing Islam, as well as Christians, live in all parts of the world and in many cultures. Is there any specific reason why the Muslim children in these films live outside of Sweden?