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Nordic

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Map of Nordic-European countries

The Nordic countries are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic, which includes the countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, and the autonomous territories of the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Anthropology has a diverse history in the Nordic countries, tracing all the way back to the early nineteenth century with the establishment of ethnographic museums. [1]

Norway

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History

The institutionalization of anthropology in Norway began in 1857 through the opening of the Norwegian Ethnographic Museum.[2] In early 1900s, Norwegian academia was closely tied to Germany,[3] and the German tradition of völkerkunde, or ethnology, was the primary influence of early development of Norwegian anthropology. [4] Physical anthropology was the primary focus of the early Norwegian anthropological research, specifically related to the racial identity and of the origin of the Norwegian population.[3] Norwegian anthropologists' research was directly involved the development of a scientific understanding of race and racial superiority[3]. Nordicism was a popular ideology at the time and fueled research to find scientific evidence to support the superiority of the Nordic Race, also referred to as Germanic Race, and was the key focus of anthropology in both Norway and Germany. Following World War I, after German attacked Norway, political tensions developed between the two countries, leading Norwegian academics to move away from their traditionally strong attachment to Germany. In the early 1930s, leading Norwegian anthropological authorities began to condemn the study of the Nordic master race as pseudoscientific ideology.[5] The increased skepticism towards Nordicism was a direct response to the rise of Nazi Germany, as the concept of Nordic master race was incorporated into the Nazi ideology. By the end of World War II, Norwegian ethnography turned away from German influence and turned towards an Anglo-American perspective, which was a direct result of Fredrik Barth.

Fredrik Barth

Norwegian anthropologist, Fredrik Barth, is credited as the most influential contemporary Nordic anthropologist[1] and known for transforming the discipline to focus on cross-cultural and comparative fieldwork.[6] Barth received his MA in paleoanthropology and archaeology from the University of Chicago in 1949, and his subsequent graduate studies in Cambridge, England where he worked alongside British anthropologist, Edmund Leach. In 1961, Barth was invited to the University of Bergen to create an anthropology department and serve as its chair. This important and prestigious position gave him the opportunity to introduce British-style social anthropology to Norway. That same year, Barth established the Department of Social Anthropology, which was the first department of social anthropology in all of Scandinavia[7].

Norwegian anthropology entered a period of rapid development following the introduction of social anthropology by Barth, and the further institutionalization of anthropology spread throughout Norway. The Anthropology Institute in Oslo was established in 1964[8]. In the mid - 1970s, The Nordic Anthropological Film Association (NAFA) was established to promote cooperation within the field of visual anthropology[9]. In 1980, Norsk Antropologisk Forening (NAF) was founded as an organization for Norwegian anthropologists both within and outside of academia.[10]. By the 1980s, anthropology had become a popular focus of study at the undergraduate level. This popularity was in part due to the structuring of the Norwegian higher educational system, which made it possible for students to graduate as a social anthropologist without a doctoral degree. Candidatus politicarum (cand. polit.) programs were easier to access than any other doctoral programs, meaning there was a great number of Norwegians who graduated with social anthropologist as their professional title. This system was transformed in 2003 during the Bologna Process, and the cand. polit is no longer in use. Instead, a new doctoral degree (dr. polit.) has been introduced, which is considered roughly equivalent to the PhD.[4]


Current Status

Today, British social anthropology continues to be the main influence on Norwegian anthropology. Barth’s influence has made Norwegian anthropology one that is process-based, practice-oriented, and empirical[2] . Most work is published in English, fieldwork is done both in Norway and around the world, and most Norwegian anthropologists participate in the English-speaking, Western anthropology public sphere. [4] One of the high priorities in contemporary Norway is research on immigrants, which is often state sponsored[1]. Anthropology is offered at all levels at four universities in Norway: Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, and Tromsø. Since the 1980s, anthropology has been a popular undergraduate study. Many journalists, high ranking bureaucrats, and politicians below the age of 50 have some sort of background in anthropology. Additionally, all Norwegian school children are introduced to some social anthropology during their first ten years of mandatory schooling. Many high schools offer sociology and social anthropology as an optional subject, and is taken by 7,000-10,000 students on average every year.[4]

One key feature which differentiates Norwegian anthropology from anthropology in other countries is the prevalence of anthropology within the Norwegian public, sometimes referred to as engaged anthropology. Norwegian anthropologists have a large media presence compared to other countries. They are often interviewed on TV shows, the radio, and in newspapers and magazines, concerning relevant topics. This is both a way for anthropologists to add to public debates and share their research.[4]

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  1. ^ a b c 482922@au.dk. "Anthropology and the Nordic countries". nordics.info. Retrieved 2021-11-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ a b Dracklé, Dorle; Edgar, Iain R.; Schippers, Thomas K. (2003). Educational Histories of European Social Anthropology. Berghahn Books. pp. 36–48. ISBN 978-1-57181-452-4.
  3. ^ a b c Kyllingstad, Jon Røyne (2014). Measuring the master race: physical anthropology in Norway, 1890-1945. Cambridge, England: Open Book Publishers. ISBN 978-1-909254-56-5. OCLC 900407883.
  4. ^ a b c d e Aleksandar., Boskovik, (2008). Other people's anthropologies : ethnographic practice on the margins. Berghahn Books. ISBN 978-1-84545-398-5. OCLC 156834464.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Kyllingstad, Jon Røyne (2012-04-01). "Norwegian Physical Anthropology and the Idea of a Nordic Master Race". Current Anthropology. 53 (S5): S46–S56. doi:10.1086/662332. ISSN 0011-3204.
  6. ^ Vike, Halvard (2018), Vike, Halvard (ed.), "No Direction Home? Doing Anthropology in Norway", Politics and Bureaucracy in the Norwegian Welfare State: An Anthropological Approach, Approaches to Social Inequality and Difference, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 31–50, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-64137-9_2, ISBN 978-3-319-64137-9, retrieved 2021-11-23
  7. ^ Barth, Fredrik (2007-09-01). "Overview: Sixty Years in Anthropology". Annual Review of Anthropology. 36 (1): 1–16. doi:10.1146/annurev.anthro.36.081406.094407. ISSN 0084-6570.
  8. ^ Phone, Visiting address Gullhaug torg 1 0484 OSLO Norway Mail address P. O. box 1091 Blindern 0317 OSLO Norway. "From the foundation of the Norwegian anthropological tradition to one of Europe's top anthropology departments - Department of Social Anthropology". www.sv.uio.no. Retrieved 2021-11-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "About NAFA | The NAFA Film Collection". nafafilm.org. Retrieved 2021-11-23.
  10. ^ "Om Naf". Mysite. Retrieved 2021-11-23.
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