Contesting Nordicness: From Scandinavianism to the Nordic Brand

Open Access Published by De Gruyter Oldenbourg 2022

Contesting Nordicness

From Scandinavianism to the Nordic Brand

Edited by: Jani Marjanen , Johan Strang and Mary Hilson

Volume 2 in the series Helsinki Yearbook of Intellectual History

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110730104

Overview
Contents

About this book

Open Access

The terms ‘Nordic’ and ‘Scandinavian’ are widely used to refer to the politics, society and culture of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. But why have people felt the need to frame things as Nordic and why has the adjective Nordic become so prominent? This book adopts a rhetorical approach, analysing the speech acts which have shaped the meanings of the term. What do the different terms Nordic and Scandinavian have in common, and how have the uses of these terms changed in different historical periods? What accounts for the apparent upsurge in uses of the rhetoric of Nordicness in the 2010s?

Drawing on eight case studies of the uses of Nordic and Scandinavian from the nineteenth century to the present day, the book explores the appeal and the flexibility of the rhetoric of Nordicness, in relation to race, openness, gender equality, food, crime fiction, Nordic co-operation and the Nordic model. Arguing that ‘Nordic’ and ‘Scandinavian’ are flexible and contested concepts that have been used in different, often contradictory and inherently political ways, the book suggests that the usage of the term has evolved from a means of creating a cultural community, to forging political co-operation and further to marketing models in politics and popular culture.

The rhetorical approach also shows how many of the hallmarks of Nordic political culture, such as the Nordic model, Nordic gender equality or Nordic openness are more recent conceptualisations than usually assumed. As such, the book argues for the need to turn attention away from analysing the different components of Nordicness into studying how, when, and for what purpose different features were made Nordic.　

Author / Editor information

Jani Marjanen, Johan Strang, University of Helsinik, Finland; Mary Hilson, Aarhus University, Denmark.

Topics

Frontmatter Open Access Download PDF	I
Table of Contents Open Access Download PDF	V
Acknowledgements Open Access Download PDF	VII
A Rhetorical Perspective on Nordicness: From Creating Unity to Exporting Models Johan Strang, Jani Marjanen and Mary Hilson Open Access Download PDF	1
Scandinavian Sympathies and Nordic Unity: The Rhetoric of Scandinavianness in the Nineteenth Century Ruth Hemstad Open Access Download PDF	35
The Nordic in the Scientific Racial Discourses in the United States and Northern Europe in the Interwar Period: The Passing of Greatness Merle Weßel Open Access Download PDF	59
From the “Middle Way” to The Nordic Way: Changing Rhetorics of the Nordic Model in Britain Mary Hilson and Tom Hoctor Open Access Download PDF	81
The Rhetoric of Nordic Cooperation: From the Other Europe to the Better Europe? Johan Strang Open Access Download PDF	103
Nordic Gender Equality: Between Administrative Cooperation and Global Branding Pirjo Markkola Open Access Download PDF	133
Transparency and Nordic Openness in Finland: Ideational Shift, Invented Tradition, and Anders Chydenius Tero Erkkilä Open Access Download PDF	153
New Nordic Cuisine: Performing Primitive Origins of Nordic Food Lily Kelting Open Access Download PDF	175
Nordic Noir: Branding Nordicness as British Boreal Nostalgia Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen Open Access Download PDF	197
Bibliography Open Access Download PDF	219
Contributors Open Access Download PDF	253

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: De Gruyter Oldenbourg
Audience: Scholars of intellectual, contemporary, and cultural history, students, librarians
Pages
- Front matter: 6
- Main content: 252
Illustrations
- Line drawings: 4
- Tables: 1
Keywords: Intellectual history; history of Ideas; nordic; Scandinavian

eBook

Published: December 20, 2021
ISBN: 9783110730104

Paperback

Published: December 31, 2021
ISBN: 9783110735017