What constitutes a national identity, and how is one formed and experienced over time? The purpose of this essay is to answer the question by analyzing the past five centuries of history in Sweden, and focussing on nationally celebrated icons. With the help of various non-fictional and fictional texts, I hope to give a thorough depiction of the Swedish national identity. This will be done by covering a broad spectrum of Swedish history topics while focussing on historical figures and drawing connections to Benedict Anderson’s concept of the imagined community. To begin, one must be familiar with Benedict Anderson’s notion of the imagined community. Anderson proposed the definition of a nation as, “an imagined political community - and imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign.” (Anderson 2006:6). What he meant by this is that the inhabitants of a large city or small town will most likely never cross paths yet, “in the minds of each lives the image of their communion.” (Anderson 2006:6). These individuals feel as though they have a strong comradeship with one another simply because they reside in the same domicile on a map. The institution of the map, along with the institutions of the census, and the museum were pivotal in shaping “...the way in which colonial state imagined its dominion - the nature of the human beings it ruled, the geography of its domain, and the legitimacy of its ancestry.” (Anderson 2006:164). These are all important elements in the making of a national identity, and the feelings of belonging to a nation. These topics will be touched on again in connection to Sweden through out the essay. In following a chronological order, the first public figure and his impact on the Swedish identity will be O... ... middle of paper ... ...in a contemporary society. For that, Astrid Lindgren is a celebrated national icon and her portrayal of life in Sweden has contributed to the national identity. A national identity is ultimately the sense of belonging to a certain country and feeling a connection with the other citizens. By sharing similarities such as language, history, traditions, and cultural heritage the bond is strengthened and the construction of the “imagined community” happens. The purpose of this essay was to examine the history of Sweden and how the national identity has been created and experienced. By focussing on celebrated individuals a look into memorable moments in the past five centuries and what has effected the national identity was delivered. Whether it be in equal rights, education, social welfare, or a number of other topics, Sweden has strived for modernity in all aspects.
The Nordic welfare state is famous around the world and especially social democrats cite Sweden when they try to push a new policy in their own country. It developed during the 20th century and started with ‘folkhemmet’ (the people’s home). A home in a good condition was seen as the basis for the well-being of the people and the state.
Leif Erikson’s grandfather, Thorvald Asvaldsson slaughtered a man in Jæren, Norway in 960 CE. This was the age of the Vikings, but Thorvald was still banished from the land (Mandia, n.d.). So he brought his ten year old son Erik, later to be named as Erik the Red because of his scarlet hair, to Drangar in northwestern Iceland on a farm with rather appalling soil (Where is Vinland?, n.d.).
Throughout Phillip Seymour's novel, American Pastoral, the concept of national identity changes for characters with the progressive times. The Swede’s identity builds from his early years upon the classic ideals of the American dream. The Swede’s very own identity could be questioned due to the oddness of his physical exterior; “None possessed anything remotely like the steep-jawed, insentient Viking mask of this blue-eyed blond born into our tribe as Seymour Irving Levov.” It was uncommon for a Jewish person to be fair, or blue eyed which is where his nickname, the Swede, comes from; and also questions national identity in the way he is treated differently for it. The Swede’s brother describes him as “a very nice, simple, stoical guy. Not a humorous guy. Not a passionate guy… banal, conventional.” (3.12) This differs vastly from Zuckerman’s early description of the Swede, through this portrayal we can see from the perspective of someone else (importantly his brother) how his identity is conventionally made up.
Erik Erikson was born on June 15, 1902 in Frankfurt, Germany. According to his obituary that appeared in The New York Times, his parents were separated before he was born due to the fact that he was the result of an affair. He never met his birth father. His mother was young when she had him and raised him all by herself. She eventually married physician Dr. Theodor Homberger. For many years Erikson had no idea that Dr. Homberger was not his actual father. When the truth did come out, Erikson was left with confusion about who he really was as an individual. This is what led to his interest in how one’s identity is formed. This interest continued to grow throughout his school experience. He would often get teased at his temple school for not being like the others in terms of ancestry, and because he was tall, blonde, and blue-eyed. He was also rejected in grammar school due to his Jewish background. Those negative experiences motivated him even more to figure out how exactly one forms their identity and continued to influence his work the rest of his life (Cherry, 2014).
The constitution of Sweden is made up of four fundamental laws as well as other laws that protect the democracy as well as the freedom and basic rights for its citizens; the laws outline the basic rules for all political decisions and conflicts. The guidelines for elections and how they should work are mentioned mainly in the third chapter of the Swedish constitution, “The Parliament”. Throughout this chapter the regulations about who is entitled to vote is discussed; every Swedish citizen that is currently residing i...
Sweden, a fairly small country, located in Northwestern Europe on the Scandinavian Peninsula, shares its borders with Norway on the right, and Finland on the left. The northern region of Sweden is within the artic circle whereas the south is more temperate with heavily cultivated fertile land. It is known for its cold winters and large forests. It is ranked 83rd in the world population with over 8.9 million people. It is a highly urbanized country with an 84.7 % urban population distribution (84.7 % of the people live in urban areas, cities, towns, etc.). The capitol of Sweden is Stockholm. Sweden is a homogeneous country with a small Sami minority (approximately 15,000 nomadic reindeer herding Lapps located in the north). Twelve percent of their population consists of immigrants form other European nations. The official language spoken is Swedish (with the Sami and Finnish populations retaining their own languages), although English is widely and fluently spoken in the cities. The dominant religion is Evangelical Lutheranism (94 %), but also includes those who practice Roman Catholicism (1.5 %) and Pentecostal (1 %), with the remaining 3.5 % practicing various religions.
During and after World War I, in which Sweden remained neutral, the nation benefited from the worldwide demand for Swedish steel, ball bearings, wood pulp, and matches. Postwar achievement provided the basis for the social welfare policies characteristic of modern Sweden. Sweden followed a policy of armed impartiality during World War II and currently remains independent. Sweden became a member of the European Union in 1995.
In efforts to make themselves appear more cosmopolitan and avoid being labeled xenophobic, many Swedes don’t publicly display their national pride, but on certain occasions it comes through, for example on National Day, previously Flag Day, and in international competitions to support athletes, performers, and scholars from Sweden. Despite only displaying it periodically, they always have pride for what their country stands for, especially its humanitarianism (Duxbury, Tidholm and Lilja). None of this conflicts with Swedish cosmopolitan efforts. Citizens are able to celebrate their national identity, promote the national identities of others, and at the same time support human rights in all communities, whatever those locally accepted rights may be. Nussbaum argues that patriotism is “an idealized image of a nation [as] a surrogate parent who will do one’s thinking for one,” (Nussbaum 15). She believes a culture of patriotism allows citizens to reject their moral duties to uphold human rights and instead merely follow whatever their country does. This view is simplistic, patronizing, and pessimistic. Human beings are for the most part too complex to be satisfied with such a one-way relationship. Being proud of one’s country doesn’t blind one to the humanity of those in other
In the following essay I will discuss a number of readings and films from this semester and their theories on identity including Sartre, Life of Pi and “Lars and the “Real” Girl”. I will present these theories as I understand them and what the writer is trying to say regarding whether or not we have control over our identities. I will also present my take on these ideas and how I can apply them to my life and my identity.
In this paper I will be focusing on Erikson’s Theory mainly about identity versus role confusion. Finding one’s identity is not always an easy task. Everyone at some point in his or her life has had, as Erikson puts it, an identity crisis. Everyone experiences different struggles that can have either a positive or negative impact on their identity. On my path to identity, I have reached identity achievement, which means I have explored and made commitments. I will also be focusing on two articles highlighting a fifth possible outcome regarding identity and looking at identity statuses as developmental trajectories.
Norberg, The National Interest, Summer, 2006, “Swedish models: the welfare state and its competitors.” http://www.johannorberg.net/?page=articles&articleid=151
Sveriges riksdag. The Constitution of Sweden. 2nd ed. Stockholm: Sveriges Riksdag, 1 January 2011. Print.
In the 13th century, Estonia was under constant rule and resisting assault from neighboring nations until declaring independence until the 1990’s. in 1346, the Danish, who were in possession of northern Estonia, sold their territory off to the Teutonic knight of Germany, a religious military order back in medieval times who had possession of southern Estonia and Latvia(past known as Livonia). Under the knight’s rule, the Estonians were reduced to serfdom, which classifies as the lowest class of society (peasants, slaves, etc.). In 1526, the Swedish were next to in line to take over. Less than 200 years later, in 1721, under the Peace of Nystad, Russia became Sweden’s successor in control over Estonia. Estonia was subjected under Baltic and Czarist until months ending of WWI. During that time, Estonia first achieved independence (1918-1920); shortly months after the start of WWII the nation was once again occupied by Rus...
The Danish society is recurrently being described as homogenous, whether that is by scholars, in the private and public sphere, or broadly in the mass media. It is indisputable that every society can to some extent be labelled as homogenous, however many see the specificity of the Danish welfare system as an important element to the promotion of this uniformity, hence creating the national feeling of “Danishness”. This notion is commonly used when Danes discuss their feeling of being Danish, and thus relates to the subjective interpretation of national identity within a specific nation, in this case, Denmark. According to Uffe Østergaard, a professor at Copenhagen Business School, Danish national identity or “danskheden (Danishness) impedes
In the 11th century King Olaf Sköttkonung became Sweden’s first Swedish King and was baptized as a Christian. In the 14th century an attempt was made to form an alliance between, Norway, Sweden and Denmark into a single kingdom, but this led to a bitter war between the Danes and the Swedes. In 1520, King Christian II of Denmark conquered Sweden and in the “Stockholm Bloodbath” put leading Swedish countrymen to death. Gustavus Vasa, in the 15th centur...