Merethe Roos – författare

This volume strengthens interest and research in the fields of both Childhood Studies and Nordic Studies by exploring conceptions of children and childhood in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden). Although some books have been written about the history of childhood in these countries, few are multidisciplinary, focus on this region as a whole, or are available in English. This volume contains essays by scholars from the fields of literature, history, theology, religious studies, intellectual history, cultural studies, Scandinavian studies, education, music, and art history. Contributors study the history of childhood in a wide variety of sources, such as folk and fairy tales, legal codes, religious texts, essays on education, letters, sermons, speeches, hymns, paintings, novels, and school essays written by children themselves. They also examine texts intended specifically for children, including text books, catechisms, newspapers, songbooks, and children’s literature. By bringing together scholars from multiple disciplines who raise distinctive questions about childhood and take into account a wide range of sources, the book offers a fresh and substantive contribution to the history of childhood in the Nordic countries between 1700 and 1960. The volume also helps readers trace the historical roots of the internationally recognized practices and policies regarding child welfare within the Nordic countries today and prompts readers from any country to reflect on their own conceptions of and commitments to children.

This volume strengthens interest and research in the fields of both Childhood Studies and Nordic Studies by exploring conceptions of children and childhood in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden). Although some books have been written about the history of childhood in these countries, few are multidisciplinary, focus on this region as a whole, or are available in English. This volume contains essays by scholars from the fields of literature, history, theology, religious studies, intellectual history, cultural studies, Scandinavian studies, education, music, and art history. Contributors study the history of childhood in a wide variety of sources, such as folk and fairy tales, legal codes, religious texts, essays on education, letters, sermons, speeches, hymns, paintings, novels, and school essays written by children themselves. They also examine texts intended specifically for children, including text books, catechisms, newspapers, songbooks, and children’s literature. By bringing together scholars from multiple disciplines who raise distinctive questions about childhood and take into account a wide range of sources, the book offers a fresh and substantive contribution to the history of childhood in the Nordic countries between 1700 and 1960. The volume also helps readers trace the historical roots of the internationally recognized practices and policies regarding child welfare within the Nordic countries today and prompts readers from any country to reflect on their own conceptions of and commitments to children.

This book examines Norwegian education throughout the course of the 19th century, and discusses its development in light of broader transnational impulses.

This book examines Norwegian education throughout the course of the 19th century, and discusses its development in light of broader transnational impulses.

The twentieth-century process of secularization does not mean that institutional church and Christian ideas were irrelevant for twentieth-century societal projects – such as the introduction of democracy, the improvement of school and education, the framing of national identities – or in the establishment of welfare-states. On the contrary, this publication is built on the presupposition that secularization runs parallell with the sacralization of the state. It can be argued that Christianity has been decisive for how the modern European society evolved in the twentieth century, e.g. concerning how Christian history and Christian values were a part of the new national and social imaginary where re-enchantment and re-sacralization of the state were central elements. In this publication, the aim is to highlight the role of Christianity in the twentieth- and twentyfirst-century welfare-state modernization process with the focus on schooling and education. A central perspective is the impact of cultural Protestantism during the twentieth century. The publication is comparative and will investigate education in Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands via chapters on curriculums, textbooks, politicians, and political debates.

This book thematizes the tension between education, politics, and religion in Norway after the Second World War, with an emphasis on the years between 1945 and 1970, and throws a new light on Norwegian school and education in the post-war period. The Norwegian educational landscape in the years after the Second World War must be seen against the development of the welfare state, and it appears as a part of the social democracy project typical for Norway at that time. The Labour Party, which held a prominent position in the educational landscape in the post-war decades, is normally regarded to have been an important driving force behind secularization of schools in Norway, not least because the total number of weekly lessons in religious education gradually was reduced. This book problematizes this thesis and enlightens how important politicians and policymakers within the Labour Party defended religious education. A central point is that this defense must be seen within the frames of a liberally oriented protestant theology. Thus, the study highlights the diversity of ideas in Norwegian politics in the post-war period and demonstrates how important impulses in Norwegian politics can be viewed against a wider international background.

From 18th-century accounts to contemporary discourse, this book critically examines the notion of 'Nordic exceptionalism’. Through careful historical analysis, it explores how external observers have perceived and portrayed Nordic societies, questioning the roots and evolution of this influential concept within social as well as art-historical debates. Our main research question is: Were ideas of exceptionalism already present in early discussions and debates about the Nordic countries?While the perception of Nordic exceptionalism has often been idealised, the book shows that it has never been devoid of cultural criticism. Nevertheless, there remains a consistent acknowledgement that the Nordic countries stand out as a distinct cultural unit shaped by a distinctive cultural and political trajectory. The book fills a gap in existing critical literature by analysing historical perspectives. Furthermore, it explores how the Nordic countries have crafted their self-representation in response to these external views.Each chapter is thoughtfully curated to balance scholarly rigour with accessibility, making it suitable for students and scholars in the interdisciplinary fields of history, cultural studies, art- and literary history, and transnational research.

Listen to the podcast with Editors Merethe Roos and Henrik EdgrenThis volume addresses a gap in previous research and explores Nordic textbooks chronologically and empirically from the Protestant Reformation to our present time. The chapters are written by scholars from universities in Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, countries that distinguish themselves with a rich tradition of textbook research. The authors represent different academic traditions and use a wide range of scholarly methods and perspectives. The overall objective is to highlight how textbooks reflect national cultural politics and legislation. The various chapters cast light on how textbooks are integrated in national politics and demonstrate how they have contributed to nation-building and to strengthening the nations’ core values and other major political projects.Contributors are: Karl Christian Alvestad, Norunn Askeland, Kjell Lars Berge, Peter Bernhardsson, Kerstin Bornholdt, Mads B. Claudi, Henrik Edgren, Morten Fink-Jensen, Stig Toke Gissel, Thomas Illum Hansen, Pirjo Hiidenmaa, Marthe Hommerstad, Axel Hörstedt, Kari-Anne Jørgensen-Vittersø, Tujia Laine, Esbjörn Larsson, Ragnhild Elisabeth Lund, Christina Matthiesen, Eva Maagerø, Tuva Skjelbred Nodeland, Kari H. Nordberg, Merethe Roos, Henriette Hogga Siljan, Johan Laurits Tønnesson and Janne Varjo.