The Price of Goodness: Everyday Nationalist Narratives in Denmark

Abstract: One of the most important political issues in Denmark today is the new upsurge of nationalism. This reached its height at the two latest general elections in Denmark, which in many ways struck the left with surprise and shock. The purpose of this paper is to try to make sense of this situation. The paper falls into four parts. After introducing the problem and contextualizing it in the “new” Europe, we provide a short presentation of the theory, methodology and analytical strategy behind the article. In the third section, we identify two conflicting discourses in current Danish debates on this issue. In the fourth section, we argue that in order to understand the present situation, a much more differentiated understanding of nationalism and its (re‐)construction in everyday life is needed. Here such an understanding is pursued on the basis of an interview analysis of narrative constructions of nationalism conducted in a medium‐sized Danish town. This, finally, is taken as the background for discussing the present advancement of nationalism in Denmark as interference between particular and more “universal” factors.     

Whose Heritage? Immigration and Place Narratives in Denmark

Questions of heritage, of ownership of discourses of past and present are important elements in present‐day struggles over identity and belonging, not least those related to immigration policy. None the less, the perspective of immigrant groups is often overlooked when decisions are taken concerning preservation of heritage sites. Since the late 1960s the area around Frederiksværk, Northern Zealand has become the home of large numbers of immigrants, notably from ex‐Yugoslavia, who were brought to Denmark to serve as rank and file in the then booming steel industry. In spite of their undeniable contribution to the development of the town, the cultural heritage of this relatively large immigrant population takes up very little space in the official branding of the town as a key site in the industrial history of Denmark. This article discusses the various place narratives in relation to immigrants in the case of Frederiksværk. We take as our point of departure the Danish notion of kulturmiljø (cultural milieu), which is more material than the notion of heritage. This discussion focuses on the ability of kulturmiljø to capture and incorporate the multiple and often contradictory cultural practices of different groups of actors and not the least to transgress the often rather static and confined view on local history, which often results from the heritage perspective. We analyze how different actors, notably the Yugoslavs, are represented in the narratives of the town, and how Yugoslav immigrants themselves perceive their position in Frederiksværk. Furthermore, we attempt to register some of the imprints made by immigrants on the material and cultural fabric, possibly useful to include in a kulturmiljø of Frederiksværk. The conclusion assesses the potentials and limitations of the kulturmiljø approach with regard to making visible the place narratives of immigrants.     

Hunters of forests and waters: Late Iron Age and Medieval subsistence and social processes in coastal northern Sweden

During the course of the 14th century the Swedish Crown and the Catholic Church made robust attempts to include the areas beside the Bothnian bay within their central fiscal and clerical organization. Salmon fishing in the productive river rapids became major targets for external commercial interests. Written records inform us about the situation from the perspective of the exploiters. However, there is a story running in parallel – that of the local population already occupying the lands and the fishing grounds. The study aims to analyse the significance of hunting and fishing to the overall subsistence of coastal communities in northern Sweden during the period AD 500–1600. The social context is of particular interest, specifically in relation to the successive conformation by the local communities to the Swedish fiscal system. The study draws on archaeological records and on historical records from the 14th to the 17th century, in addition to ethnographic accounts for hunting and fishing. We conclude that the legal cultures embraced by the indigenous population and that of the Swedish central powers were in essence incompatible. The acquisition of land and fishing rights was never settled between two equal parties, but one-sidedly enforced by the party holding the pen.     

Cultural Contact and Cultural Transfer in Medieval Western Eurasia

This essay deals with cultural contact, exchange, and transfer at the eastern margins of medieval Europe where interactions between different cultures of European and Asian origin have, over the centuries, shaped a unique cross- cultural zone. As the western part of a Eurasian highway for peoples from Central Asia since ancient times, whose western migration became a crucial factor for early state formation in Europe, this intersection resulted mainly from eastward Slavic migration and the Varangian expansion to southern lands that brought the Norman Rus’ into contact and conflict with the Byzantines and the emerging steppe empires of the Desht-i Qipchaq. Evidence is given to support the view that cultural exchange is a concept not precise enough to explain how cultural goods were adapted and integrated in this cross-cultural zone which I prefer to call Slavia Asiatica. A more complex approach to culture transfer is needed to explain acculturation processes in medieval times, comprising many cultural subsystems: language and writing, law and religion, knowledge, values and norms, practices and socio-political institutions.     

Conservation Narratives in Costa Rica: Conflict and Co‐existence

This article examines narratives about nature conservation in Costa Rica, specifically those related to wildlife and biodiversity, and their evolution with the growth of tourism and bioprospecting industries. It outlines a traditional conservation narrative and two streams of an emerging counter‐narrative, and discusses problems and prospects for each in contemporary Costa Rica. The use of narrative and counter‐narrative follows Roe (1991, 1995), Fairhead and Leach (1995), and Leach and Mearns (1996). The article focuses particularly on the ways in which the narratives are increasingly drawing on, informing, and sometimes conflicting with one another; it is based on the author’s research undertaken in various protected areas in Costa Rica since 1994 and on research published by others.     

Death in Flames: Human Remains from a Domestic House Fire from Early Iron Age,Denmark

This paper presents osteoarchaeological analyses of the human skeletal material from a burnt down house in Jutland, Denmark, dated to the first century bc . We describe how the osteological analyses of this complex site were approached and illustrate how we reconstructed the death of the human victims. Besides basic osteological analyses, we also tried to reconstruct the posture of the deceased humans using 12‐in. posable wooden mannequins. Along with bones from several domestic animals, skeletal elements from six human individuals were recovered. All individuals were located in the eastern end of the house—the byre end. The demographic structure indicates a small family household. Our posture reconstruction further proposes that they did not die of asphyxiation while sleeping: At least two of the individuals were lying face down, trying to protect themselves. Two other individuals were lying on their side in crouching positions, which cannot be ruled out as examples of pugilistic attitude. However, we suggest this is rather unlikely. The humans could have died as they failed to rescue their invaluable animals from the fire. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Kosovo: Cultural Heritage in Conflict

Abstract

The secession of territory represents a unique challenge in the protection of cultural heritage in conflict. The declared independence of Kosovo has considerable implications for international cultural heritage. This paper focuses on the deliberate destruction of examples of historic architecture such as De?ani Monastery and Hadum Mosque as a means of contextualizing the nature of heritage in conflict with respect to international cultural heritage law. It offers a preliminary examination of aspects of cultural heritage in conflict, particularly in regard to the secession of territory and how it applies to historic monuments. The aim of this paper is two-fold: to address the considerations of immovable cultural property within the borders of Kosovo; and to utilize the examples of Visoki De?ani Monastery and Hadum Mosque to highlight the significance of cultural property in conflict.     

Pollen studies of textile material from an Iron Age grave at Hammerum,Denmark

This article presents the methods employed and the results obtained in pollen studies of a prehistoric grave, identifying a fascinating and productive context for pollen analyses: prehistoric textiles. The methods involved direct sampling from the grave during excavation and various measures aimed at minimizing the risk of contamination, thereby maximising the information gained about various aspects of contemporary prehistoric life. The example used was an Iron Age grave from Hammerum, Denmark which was found to contain very well preserved clothing. The clothing and surrounding sediment were block excavated, providing a unique opportunity to collect samples for pollen analysis from both the textile material and from the underlying grave sediment. This allowed comparison of pollen assemblages from different components within the grave and an assessment of the method itself. The effort involved was rewarded with a set of results which permitted detailed interpretation. Large amounts of pollen of crops and associated anthropogenic plants in the textile sample suggest that agricultural work was the primary source of the pollen embedded in the clothing. In contrast, the pollen assemblages from the sediment samples very clearly reflected the surrounding local vegetation.     

In situ Preservation Solutions for Deposited Iron Age Human Bones in Alken Enge,Denmark

The rich mass deposition of Iron Age human bone material from the Danish site, Alken Enge, is extraordinary not only from an archaeological perspective but also from a preservation point of view. The main find is situated in a waterlogged, anoxic environment which provides excellent preservation conditions and therefore enables in situ preservation of the human bones. However, major differences in local environmental conditions challenge an in situ preservation of the entire site area as parts of the bone material presently deteriorate. In this paper, a multi-proxy environmental monitoring approach is used to document threats and to suggest the best preservation solution for the archaeological finds, whether in or ex situ.     

Narratives and Bodies: Culture beyond the Cultural Turn

This article offers a fresh assessment of the current condition of ‘culturalist’ international history, exploring its achievements and limitations, taxonomising its key threads and charting an agenda for the future. It argues that at its heart lie two core concerns, one with narratives and the other with bodies. Thinking in this way allows us both to tie together work which initially appears disparate – endowing a bewilderingly diverse mass of scholarship with coherence and shape – and to better grasp the project's current trajectory. It analyses how these two issues rose to prominence, discussing not only the merits and failings of previous ‘culturalist’ work but also linkages with shifting debates in historical theory in the aftermath of the ‘postmodern’ turn. It explores the contours of the important work currently being conducted under these rubrics, drawing attention where appropriate to cognate scholarship in the discipline of International Relations with which international historians might profitably engage. Understanding the significance of these two core concepts provides vital orientation in contemporary intellectual debates within international history and enables us to push them on further.     

Elite Strategies and the Spread of Technological Innovation: The Spread of Iron in the Bronze Age Societies of Denmark and Southern Korea

I look at the process and speed of innovation spread, examining the economic aspects from the perspective of those who adopt the innovation. Defining innovation adoption as an investment which requires initial cost and risks, I argue that at the time of introduction of a new technology that is expected to have socioeconomic importance, elites of adopting societies try to avoid the initial cost and risks of adoption, actively intervening in the process of its spread. Thus, it is crucial to analyze the strategies and needs of elites, which strongly influence the speed of spread. One of these strategies is to change innovation's role by locating the innovation in a different realm of economy. Comparing the spread of iron technology in the Danish and southern Korean Bronze Ages, I demonstrate that differences in what elites needed to obtain through iron technology in different contexts critically affected the speed and process of iron spread into the two regions.