Våra förfäder var hedningar : Nordisk forntid som myt i den svenska folkskolans pedagogiska texter fram till år 1919

Narratives of Nordic pre-history are common in textbooks of the Swedish 'folk school'. This thesis discusses them from an ideological critical perspective and analyses them as textbook myths. This analytic concept of myth is constructed and used as a tool for studying ideological expressio...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Wickström, Johan
Format: Doctoral Thesis
Language:Swedish
Published: Uppsala universitet, Teologiska institutionen 2008
Subjects:
Online Access:http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-9196
http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:isbn:978-91-506-2020-7
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spelling ndltd-UPSALLA1-oai-DiVA.org-uu-91962014-02-11T04:50:31ZVåra förfäder var hedningar : Nordisk forntid som myt i den svenska folkskolans pedagogiska texter fram till år 1919sweWickström, JohanUppsala universitet, Teologiska institutionenUppsala : Teologiska institutionen2008use of historymythmythologyOld Norse religionpre-historyethnicitynationalismclassOld Icelandiceducational historytextbooksschooldidacticsAntonio GramsciBruce Lincolnintellectualshistory of religionsclassificationhierarchyideologyHistory of religionReligionshistoriaNarratives of Nordic pre-history are common in textbooks of the Swedish 'folk school'. This thesis discusses them from an ideological critical perspective and analyses them as textbook myths. This analytic concept of myth is constructed and used as a tool for studying ideological expressions in pedagogical texts. It is compatible with a historical materialist, social constructivist and Gramsci inspired perspective towards folk schooling and can handle questions of selection and re-organisation of ancient narrative material. The study shows how a paternalistic ethnic ideology which showed the pupils how their ancestors immigrated and set up society and order is replaced by nationalistic myths where the Swedes are projected on the totality of the past. Idealisation of farmers and expressions that neutralise poverty and legitimates subordination are used continuously throughout the study period. After 1868 a national folk concept is established. Textbook myths with a euhemeristic portrayal of civilisation are replaced by other scientific ways of handling pre-historic religions including elements from nature mythology and evolutionary theory. The myths handle religions both through Christian polemics and theological projections. The results of the analyses are interpreted in the light of the contemporary socio-economic changes where a feudal agrarian society's principles for classifications and hierarchies are challenged and broken by the principles of a class society with a nationalistic ideology. In the concluding chapters the myths are discussed and interpreted in relation to curriculum codes and in a Gramsci inspired perspective as expressions of a passive bourgeois revolution, where intellectuals of the middle class conquered the school and the textbook myths by making alliances with the farming class and trying to neutralise the poor and the working class. The thesis contributes to research in the use of history, representation in pedagogical texts and to research in nationalism. Doctoral thesis, monographinfo:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesistexthttp://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-9196urn:isbn:978-91-506-2020-7Religionshistoriska forskningsrapporter från Uppsala : Uppsala research reports in the history of religions, 1103-811X ; 19application/pdfinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
collection NDLTD
language Swedish
format Doctoral Thesis
sources NDLTD
topic use of history
myth
mythology
Old Norse religion
pre-history
ethnicity
nationalism
class
Old Icelandic
educational history
textbooks
school
didactics
Antonio Gramsci
Bruce Lincoln
intellectuals
history of religions
classification
hierarchy
ideology
History of religion
Religionshistoria
spellingShingle use of history
myth
mythology
Old Norse religion
pre-history
ethnicity
nationalism
class
Old Icelandic
educational history
textbooks
school
didactics
Antonio Gramsci
Bruce Lincoln
intellectuals
history of religions
classification
hierarchy
ideology
History of religion
Religionshistoria
Wickström, Johan
Våra förfäder var hedningar : Nordisk forntid som myt i den svenska folkskolans pedagogiska texter fram till år 1919
description Narratives of Nordic pre-history are common in textbooks of the Swedish 'folk school'. This thesis discusses them from an ideological critical perspective and analyses them as textbook myths. This analytic concept of myth is constructed and used as a tool for studying ideological expressions in pedagogical texts. It is compatible with a historical materialist, social constructivist and Gramsci inspired perspective towards folk schooling and can handle questions of selection and re-organisation of ancient narrative material. The study shows how a paternalistic ethnic ideology which showed the pupils how their ancestors immigrated and set up society and order is replaced by nationalistic myths where the Swedes are projected on the totality of the past. Idealisation of farmers and expressions that neutralise poverty and legitimates subordination are used continuously throughout the study period. After 1868 a national folk concept is established. Textbook myths with a euhemeristic portrayal of civilisation are replaced by other scientific ways of handling pre-historic religions including elements from nature mythology and evolutionary theory. The myths handle religions both through Christian polemics and theological projections. The results of the analyses are interpreted in the light of the contemporary socio-economic changes where a feudal agrarian society's principles for classifications and hierarchies are challenged and broken by the principles of a class society with a nationalistic ideology. In the concluding chapters the myths are discussed and interpreted in relation to curriculum codes and in a Gramsci inspired perspective as expressions of a passive bourgeois revolution, where intellectuals of the middle class conquered the school and the textbook myths by making alliances with the farming class and trying to neutralise the poor and the working class. The thesis contributes to research in the use of history, representation in pedagogical texts and to research in nationalism.
author Wickström, Johan
author_facet Wickström, Johan
author_sort Wickström, Johan
title Våra förfäder var hedningar : Nordisk forntid som myt i den svenska folkskolans pedagogiska texter fram till år 1919
title_short Våra förfäder var hedningar : Nordisk forntid som myt i den svenska folkskolans pedagogiska texter fram till år 1919
title_full Våra förfäder var hedningar : Nordisk forntid som myt i den svenska folkskolans pedagogiska texter fram till år 1919
title_fullStr Våra förfäder var hedningar : Nordisk forntid som myt i den svenska folkskolans pedagogiska texter fram till år 1919
title_full_unstemmed Våra förfäder var hedningar : Nordisk forntid som myt i den svenska folkskolans pedagogiska texter fram till år 1919
title_sort våra förfäder var hedningar : nordisk forntid som myt i den svenska folkskolans pedagogiska texter fram till år 1919
publisher Uppsala universitet, Teologiska institutionen
publishDate 2008
url http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-9196
http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:isbn:978-91-506-2020-7
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