Performing Nordic Heritage: Everyday Practices and Institutional Culture (The Nordic Experience)

The performance of heritage takes place in prestigious institutions such as museums and archives, in officially sanctioned spaces such as jubilees and public monuments, but also in more mundane, ephemeral and banal cultural practices, such as naming of phenomena, viewing exhibitions or walking in the countryside. This volume examines the performance of Nordic heritage and the shaping of the very idea of Norden in diverse contexts in North America, the Baltic and the Nordic countries and examines the importance of these places as sites for creating and preserving cultural heritage. Offering rich perspectives on a part of Europe which has not been the centre of discussion in the Anglophone world, this volume will be of value to a wide readership, including cultural historians, museum practitioners, policy-makers and scholars of heritage, ethnology and folkloristics. Contents List of Figures List of Contributors Series Preface Series Acknowledgements Acknowledgements 1 Introduction: Performing Nordic Heritage – Institutional Preservation and Popular Practices • Peter Aronsson and Lizette Gradén 2 Walking Nordic: Performing Space, Place and Identity • Susanne Österlund-Pötzsch 3 ‘Something in the Air’: Performing the North within Norden • Katla Kjartansdóttir and Kristinn Schram 4 A Windmill and a Vikinghjem: The Importance of Visual Icons as Heritage Tropes among Danish-Americans • Hanne Pico Larsen 5 Negotiating Local, National and Nordic Identities through Commemorations • Torbjörn Eng and Ingemar Lindaräng 6 Banal Nordism: Recomposing an Old Song of Peace • Stuart Burch 7 ‘Nordic’ as Border Country Rhetoric: Danish versus German in South Jutland Museums and Memorial Culture • Olav Christensen 8 Performing Nordic Spaces in American Museums: Gift Exchange, Volunteerism and Curatorial Practice • Lizette Gradén 9 The Geopolitics of Distinction: Negotiating Regional Spaces in the Baltic Museums • Eglė Rindzevičiūtė 10 Sweden versus Norden in the Nordiska Museet • Magdalena Hillström 11 Performing the Nordic in Museums: Changing Ideas of Norden and their Political Implications • Peter Aronsson 12 Conclusion: Performing Nordic Spaces in Everyday Life and Museums • Peter Aronsson and Lizette Gradén Index Introduction: Performing Nordic Heritage : Institutional Preservation and Popular Practices / Peter Aronsson & Lizette Gradén Walking Nordic : Performing Space, Place and Identity / Susanne Österlund-Pötzsch "Something in the Air" : Performing the North within Norden / Katla Kjartansdóttir and Kristinn Schram A Windmill and a Vikinghjem : The Importance of Visual Icons as Heritage Tropes among Danish-Americans / Hanne Pico Larsen Negotiating Local, National and Nordic Identities through Commemorations / Ingemar Lindaräng & Torbjörn Eng Banal Nordism : Recomposing an Old Song of Peace / Stuart Burch "Nordic" as Border Country Rhetoric : Danish versus German in South Jutland Museums and Memorial Culture / Olav Christensen Performing Nordic Spaces in Scandinavian-American Museums : Gift-exchange, Volunteerism, and Curatorial Practice / Lizette Gradén The Geopolitics of Distinction : Negotiating Regional Spaces in the Baltic Museums / Eglė Rindzevičiūtė Sweden versus Norden in Nordiska museet / Magdalena Hillström Performing the Nordic in Museums : Changing Ideas of Norden and their Political Implications / Peter Aronsson Conclusion: Performing Nordic Spaces in Everyday Life and Museums / Peter Aronsson & Lizette Gradén.