Month: September 2016

Into the Silence: The Nordic World as Encapsulated in Skaldic Poetry

By Johanna Weissing University of Wisconsin–Madison Words, after speech, reach Into the silence. Only by the form, the pattern, Can words or music reach The stillness, as a Chinese jar still  Moves perpetually in its stillness.1 In any attempt to study and understand a culture, one must take into account the material and artistic products …

Old Norse Women of Inspiration

By Linnea Rock University of Wisconsin–Madison From before the days of written history, women have endured societal hardships, as in most situations they were deemed subordinate. Thankfully there have been many examples of great women who have found ways to assert themselves in a male-dominated world, a contingency of which had taken root in medieval Scandinavia. …

Dangerous Women, or Obedient Vessels?

By Linnea Rock University of Wisconsin–Madison Amidst the entirety of entertainment available and loved today, it is relieving to discover thought-provoking content occasionally exists. Using modern forms of entertainment is a great way to criticize social norms and to inform others about different ideas. This makes it possible for one’s ideas to reach a wide …

Iceland’s Economic (In)stability

By Thomas Malcolm University of Wisconsin–Madison Iceland has an incredibly spotty history in regard to its economy. After Iceland’s latest economic crash of 2008, its name actually began to be associated with crisis and economic disaster.1 This notion, however, is more appropriate than one may come to believe from the crash of 2008 alone. For …

Features of Nineteenth-Century Swedish Agriculture and their Demographic Impact

By Benjamin Groth University of Wisconsin–Madison The mid-nineteenth century was, in many ways, a period of pronounced transition in Sweden’s history and bore multifarious paradigm shifts in almost every facet of Swedish society. Of particular note are demographic and infrastructural development; Sweden, like much of Europe at this time, underwent industrialization and institutional reform, though …

Continually Striving for Sexual Equality in Denmark

By Cori Garrett University of Wisconsin–Madison Scandinavian countries have been global leaders in the race for social equality during the past two and half centuries, through the establishment of universal suffrage for women and the beginning of wage equality in Scandinavia prior to World War II. The granting of equality for women, the largest minority …