Northbound - by Karen Klitgaard Povlsen Hardcover

About the Book

In this book a group of 16 scholars from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Greenland, Finland, Germany and the USA explore the changes that had taken place in the conception of the North during the 18th century, changes that were a symptom of an ambivalent understanding of the North vis--vis the South. From antiquity to Montesquieu, the North could be considered a Dystopia and a Utopia - a barbaric margin of Europe, but also an area of freedom, natural strength, and robust women who were any man's equal.

Book Synopsis

Stereotypes of the North are not only recent constructions of the Nordic welfare state, the Nordic model of gender equality, or even the Danish 'flexicurity' system. During the 16th and 17th centuries stereotypes developed slowly from the antique tradition of Imagio Borealis to a general European conception of a dark and barbaric North. In this regard the 18th century represents a turning point, which is the focus of this anthology. During the 18th century travelling increased at a fast rate in Europe. Wealthy young men left home for their 'grand educational tour' towards the South, first and foremost to Italy, particularly Rome. In addition, there was considerable growth in the number of travellers from the South towards the North, and as the 18th-century traveller was a man of the pen, we thus can encounter a number of travelogues written about real or imagined experiences and constructions of the North. In the present volume, eighteen researchers in Nordic literature and culture present their analyses of the foregoing literature. This book is a contribution to International Scandinavian Studies and is aimed at undergraduate and postgraduate students inside and outside the North.