University of Helsinki

This presentation is from a transdisciplinary research workshop entitled Nordic Noir, Geopolitics and the North held at Aarhus University in October 2018.

Fans redefine geopolitical and gender-based boundaries: Shame [Skam], is a hit teen drama series produced by the Public Broadcasting Service in Norway. It ran for four seasons from 2015 to 2017 and became a global phenomenon through an active online fan culture. Remakes abound elsewhere, but Russian teens access Skam largely through social media as it has not been on mainstream TV. The intensity and creativity of Russian fandom points to fans as creators who are able to defy societal and cultural boundaries, not only with respect to conventional teen topics, but also to political ones such as gay relationships and LGTBQ rights. Through the series Oslo is branded as a well-functioning and beautiful city.

Open government is intended to ensure transparency, accountability and openness and involves fundamental issues such as press freedom, public disclosure and freedom of information legislation, all key aspects of the administration of Nordic states. These states were amongst the earliest to introduce lauded measures of open government, such as the ombudsman, and are successful in maintaining their tradition of open governance. However, they can still be criticised in some respects, such as, for closed, unrecorded parliamentary committees. Additionally, they, like other countries, have to navigate the balance between openness and protecting personal data, as well as dealing with the challenges of technology in today’s global information society.

National museums in the Nordics retain an important role in the creation and maintenance of a particular view of a country, its people and often its place within the Nordics. This view is presented to both outsiders and the people themselves. In 1800s, Nordic thinkers and museums influenced the inception of national museums elsewhere at a time when ‘nationing’ narratives was at its height. Whilst perhaps no less important today, these narratives of particular nations are not static and are interpreted dynamically and in various ways and exhibitions. Importantly, museums generally have developed a greater emphasis on and engagement with minority groups, didactics and community outreach (the Nordics being pioneers of the open air folk museum), and issues relevant to a post-industrial society.

This presentation is from a transdisciplinary research workshop entitled Nordic Noir, Geopolitics and the North held at Aarhus University in October 2018.