Nordic education, culture and media:

Nordic culture, education and media

As well as content on culture, education and media, you will also find articles on art, literature, belief systems and public policy. Phenomena as diverse as Nordic noir, new Nordic cuisine and Nordic design have achieved global recognition more recently, as Nordic literature and architecture have done historically. Culture is taken in its broadest sense, including for example political culture and that of belief systems, such as the Lutheran church. Content about all these issues and more will be found on this page.

Finnish theater director Vivica Bandler pictured in Huvilakatu, Helsinki, Finland, July 1997. Photo: MM (CC BY-SA 4.0).

2019.03.31 | Biography, Joachim Mickwitz, Pietari Kaapa, The arts

Vivica Bandler (1917-2004)

Finnish theatre director Vivica Bandler’s work reflects her innovative and candid directorial style.

There has been an increase in Danish churches opening their doors to non-Danes and non-Christians generally and specifically through intercultural activities. Photo: Brian Dreyer, Colourbox.

2019.03.29 | Article, Laura Bjørg Serup Petersen, Belief systems, Multiculturalism, Research

Intercultural encounters in the Danish church in 2010s

The church as a social caretaker became less common throughout the 20th century as the Nordic welfare state increasingly took over this task. Churches which engage in social activities are arguably reclaiming this role, such as the increasing number of churches in the Danish People’s Church engaging in intercultural activities. These local…

2019.03.29 | Film, Jaakko Seppälä, Media, Nordic Noír, Research

Style and meaning in Nordic Noir: Reimagining the welfare states

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

Hunt for pilot whales at Torshavn, Faroe Islands. Photo: Flickr, Bjarne Stoklund (1961), The National Museum of Denmark (CC BY-SA 2.0)

2019.03.27 | The Quick Read, Thomas Hylland Eriksen, Culture

Whaling by Nordic countries

Iceland, Norway and the Faroe Islands are among the few countries in the world that still permit limited whaling.

Two Norwegian 'hytter' during the summer months. Photo: Colourbox.com/Evannovostro

2019.03.26 | The Quick Read, Thomas Hylland Eriksen, Culture

Second homes in the Nordics

Second homes are used as holiday and weekend getaways in the Nordic countries by many people, not just the elite, probably due to widespread prosperity and an abundance of space.

The SIPRI Year Book is the main publication of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. It is published every year accounting for armaments, military spending and conflicts internationally. Photo: Courtesy of SIPRI.

2019.03.26 | The Quick Read, Thomas Hylland Eriksen, Education

Peace studies in the Nordics

A number of peace research institutes emerged in the Nordics from around 1960. They were initially seen as politically radical and interdisciplinary with a focus on the applied rather than the academic side of peace studies. Since them, they have become more part of the establishment, advising governments and producing staff skilled in peace…

'Smoking forbidden' sign in Swedish. Public areas where people can smoke freely have been on the retreat since the 1980s. Photo: Colourbox.com/Giovanni

2019.03.25 | The Quick Read, Thomas Hylland Eriksen, Culture

Smoking in the Nordic countries

Even before Norway banned smoking in public arenas in 2004 and the other Nordic countries followed suit, the percentage of the population who smoke has been diminishing and continues to do so, although Swedish snuff (snus) can be chosen as an alternative.