Folk-life artefacts and open-air museums in Scandinavia in the late nineteenth century (original) (raw)

2007, NaMu II, National Museum Narratives. International research conference in Leicester, UK, 18–20 June 2007. Organised by Department of Museum Studies, University of Leicester; Theme Q Culture and Society, Linköping University; Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages, University of Oslo

Folk-life artefacts and open-air museums in Scandinavia in the late nineteenth century, this is the working title (2007) of my PhD thesis project. In my research work, I try to establish how and why people, their houses and everyday household goods were rearranged and redefined into folk-life artefacts worthy of preservation. Focusing on the construction of folk-life artefacts and the practice of open-air museums, I explore the scholarly views, art ideals and political debates of the late nineteenth century. I also inquire into how museum curators used folk-life artefacts as tools for educating the so-called masses in the cities, and as resources for the reformation of society. In 1898, Artur Hazelius, the founder of the Nordic Museum in Stockholm, Sweden, described one of the main purposes of his museal endeavour: ‘It became evident to me that one had to act promptly if one wanted to make use of the means of research that were still on offer in these old houses, which were torn down, or in these household goods, which were held in low regard, and in these national costumes, which were put away.’ My research extends to three major open-air museums in Scandinavia: the open-air museum of the Norwegian Folk Museum in Christiania, present-day Oslo (opened in 1902), the open-air museum of the Danish Folk Museum in Copenhagen (opened in 1897, relocated and reopened in 1901), and the open-air museum Skansen of the Nordic Museum in Stockholm (opened in 1891). To read more, please see the English summary of my doctoral dissertation ‘Hjärtats härdar. Folkliv, folkmuseer och minnesmärken i Skandinavien, 1808–1907’ (Hearths of the heart. Folk life, folk museums and historical memorials in Scandinavia, 1808–1907), published by Gidlunds förlag in 2012, which is available in the present website, Academia: https://www.academia.edu/39627813/