Contextualizing past heroes

The dilemma of negotiating the postcolonial legacy in Norway

Datos Bibliográficos

ID6423484
AutoresM Andersson (0000-0001-5062-3992, University of Oslo), Kjell Erling Kjellman (University of Oslo)
Año2025
Volumen12
Número3
Páginas248-267
Fecha de publicación2025-09-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaEuropean Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2325-4815 • E-ISSN: 2325-4823
EditorialTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1162/ecps.a.6
OpenAlexW4414596296
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas26

This article analyses the reactions of antiracist activists to public debates about memorials following the Black Lives Matter demonstrations in 2020. Based on 47 in-depth interviews with Norwegian antiracist activists, we examine three debates about memorials in two Norwegian cities. Theoretically, the concepts of connected histories and reflexive transnationalization inform our analysis, supplemented by a discussion of the relationship between European colonialism and the Nordic context. Our analysis suggests that Norwegian antiracists are ambivalent regarding these highly mediatized debates over memorials. While they believe that such debates are important in challenging portrayals of Norwegian history, they also fear that a focus on symbolic politics may damage antiracist efforts. We conclude by suggesting how an existing national self-understanding of innocence is challenged and better understood through an examination of the intersection between connected histories and existing national narratives

Memory, Trauma, and Commemoration