Eidsvik, Erlend. 2013. Spaces of Scandinavian Encounters in Colonial South Africa: Reconfiguring Colonial Discourses.

摘要

The thesis is a critical analysis of the Nordic self-image in the context of colonialism in South Africa. The objectives of the thesis are well conceived and promise an innovative and original contribution to the literature on colonialism in South Africa. It is based on original research and contains new empirical material on the role of Norwegian emigrants in the colonial spaces of South Africa. Specifically, the thesis aims to question Scandinavian, especially Norwegian, complicity and participation in colonial activities and discourses in South Africa, despite the Scandinavian countries not being colonial powers in the region. The two case studies focus on activities between 1850 and 1950: the first concerns the Thesen family, who became prominent business people in the Western Cape; the second explores the attempt to construct pan-Scandinavianism in the expatriate magazine Fram. The thesis poses one overarching question: How are spaces of Scandinavian encounters in the colonial arena in South Africa constructed and articulated? The question is answered through qualitative research in South Africa and Norway.