Skip to main content

LUP Student Papers

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

The End of the World? Representations of Scandinavia in Nineteenth-Century Scottish Travel Literature

Ohlemann, Carlotta LU (2020) LIVR07 20192
Master's Programme: Literature - Culture - Media
Popular Abstract
This dissertation analyses the representations of Norway, Denmark and Sweden in Scottish travel literature towards the end of the Georgian Era. By comparing two travel accounts, I aim to identify both the authors’ approach to the Nordic countries as well as their reflections on their own national identity. The primary sources used are Henry David Inglis’ A Personal Narrative of a Journey through Norway, Part of Sweden and the Islands and States of Denmark (1826) and William Rae Wilson’s Travels in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Hanover, Germany, Netherlands &c. (1826). They were written in a politically, historically and culturally significant period that is defined by British imperialism and Romanticism. Therefore, this dissertation employs an... (More)
This dissertation analyses the representations of Norway, Denmark and Sweden in Scottish travel literature towards the end of the Georgian Era. By comparing two travel accounts, I aim to identify both the authors’ approach to the Nordic countries as well as their reflections on their own national identity. The primary sources used are Henry David Inglis’ A Personal Narrative of a Journey through Norway, Part of Sweden and the Islands and States of Denmark (1826) and William Rae Wilson’s Travels in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Hanover, Germany, Netherlands &c. (1826). They were written in a politically, historically and culturally significant period that is defined by British imperialism and Romanticism. Therefore, this dissertation employs an approach based on postcolonial research that examines the period’s image of Scandinavia as the periphery of Europe and inhabited by a variation of the ‘noble savage’ trope. From a British perspective, Scandinavia represents simplicity and primitivism while Britain is defined by modernity and progress. However, this dissertation’s focus on Scotland shows that the authors locate their own identity in connection with the British Empire and the Scandinavian North. Their constant discussion of Scotland suggests a distinct, if unstable, Scottish identity embedded into the general acceptance of the unification with England. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Ohlemann, Carlotta LU
supervisor
organization
course
LIVR07 20192
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Scandinavia, Scotland, travel literature, Georgian Era, postcolonialism, borealism, Scottish national identity, Great Britain, British Union
language
English
id
9024120
date added to LUP
2021-02-17 14:11:14
date last changed
2021-02-17 14:11:14
@misc{9024120,
  author       = {{Ohlemann, Carlotta}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The End of the World? Representations of Scandinavia in Nineteenth-Century Scottish Travel Literature}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}