UW Press: Migration and Multiculturalism in Scandinavia

Migration and Multiculturalism in Scandinavia
Edited by Eric Einhorn, Sherrill Harbison, and Markus Huss

“Offers an abundance of comparative perspectives on the cultural politics of national identity and belonging. With contributions from an impressive range of disciplines and approaches, it will be an enlightening resource for scholars, teachers, and students of contemporary Scandinavian and European studies.”
—Dean Krouk, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Scandinavian societies have historically, and problematically, been understood as homogenous, when in fact they have a long history of ethnic and cultural pluralism due to colonialism and territorial conquest. After World War II, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway all became destinations for an increasingly diverse stream of migrants and asylum seekers from war-torn countries around the globe, culminating in the 2015—16 “refugee crisis.” This multidisciplinary volume opens with an overview of how the three countries’ current immigration policies developed and evolved, then expands to address how we might understand the current contexts and the social realities of immigration and diversity on the ground.

Drawing from personal experiences and theoretical perspectives in such varied fields as sociology, political science, literature, and media studies, nineteen scholars assess recent shifts in Scandinavian societies and how they intertwine with broader transformations in Europe and beyond. Chapters explore a variety of topics, including themes of belonging and identity in Norway, the experiences and activism of the Nordic countries’ Indigenous populations, and parallels between the racist far-right resurgence in Sweden and the United States. Amid global tensions around border security and refugee crises, these powerful conversations about the past, present, and future of a Scandinavia in transition capture the current cultural moment.

Eric Einhorn is a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Sherrill Harbison is a senior lecturer emerita at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she was director of Scandinavian studies for twelve years. Markus Huss is an assistant professor of German in the Department of Slavic and Baltic Studies, Finnish, Dutch, and German at Stockholm University.

“This concise book effectively contributes to a more profound understanding of multicultural elements in Scandinavia. The volume brings together researchers from a variety of fields. The book is intrinsically interdisciplinary.”
—Nordic Journal of Migration Research

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