View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by NORA - Norwegian Open Research Archives The genesis of Norwegian sociology* – a story of failures and success Published in Sosiologisk Årbok 2006. 3-4 Gunn Elisabeth Birkelund, Universitetet i Oslo
[email protected] Department of Sociology & Human Geography University of Oslo P. O. Box 1096 Blindern N- 0317 OSLO Norway Telephone: + 47 22855257 Fax: + 47 22855253 Internet http://www.iss.uio.no/ Sosiologisk Årbok 2006.3–4 The genesis of Norwegian sociology * – a story of failures and success Gunn Elisabeth Birkelund Summary The institutionalisation of Norwegian sociology is an interesting history of failures and success, both personal and institutional. Given that we do not often take an interest in the history of our own discipline, busy as we usually are studying our contemporary society and developing our discipline, it might be of interest to take some time to reflect on our own past, on the forefathers and the legacy we inherited from them. By doing so we might get a better understanding of the present-day situation of Norwegian sociology. This essay addresses the genesis of the Norwegian sociology, covering the period from the early beginning of Norwegian sociology up to the phase of successful institutionalization of sociology as a discipline. We will briefly look at the most important forefather of Norwegian sociology, Eilert Sundt, before we proceed to the first attempts to institutionalise sociology, unsuccessfully. The most important names during this phase are Sigurd Ibsen and Arvid Brodersen. Then we will discuss the Næss group, the war-time network and the mythical history of the parachute jumper, and the so-called sea change after WWII, emphasising the important role of Arne Næss, Vilhelm Aubert, Stein Rokkan, Erik Rinde and Sverre Holm in establishing two institutions * This essay is an extended version of a talk I gave at the plenary session of the ISA’s RC28 conference in Oslo, 5-8 May 2005.