National Literature, Collective Identity and Political Power Published in Comparative Social Research (2003), Volume 21, 111-145 Fredrik Engelstad, University of Oslo/Institute for Social Research
[email protected] Department of Sociology and 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 NATIONAL LITERATlJRE, COLLECTIVE IDENTITY AND POLITICAL POWER Fredrik Engelstad ABSTRACT The significance ofliterature in nation-building in two "second generation" nations, Germany and Norway, is discussed. In both countries a specific national literature was constituted parallel to the political institutions during the latter halfofthe 19th century. Yet there are clear differences in political effects in the two cases. In Norway, the struggle for national independence up to 1905 entailed a significant democratization ofsociety. Germany, in the wake of the revolution of 1848, developed into a politically authoritarian regime.fully established under Prussian leadership in 1871. These processes are mirrored in the position ofliterature. In Norway, where artistic traditions were absent, the national literature was a product of the 19th century, and emerged in close connection to ongoing political debates. In Germany, the Weimar heritage had gained classical status during the 1850s. Thus, the problem was foremost that ofredefining the spiritual heritage to fit the history of the German Reich. A related difference is found in the diffusion ofliterature through its most important channel- the school system. Norway developed a modern, uniform school, where the nation's new literature was accorded a central place. In Germany, a more class-based school system was cemented, and the idea of diffusing the cultural heritage to the population at large held a weak position.