Between Utopia and Home Swedish radical travel writing 1947-1966 Edman, Agneta 2017 Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Edman, A. (2017). Between Utopia and Home: Swedish radical travel writing 1947-1966. 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LUND UNIVERSITY PO Box 117 221 00 Lund +46 46-222 00 00 STUDIA HISTORICA LUNDENSIA STUDIA HISTORICA LUNDENSIA Between Utopia and Home Travel accounts are considered windows to the unknown, ways to experience something new. Yet at the same time the accounts are oddly familiar, raising questions on how limited the genre is, on how much is brought along from ’home’ and how much we can learn about this ’home’ rather than the expected unknown. This is a study of anti-colonial travel accounts from different parts of the world outside Europe, loosely described as the ‘Third World’. They were written by radical and modernist intellectuals who left Sweden and Europe in order to report back on their experiences and impressions. These intellectuals offered descriptions of poverty, oppression, social injustice, and racism, but also of change, hope, and development. Many of the travel books they produced were soon considered EDMAN AGNETA significant in the radicalization process that unfolded in the post-war years and peaked at the end of the sixties. There are, however, instances where these critical and anti- Between Utopia and Home colonial travel books disclose complex ties to expressions of SWEDISH RADICAL TRAVEL WRITING 1947–1966 European privilege and power, of a colonial discourse. This becomes an area even more worthy of study given the Agneta Edman tendency in the post-war years among Swedish politicians to emphasize Sweden’s supposed ‘innocence’, having not partaken in the European scramble for the rest of the world. The objective of this book is therefore to describe the accounts’ relationship with a culture of colonialism, but also to recognize the anti-colonial critique and the attempts to picture a different future. STUDIA HISTORICA LUNDENSIA HISTORISKA INSTITUTIONEN ISBN 978-91-88473-49-3 27 BETWEEN UTOPIA AND HOME Between Utopia and Home Swedish radical travel writing 1947–1966 Agneta Edman STUDIA HISTORICA LUNDENSIA 27 Studia Historica Lundensia kan beställas via Lunds universitet: www.ht.lu.se/serie/shl E-post: [email protected] Omslag av Johan Laserna Sättning av Jonas Palm, Media-Tryck Copyright Agneta Edman Historiska institutionen, Lunds Universitet Studia Historica Lundensia 27 ISBN 978-91-88473-49-3 (tryck) ISBN 978-91-88473-50-9 (pdf) ISSN 1650-755X Tryckt i Sverige av Media-Tryck, Lunds Universitet, Lund 2017 Media-Tryck is an environmentally certifi ed and ISO 14001 certifi ed provider of printed material. Read more about our environmental work at www.mediatryck.lu.se Table of Contents Acknowledgements 7 1. Introduction 9 Theoretical and methodological framework 14 Historical context 31 Presentation 44 2. Visions of life, 1947–1965 47 Primitivism among Swedish intellectuals 48 Gender/sexuality 53 Life is elsewhere 63 Resistance 71 Concluding remarks 84 3. In search of time lost, 1949–1962 87 Writers and books 89 Gender/sexuality 91 The world orchestra 97 Resistance 112 Concluding remarks 130 4. Youth, truth, and a new world, 1960–1966 133 Writers and books 136 Gender/sexuality 139 Youth and a new world 153 Resistance 162 Concluding remarks 197 5. Summary and discussion 199 Eroticization 200 Idealization 202 Debasement 204 Classification, or the unravelling of time-knots 206 Critique, and critiques of critique 207 Summary in Swedish 211 Bibliography 219 Archives 219 Reference books 219 Travel literature 219 Secondary publications 220 Acknowledgements One recurring theme in this book is time, for all sorts of good reasons (it is, after all, a dissertation in history). A lot of it has passed since I wrote a paper on Göran Palm in literary history and my teacher professor Lisbeth Larsson told me that I perhaps did not have it in me to become a literary historian, but that the paper was original and interesting. I developed these ideas in a BA thesis at the Department of History in Lund, and one day in June 1996, Kim Salomon, professor of interna- tional history, gave me a call and suggested that I stay on and write a dissertation on the subject. Thank you Lisbeth and Kim for believing in this project, and in me. You changed everything. Apart from a couple of years in Lund, I have spent a significant part of my time as a PhD student at the European University Institute in San Domenico di Fiesole, at the Department of History and Civilization. I owe a great deal to Professor Luisa Passerini, my supervisor, whose intellectual bravery has been an inspiration. I would also like to thank Professor Bo Stråth for his generosity with ideas and support. My years at EUI were financed by Vetenskapsrådet. Thank you. And so another theme in this book, ‘life’, got in the way of my work. I did other things for quite some time, and I do not regret any of them for a moment. I am, however, grateful to Kim Salomon for welcoming me back and giving me a new chance to finish this project. Professor Lars Edgren, my supervisor, and Professor Ulf Zander have since taken me under their wings and both have contributed sig- nificantly to the renewal of my project. Thank you Lars for pushing me, for posing the right questions. Pegasus is there, only for you! And Ulf, from a fellow PhD student to a professor, you have been, are, and always will be the best reader. Thank you for pointing out which darlings to kill and which to develop, much for the bet- ter. Thank you also to Mikela Lundahl of the Department of Global Studies at University of Gothenburg who spent time and effort helping me develop this project by acting as the opponent at my final seminar. Professors aside, there are many former colleagues I would like to thank for their input, ideas, laughter, and support. Kim Salomon’s international history seminar was a great constellation in time and space. I would particularly like to mention Lina Sturfelt, Marie Cronqvist, Rouzbeh Parsi, Stefan Nordqvist, and Andreas Linderoth. Lina especially has remained a good friend, along with Markus. Thank you dearly, 7 Acknowledgements says Samwise. Others I would like to mention are Charlotte Tornbjer, Lars M An- dersson, Rune Johansson, Maria Småberg, Irene Andersson, and Anna Jansdotter. Anna, who sadly is no longer with us, was a tower of strength who I could always turn to, and I will always miss her. From my time at EUI, I would like to thank Katarina Andersson, who took us to the best bars and made sure I had somewhere to live, and Lorand Bartels for friendship and/or wine. I would like to mention Ja- mes Kaye as well. He was always a great friend, and I miss him and his sense of adventure and beauty. Also, thank you Sara Kärrholm, Lena Malmborg, yet another friend and colleague who unfortunately is gone, Charlotta Johansson, and Håkan Arvidsson for our cooperation in the research project ‘Kalla krigets berättelser’, fi- nanced by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation and led by Kim Sa- lomon, Lisbeth Larsson, and Håkan. As I left academia for the publishing business, I have had the honour to work with fantastic people. Thank you Carina Markström, Carin Laurin, Ulf Wagner, Cecilia Kraitiss, Joanna Hintze, Sanna Lundberg, Lena Englund, Ingvild Christoffersen, Åsa Hoff, Ingrid Westman, and Anja Hellmark. I would also like to thank Tina Mattsson of the School of Social Work in Lund for reading the manuscript at an early stage and providing inspiration and support when it was sorely needed. You are truly the best. Other colleagues and friends in the business have not only kept me sane and laughing through tough times, they have helped me with practical matters as well: thank you Charlotte Merton for making me more English than I am, and thank you Johan Laserna for the beautiful cover design. Pas de pjoller, non? Getting closer to home, I would like to mention Mariana Andersson, who is my fellow traveller in life. We never faff around, we get to the point in less than ten seconds. Another fellow traveller is Martin Wiklund, once a colleague, now a close friend. Without him and his support, I never would have finished this book. I owe you so much. And Katarina Bohlin, who brings so much love, light, and laughter along with her. Thank you, dear! So, now I have reached the inner circle of my life. I would like to thank my dear parents, Kurt and Birgitta Edman, for their never-ending faith and support. And my darling sister, Gunilla Edman, for always being my soldier, always.