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A Passion for Boundaries

Reflections on Connections Between the Everyday Lives of Children and Discourses on the Nation in Contemporary Norway

Norwegian Centre for Child Research, Norway

Based on ethnographic work in Norway, this article places children and childhood at the heart of contemporary theories about nationalism and national identification. Modern ideas about the nation can be characterized by an emphasis on outer boundaries, in contrast to politics organized around dynastic or religious centers with varying spheres of influence and diffuse external boundaries. The tendency to focus on boundaries seems to be generally reinforced in the present stage of capitalist modernity. The contention of the article is that as a result of the interplay between inherited values and dramatic social changes, contemporary Norwegians put questions of units and boundaries into the foreground with particular force. Boundaries are important in everyday life, in the popular media and in political discussions - most notably current debates about raising children and the recent debates about the European Union. For example, there is an interesting parallel between the little sign in the baby's buggy saying `do not touch' and the Norwegian `no' to the European Union.

Key Words: European Union • everyday life • nationalism • Norway • 17 May celebrations

Childhood, Vol. 4, No. 1, 19-42 (1997)
DOI: 10.1177/0907568297004001002


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