The roots of gender equality in Norway, Ibsen

I've been interested in the roots of Norway's leading role in the struggle for gender equality, especially as reflected in the work of Henrik Ibsen, and over lunch I asked May-Brith Öhman Nielsen, a 19th-20th century Scandinavian and European history specialist, her thoughts. She noted the importance of Camilla Collett (1813-1895), whose 1854 feminist novel, The District Governor's Daughters apparently had a profound impact on Ibsen. A large blow-up photo of her hangs in the Humanities Building. (Have I mentioned that I love this place?:)

But May-Brith also noted that the roots of Norway's commitment to an egalitarian society have much deeper roots. Given that there is so little arable land in the country and that the majority of Norwegians made a living by subsistence farming or fishing, there was little opportunity for a landed aristocracy (which depended on tiered social classes of aristocrats, merchants, serfs, etc.) to develop.

May-Brith's latest work is on the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918, and it looks like she and Bill will get together to discuss WWI and the possibility of giving additional lectures in American history.

Later in the afternoon, I had a delightful conversation with Michael Prince, the Americanist to whom I am indebted for bringing me here. He told me that the interest in American studies was particularly strong at the University, and urged me to develop a course of my choosing for the spring. I'll be teaching two next semester, a large lecture course in American studies and perhaps a course in the New Woman or something on the Harlem Renaissance.

I'm determined to finish up the Harlem Renaissance newspaper book, but, gads, it's like untangling 40 different kite strings. I've got files that refer to other files that refer to other files...

On the family side, we're struggling about what to do with Mark and soccer. The other kids on his team are really good, and Mark is a novice and feels increasingly frustrated. Even Walter, my loves-every-sport-on-the-planet kid, is feeling the pressure. When Norwegian kids aren't wearing their skis, they're wearing their "fotball" shoes.