Historiological Notes

Good Election!

Flags are waving in the wind today. It is election for the Norwegian (and the Sami) Parliament today and an official day of celebration. I have not really thought of it as a day of celebration before. However, as I came to the polling station less than half an hour after opening this morning I was met by smiling faces from people who had already done their duty. Outside the entrance of the polling station had a few of the parties gathered for a last attempt to gain further votes. As I passed them - I had already made up my mind - I was greeted with a "Good Election!"

After giving my vote I felt quite pleased. I felt I had done my civil duty, and I actually thought that I am happy to be in a country with democratic rights and the free elections. This thought might have been encouraged by information on the forthcoming election in Afghanistan which I heard on the news this morning. But it really is a good thing.

Every vote counts this year. It is a close race and it is uncertain whether the red-green coalition or the conservative coalition will win. I hope this uncertainty will make more people vote.

The polling stations are open until eight o'clock this evening. Good Election!

Elite Schools

Anders Jacobsen has an interesting post the problem of gifted pupils in Norwegian schools: On daring to be different in Norway. I did not know that a school in Drammen was going to start a class for gifted pupils, but I can imagine the controvercy it makes.

I think it is difficult for non-Norgewians to understand the extreme equality rules that exists in Norway. Social democracy is good, but "Janteloven" is bad. Norwegian schools are very good for children with learning difficulties, but terribly boring for clever children. Everyone is suppose to get a certain level of knowledge, but nothing is done to encourage to learn more than that.

Anders post explains this in more depth.

The History of Norway as a Peace Nation

forskning.no (Norwegian only)writes that the University of Oslo is starting a research project on "The Norwegian Idea of Peace" ("Den norske fredstanken"). It is a project by the department of contmporary history and the questions raised are how Norway has developed the idea of being a "peace nation" and how that links to Norwegian foreign policy.

The researches interviewed talk of "Norway - The Peace Nation " as a brad that the Norwegian people are proud to be represented by internationally. I think they are right that Norwegians are proud of Norwegian peace negotiators just as they are proud of any other Norwegians that make some fame abroad. (Why not mention Kurt, the Norwegian winner of Pop Idol now being getting famous in Germany?). However, they seem to believe to much in this brand. My experience is that internationally not even well educated people know much about Norway and that fjord and vikings are still more a Norwegian trademark than our peace negotiators.

International Women's Day

Congratulations to all women out there!

I have noticed that noone here in St Andrews say "Happy Women's Day!" or something similar. Perhaps it is not a British thing to do. However, in Noway I have usually been congratulated (mostly by other women, though). When I read the online papers today, the Norwegian papers are more concerned with the International Women's Day than the British ones.

Jill Walker at Jill/txt mention that she has been congratulated today and links to the history of the International Women's Day.

Feminism has developed a lot since 1900. Both because some goals have been reached and because society in general has developed. Buffy-feminism would not have been possible a hundred years ago. I do not mind different approaches to feminism, but I am a bit concerned with the development of feminism as it seems to be of no importance for young girls today. But I hope they will prove me wrong.

Update 09.03.2004: I got two congratulations yesterday. Both from Norwegians. In addition I got a "Happy International Women's Day to you then" from a British woman when I asked if it was not celebrated here. The debate on women's issues continue in Norwegian papers today, and many of them seems to emphasize that a Men's day is needed to give support to men that take care of their children or are in "women's jobs".

Buffy-feminism

Lucy Ward has an article in today's Guardian; Send in Buffy to save lost girls - Ofsted chief. The idea is that media role models can bridge gender gap. Buffy is seen as a good female role model which shall prepare girls for other the female jobs and stop teenage pregnancy.

Both Ms Ward and the chief inspector of schools, David Bell, seems to be under the impression that it is girls that is the problem and that Buffy-feminism will make better comming female leaders. Girls do better in schools than boys, so they question why this cannot be seen in working life.

However, they seem to forget about the boys. Are they not affected by gender differences? And do they not play a part in the teenage pregnacies? From my point of view it seems wrong to encourage female violence instead of encourage male pasificim. I have nothing against Buffy and I believe it is good with strong women in film and TV, but this should not be the only way media can influence role models. There is a need for positive male role models too. Someone that perhaps would encourage boys to do better at school.

As this article mentions there have always been much research devoted to identify how to help the 'bad-lads'. Now there is a need to help the girls to a career. But why should there be a division where the educational system care for the boys and media care for the girls. We need good role models of both sex in the media and a educational system that has resourses for all. Perhaps it is too much to dream for.

Demonstrating students

St Andrews is usually a very quiet town, and compared to other universities I know, the students are not very politically active. There are few poster and few demonstrations. It seems as this little town is satisfied with being outside of the real world. There was little action last year as the rest of the world demonstrated against the intervention in Iraq and the British top-up fee debate seems to have pased almost un-noticed.

However, at the moment I have shouting demonstrations outside my window. They are not many, perhaps 100, but it looks like a proper demonstration with banners, flyers and slogans. The police have even decided to bring to men (this might just say how quiet St Andrews is).

The reason for this demonstration is a rise in accomodation fees from next year. We have been told that some of the halls of residence may have their rent increased with 49%. However, later information have been that they will not be allowed all of the increase at once, and that it will be increased every year from now on instead. The university has subsidiced accomodation for the last years, but have now decided they can no longer afford this. The prices will now, within a few years time, be raised to the level of other British universites. The final desicion on how much an increase is made today.

I would have been surprised if there had not been a student action against the increased rent, but it seem there has to be a cause that affect the students personally before they take action. Perhaps we become a bit self-centered by living in this small town on the east coast of Scotland.

Different world view

I live amongst academics of many different nationalities. Usually this is not something we notice at all. Food is usually the only cultural difference we discuss and I suppose preferences in food is as much a personal thing.

This morning however, the discussion turned to the capturing of Saddam Hussain. This was a topic everyone had an opinion on. Everyone agreed that it was a relief that he finally had been found, but that was it. One person thought he should have commited suicide when found because he then would have kept some dignity, one thought he needed no respect at all, one thought it was important that the humiliating pictures of him being physically examined were important to show the Iraqi people that the Americans really had got him, and one wanted him executed.

My point of view is that it is important to treat him humanely, following international law. No matter what he has done, his captures should not sinc to a low level an mis-treating him or killing him. I hope this will stabilise the situation in Iraq over time.

Perhaps is my point of view naïve. Norway has been a peacful country in my lifetime and I have not felt any fear in my time in Britain either. I do not have a Muslim background, I have not experienced what it was like to liver in the Soviet Union, I have not lived with the daily killings in Northern Ireland or the post-9/11 fear in the States. I do not have any build-up hatred, and cannot really imagine what it is like.

History is often written by the winning side. I have always thought this is a problem, but I think I was reminded today how much of a problem it really is. There are so much feelings in matters like this.

Politicians and history II

The Guardian's Linda Colley writes in The past is a foreign country that Mr Blair does not really understand history:

For Blair, the past is irrelevant, because this is a new world facing entirely new dangers.

And unfortunately, according to The Telegraph the attitude of Charles Clarke, Education Secretary, is to give less funding to "soft subjects" like medieval history. I suppose this means that the future politicians will have even less knowledge of the past...

Politicians and history

In Evil tyrant, black lies, dodgy dossiers. So what else is new? Phillip Howard writes in the Times that it seems that politicians do not learn from the past. He starts his article by stating that education politics today is more and more concerned with money and therefore encourages studies like management, but not history. Then he uses examples from ancient history to show that history repeat itself.

Will history forgive Bush and Blair?

Adam Fox writes on A long wait for forgiveness in today's Guardian. This is a comment upon Blair's statement in the US congress last week: 'History will forgive us', which I commented on Friday. Fox does not believe history forgives as easily now as before because history used to be written by the winners. I think this is an important point. Historians today are more critical to the past and would like to show a wide description of the past were pure winners do not really exist.