Captives of Narrative Scandinavian Museum Exhibits and Polar Ambitions
This article compares the histories of two museums of polar exploration, both founded in the 1930s but based on well-known expeditions dating back to the decades around 1900. The first is the Fram Museum in Oslo, centered around the famous Norwegian polar ship, the second is the Andrée Museum in Grä...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Linköping University Electronic Press
2010-12-01
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Series: | Culture Unbound: Journal of Current Cultural Research |
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3384/cu.2000.1525.10239719 |
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author | Anders Houltz |
author_facet | Anders Houltz |
author_sort | Anders Houltz |
collection | DOAJ |
description | This article compares the histories of two museums of polar exploration, both founded in the 1930s but based on well-known expeditions dating back to the decades around 1900. The first is the Fram Museum in Oslo, centered around the famous Norwegian polar ship, the second is the Andrée Museum in Gränna, com-bining accounts of the ill-fated balloon expedition with a polar centre reflecting more recent polar research activities. The aim of the article is to analyze the relationship between museum and narra-tive. Museums are shapers of narrative but at the same time shaped by the narra-tives they relate. The article explores the symbolic and medialized dimensions of polar research, expressed in museums, as well as the way in which museums in-terrelate with national identities and self-images. What does it mean to be a modern polar nation? And how is such an identity expressed in cultural terms? In which ways can museum institutions and exhibi-tions be used as means for such expressions? And how do “the grand narratives” of Sweden and Norway relate to the epic representations of polar activities, pre-sented by the museums? |
first_indexed | 2024-04-12T09:31:17Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-5a6c04abd4154087adf279d61f1d125c |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2000-1525 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-04-12T09:31:17Z |
publishDate | 2010-12-01 |
publisher | Linköping University Electronic Press |
record_format | Article |
series | Culture Unbound: Journal of Current Cultural Research |
spelling | doaj.art-5a6c04abd4154087adf279d61f1d125c2022-12-22T03:38:21ZengLinköping University Electronic PressCulture Unbound: Journal of Current Cultural Research2000-15252010-12-012719744Captives of Narrative Scandinavian Museum Exhibits and Polar AmbitionsAnders HoultzThis article compares the histories of two museums of polar exploration, both founded in the 1930s but based on well-known expeditions dating back to the decades around 1900. The first is the Fram Museum in Oslo, centered around the famous Norwegian polar ship, the second is the Andrée Museum in Gränna, com-bining accounts of the ill-fated balloon expedition with a polar centre reflecting more recent polar research activities. The aim of the article is to analyze the relationship between museum and narra-tive. Museums are shapers of narrative but at the same time shaped by the narra-tives they relate. The article explores the symbolic and medialized dimensions of polar research, expressed in museums, as well as the way in which museums in-terrelate with national identities and self-images. What does it mean to be a modern polar nation? And how is such an identity expressed in cultural terms? In which ways can museum institutions and exhibi-tions be used as means for such expressions? And how do “the grand narratives” of Sweden and Norway relate to the epic representations of polar activities, pre-sented by the museums?http://dx.doi.org/10.3384/cu.2000.1525.10239719Polar museumspolar historynarrativenationalismThe Andrée Expedition 1897The Fram Expedition 1893–96OsloGränna |
spellingShingle | Anders Houltz Captives of Narrative Scandinavian Museum Exhibits and Polar Ambitions Culture Unbound: Journal of Current Cultural Research Polar museums polar history narrative nationalism The Andrée Expedition 1897 The Fram Expedition 1893–96 Oslo Gränna |
title | Captives of Narrative Scandinavian Museum Exhibits and Polar Ambitions |
title_full | Captives of Narrative Scandinavian Museum Exhibits and Polar Ambitions |
title_fullStr | Captives of Narrative Scandinavian Museum Exhibits and Polar Ambitions |
title_full_unstemmed | Captives of Narrative Scandinavian Museum Exhibits and Polar Ambitions |
title_short | Captives of Narrative Scandinavian Museum Exhibits and Polar Ambitions |
title_sort | captives of narrative scandinavian museum exhibits and polar ambitions |
topic | Polar museums polar history narrative nationalism The Andrée Expedition 1897 The Fram Expedition 1893–96 Oslo Gränna |
url | http://dx.doi.org/10.3384/cu.2000.1525.10239719 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT andershoultz captivesofnarrativescandinavianmuseumexhibitsandpolarambitions |