The Nordic Labour History Network’s webinar program for the spring 2021 is now released. It’s a part of the organizations effort to create a new virtual space for labour history.
During the spring the Nordic Labour History Network (NLHN) will organize a series of digital seminars on labour history. The premiere was on 9 February when 25 researchers attended Klas Rönnbäck’s presentation on his on-going academic work on wage labour i Sub-Saharan Africa, 1600-1900.
The next event is on 30 March when Håkan Blomqvist presents his book on the history of the Jewish Bund in Sweden. He will also talk about his findings from the YIVO archives (The Institute for Jewish Research).
Other seminars are Erik Bengtsson’s lecture which nuances the image of Sweden as an ideal of equality; Risto Turunen’s exposition of the evolution of political language in Finnish socialism; and Erla Hulda Halldórsdóttir’s and Ragnheiður Kristjánsdóttir’s lecture on a century of Icelandic women workers. In two panel debates, researchers will discuss the future orientation of Nordic labor history and the decolonization of labour history.
New virtual arena
Following the rapid digitalisation of the academic conversation in the wake of the coronavirus, NLHN decided to create a virtual arena for discussions between researchers and activists in the Nordic countries. The online events ranges from lectures and panel debates to workshops where researchers discuss working documents with invited commentators.
By creating a virtual meeting place, the network also wants to bring together scholars in and outside the Nordic countries. To broaden the labour history field of research is to address development in different parts of the world and to engage in discussions both in and outside the Nordic countries.
— The situation with covid-19 has prevented many of us from conducting archival and empirical studies, aswell as meeting colleagues. Fortunately the situation has also shown how much we can gain through the online format. It creates great opportunities to develop our perspectives, methods and subject areas within the framework of our Nordic network, Nine Trige Andersen says. She is a labour historian working with NLHN for the Society for Labour History in Denmark.
Silke Neunsinger, head of research at the Swedish labour movement’s archives and library, is also pleased with the NLHN initiative.
— Our goal is to start a discussion within the Nordic region on how to develop research together, she says.
Collaboration since the 1970s
The Nordic Labour History Network was founded in March 2017. It was a formalization of a collaboration which had been ongoing since the early 1970s between Nordic labour historians and those interested in Nordic labour history.
The NLHN seminars are in English. They are free and open to all, but require registration. A couple of days before the event you will get an e-mail with a zoom-link. If you have questions or want to tip about interesting subjects or lecturers, please send an e-mail to silke.neunsinger[a]arbark.se.