Love, space-time, and language: a taste of Norwegian culture

by Alex Mellbye, MSc Sociology student at LSE I would daresay that one of the reasons people are drawn to sociology is an aim for self-understanding, at least, this is certainly my case. However, as all who do sociology are aware of, the self, or to put it a different way, identity, is always contextual. For me now, the context for my identity is nationality. After all, English is not my native language, I am not British, I have no family in London, yet here I am. A Viking descended from the cold hard north of Norway. Not for plunder or women (although neither would hurt), but for that vainglorious goal of study and knowledge. It is within this context then that I find myself reflecting on where I am from as opposed to where I am now – which is to say, by living in England I have become more aware and reflective of what it means to be a Norwegian. By writing this blog post I am therefore hoping and attempting to present a perhaps somewhat logically consistent sketch of what I at least would consider the core aspects of Norwegian culture.