Swedish mentality / Åke Daun ; translated by Jan Teeland ; foreword by David Cooperman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Daun, Åke, 1936- author.

Contributor:

Teeland, Jan, translator.

Cooperman, David, writer of foreword.

Standardized Title:

Svensk mentalitet. English

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

National characteristics, Swedish.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (249 pages)

Place of Publication:

University Park, Pennsylvania : Pennsylvania State University Press, [1989]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Is there a distinctly Swedish national character? Are Swedes truly shy, unemotional, conflict-avoiding, melancholy, and dour? Swedish Mentality, the English translation of the hugely successful book published in Sweden in 1989, considers the reality behind the myth. The author, Åke Daun, is a respected ethnologist who is sometimes referred to as the ";guru"; of Swedish character. In recent years, it has become popular to discuss Swedishness and Swedish identity. The advent of the European Union and the increasing presence of immigrant refugees in Sweden have fueled public debate on the distinctiveness of Swedish culture. Daun, however, goes beyond stereotype, drawing upon statistics gathered over more than a decade of research. The result is an entertaining and engagingly written book. Throughout, Daun "es from interviews with native Swedes and immigrants as well as from travel accounts, folklore, and proverbs. We learn why some Swedes might prefer to walk up a flight of stairs rather than share an elevator with a neighbor and why some gain satisfaction from walking alone in the woods or going fishing. Daun describes a range of factors influencing Swedish character, including population composition, rural background, and even climate. He recognizes behavioral variations related to gender, age, class, and region, and he considers subtleties of individual character as well.Swedish Mentality should interest a wide array of readers, whether of Swedish descent or not.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

Culture

Personality

Relation

Feelings

Rationality

Melancholy

Proverbs and Mentality

The Swedishness Within

The History of Swedishness

Appendix: Two Fundamental Historical Preconditions

References

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [217]-228) and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780271071916

0271071915

OCLC:

925522407