Nordic Regions of Culture: Norway and Shetland - intercultural links, regionalisation and communities of narrative after 1770

Historical, political and socio-cultural change all play an important part in the development of cultural identities and their representation and transformation within the language, literature and historical narratives of a cultural region. This Phd thesis suggests a re-definition of the broad research area referred to as Scandinavian Studies, through the conception of trans-national Nordic `regions of culture¿. This is where both similar and disparate cultural identities are negotiated ¿ often across national or linguistic borders. The main focus of my research is a case study of the continuity of Shetland¿s intercultural links with Scandinavia (Norway, in particular) after 1770 as recorded through both historical and literary cultural texts and practices.

The study will contribute to both interdisciplinary European Area Studies and Scandinavian Studies alike, by contextualising existing national historiographies within post-colonial dynamics and trans-national approaches. It will also contribute to area and regional studies of Northern Europe, by integrating previously excluded areas into the arena of Scandinavian Studies and suggesting a wider understanding of the `Nordic region¿ of cultural interaction and intercultural landscapes.