Review Essay : Establishing a Discipline: The Impact of Society on the Development of Icelandic Sociology

Abstract

The economic, social and cultural transformation of Icelandic society in the 20th century has had a profound impact on the development of Icelandic sociology Sociologists have focused on social conditions, both in terms of historic and emerging social processes and in the vanous social and cultural problems associated with the development of Icelandic society. The surprising diversity found within the small Icelandic sociological community suggests that the fragmentation of sociology on the international level does not stem from the growing number of sociologists, but reflects the multiparadigmatic nature of the sociological discipline Icelandic sociologists tend to work in dialogue with practitioners and enthusiasts in their field of study, researchers from other disciplines working in the same area and, on the international level, within specific sociological research paradigms Moreover, they have had close contacts with the general public through the popular media, which has in turn made sociology highly visible and recognized in the wider society. As Icelandic sociology matures, we expect to see a stronger theoretical emphasis and a shift towards more longitudinal and comparative research.

Should I stay or should I go? Migration expectations among youth in Icelandic fishing and farming communities

“…The industrialization of the fisheries in the 20th century sparked the economic, political and cultural transformation of Icelandic society that supported rapid population growth and led to massive internal migration from the countryside to mushrooming fishing villages around the coast (Baldursson, 1987;Gunnlaugsson and Bjarnason, 1994;Jonsson, 2004). The growth of Reykjavı´k and the surrounding capital area was initially fuelled by the expanding fishing industry, but in the latter half of the 20th century service industries came to dominate the capital area (Jonsson, 2004).…”

Scandinavian Rational Choice Sociology

“…In the post-war era, Scandinavian sociology indeed thought of itself as an applied social science in the service of the ruling democratic governments. Alva Myrdal serves as a sort of emblem of this mentality (Ekerwald, 2000), and it seems that Icelandic sociology of today still tends toward this mentality (see Gunnlaugsson and Bjarnason, 1994). In all Scandinavian countries, except perhaps Denmark, we find a widespread image of the sociologist as an expert on current policy issues.…”

“…Icelandic sociology was established in the early 1970s at the University of Iceland and, from the start, Icelandic sociology focused on describing and trying to solve social problems, without much analytical or explanatory ambition (see the overview by Gunnlaugsson and Bjarnason, 1994). Despite the fact that graduate students have to get their education abroad (mainly in the UK, US, or the other Scandinavian countries), so far no specific theoretical approach seems to have had any lasting influence on Icelandic sociology.…”

“…Evidently, then, rational choice theory hardly sets the agenda for most Scandinavian sociologists. This is underscored by recent overviews of sociology in the Scandinavian countries, in which rational choice is barely mentioned (see Dahlström, 1994;Gunnlaugsson and Bjarnason, 1994;Alapuro, 1995;Engelstad, 1996). Nevertheless, it seems that rational choice as a phenomenon provokes a lot of feelings, and almost every sociologist has an opinion about the approach, and such opinions may not infrequently be patronizing, dismissive, or hostile.…”