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标题：A Mirror Image of Sigmund Skard? Paul Knaplund and the Role of the Historian between European and American Cultures
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作者：Richard Cole
期刊名称：European Journal of American Studies
电子版ISSN：1991-9336
出版年度：2008
期号：1
出版社：European Association for American Studies
摘要：Paul Knaplund (1885-1962), long -time Professor of History and Chair at the University of Wisconsin, was one of the great and famous scholars of the British Empire. Yet, a significant amount of his time and energy as a scholar was devoted to historical issues in Norway and to Scandinavian immigrant culture in the US Midwest. This article consider’s Knaplund’s Norwegian background and his role as cultural intermediary between Norway and the United States. Knaplund was not alone in this endeavour. During his tenure at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW), the school became one of the main centers in the United States for Scandinavian Studies. Einar Haugen’s (1906-1984) work teaching Norwegian language courses left a lasting imprint on the curriculum at UW. Merle Curti (1897-1987) not only dominated the study of American literature in the United States but also had a strong interest in immigrant literature and its value around the world. The work of these men, who had direct contact with Norwegian Studies, was in some ways a scholarly mirror image of Sigmund Skard (1903-1995), the famous Norwegian professor of American Studies at the University of Oslo. Professor Skard was one of the pioneers in European American Studies and in interpreting the United States to a Norwegian and a European audience. This essay will concentrate on the role of Knaplund in doing the reverse – interpreting Norway and Scandinavia for the Americans.