Cultural radicalism (Danish: ''Kulturradikalisme'') was a movement in first

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

, but later also Nordic culture in general. It was particularly strong in the

Interwar Period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

, but its philosophy has its origin in the 1870s and a great deal of modern social commentary still refer to it. At the time of the height of the cultural radical movement it was referred to as modern. The words cultural radical and cultural radicalism was first used in an essay by Elias Bredsdorff in the

broadsheet newspaper A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long vertical pages, typically of . Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner and tabloid– compact formats. Description Many broadsheets measure rough ...

, ''

Politiken ''Politiken'' is a leading Danish daily broadsheet newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 1884 and played a role in the formation of the Danish Social Liberal Party. Since 1970 it has been independe ...

'', in 1956. Bredsdorff described cultural radicals as people who are socially responsible with an international outlook. Cultural radicalism has usually been described as the heritage of

Georg Brandes Georg Morris Cohen Brandes (4 February 1842 – 19 February 1927) was a Danish critic and scholar who greatly influenced Scandinavian and European literature from the 1870s through the turn of the 20th century. He is seen as the theorist behind ...

Modern Breakthrough The Modern Breakthrough ( no, Det moderne gjennombrudd, da, Det moderne gennembrud, sv, Det moderna genombrottet) is the common name of the strong movement of naturalism and debating literature of Scandinavia which replaced romanticism near the ...

, the foundation and early editorials of the newspaper ''

'', the foundation of the political party ''

Radikale Venstre The Danish Social Liberal Party ( da, Radikale Venstre, , Radical Left) is a social-liberal political party in Denmark. The party was founded as a split from the Venstre Reform Party in 1905. Historically, the centrist party has played a cent ...

'', to the magazine ''

Kritisk Revy ''Kritisk Revy'' ( Danish: ''Critical Review'') was a quarterly architecture magazine. It was briefly published between 1926 and 1928 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The magazine played a significant role in developing avant-garde culture in Scandinavi ...

'' by Poul Henningsen (PH). The values most commonly associated with cultural radicalism are among others:

criticism of religion Criticism of religion involves criticism of the validity, concept, or ideas of religion. Historical records of criticism of religion go back to at least 5th century BCE in ancient Greece, in Athens specifically, with Diagoras "the Atheist" of ...

, opposition to

social norms Social norms are shared standards of acceptable behavior by groups. Social norms can both be informal understandings that govern the behavior of members of a society, as well as be codified into rules and laws. Social normative influences or soci ...

, criticism of Victorian sexual morality,

anti-militarism Antimilitarism (also spelt anti-militarism) is a doctrine that opposes war, relying heavily on a critical theory of imperialism and was an explicit goal of the First and Second International. Whereas pacifism is the doctrine that disputes (especia ...

and an openness to new cultural input other than the classic western (e.g.

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

, modern architecture, art, literature and theater).

Internationally

''Cultural radicalism'' is also used outside of Denmark. In Scandinavia, it often refers to the Danish movement, but elsewhere, the concept may just share the etymology. In

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, cultural radicalism has been seen as opposition to the Swedish church and to the Neo-Victorian sexual moral. In

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

the movement has been associated with the magazine

Mot Dag Mot Dag (, 'Towards Day') was a Norwegian political group. The group was active from the 1920s to the early 1930s and was first affiliated with the Labour Party. After World War II, many of its former members were leaders in Norwegian politics and ...

in 1930s and its authors such as

Sigurd Hoel Sigurd Hoel (December 14, 1890 – October 14, 1960) was a Norwegian author and publishing consultant, born in Nord-Odal. He debuted with the collection of short stories (The Way We Go) in 1922. His breakthrough came with (Sinners in Summertim ...

and

Arnulf Øverland Ole Peter Arnulf Øverland (27 April 1889 – 25 March 1968) was a Norwegian poet and artist. He is principally known for his poetry which served to inspire the Norwegian resistance movement during the German occupation of Norway during Wor ...

. In the US, ''cultural radicalism'' is sometimes used as the opposite of

cultural conservatism Cultural conservatism is described as the protection of the cultural heritage of a nation state, or of a culture not defined by state boundaries. It is usually associated with criticism of multiculturalism, and opposition to immigration. Cultu ...

, especially in the context of

culture wars A culture war is a cultural conflict between social groups and the struggle for dominance of their values, beliefs, and practices. It commonly refers to topics on which there is general societal disagreement and polarization in societal value ...

Cultural radicals

* Kjeld Abell *

Edvard Brandes Carl Edvard Cohen Brandes (21 October 1847, in Copenhagen – 20 December 1931, in Copenhagen) was a Danish politician, critic and author, and the younger brother of Georg Brandes and Ernst Brandes. He had a Ph.D. in eastern philology. Biograp ...

* Bernhard Christensen * Mogens Fog *

Poul Henningsen Poul Henningsen (9 September 1894 – 31 January 1967) was a Danish author, critic, architect, and designer. In Denmark, where he often is referred to simply as PH, he was one of the leading figures of the cultural life of Denmark between the Worl ...

Edvard Heiberg Edvard Heiberg (11 June 1911, in Oslo – 10 June 2000, in Oslo) was a Norwegian director and engineer. Heiberg was the youngest son of barrister Axel Heiberg (1875–1952) and his wife Ragnhild Krohg (1879–1947). He had two brothers, ...

Viggo Hørup Viggo Lauritz Bentheim Hørup (22 May 1841 – 15 February 1902) was a Danish politician, journalist and agitator. He was the father of Ellen Hørup (1871-1953). He was one of the most influential politicians of the Danish non-Socialist l ...

Hans Kirk Hans Kirk (11 January 1898 – 16 June 1962) was a Danish lawyer, journalist and celebrated author, who penned the best-selling novel of all-time in his native Denmark, '' The Fishermen'' (1928). From 1926 to 1928 he was among the contributors of ...

Klaus Rifbjerg Klaus Rifbjerg (15 December 1931 – 4 April 2015) was a Danish writer. He authored more than 170 novels, books and essays. In 1965 he co-produced the film '' 4x4'' which was entered into the 4th Moscow International Film Festival. Biography Ri ...

Ove Rode Ove Rode (31 August 1867 – 11 July 1933) was a Danish politician, writer, newspaper editor and Minister of Interior Affairs for Det Radikale Venstre. Biography As a young journalist, Rode was editor of his own newspaper, ''København'', ...

Hans Scherfig Hans Scherfig (April 8, 1905 – January 28, 1979) was a renowned Danish writer and artist. His most famous works of literature include ''Stolen Spring'', ''Frydenholm'', ''Idealists'', and ''The Scorpion'', the last of which was published in ov ...

Tøger Seidenfaden Tøger Seidenfaden (28 April 1957 – 27 January 2011) was a Danish journalist and political scientist, and, from 1993 until his death, editor-in-chief of the broadsheet newspaper ''Politiken''. His father, Erik Seidenfaden, was also a journali ...

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...

External links

Cultural Radicalism in the Danish Democracy Canon

Denmark/Historical perspective: cultural policies and instruments

Kulturradikalismen on leksikon.org (in Danish)

{{Denmark topics Culture Intellectual history Modernism Philosophy of culture Political philosophy Radicalism (historical)

Internationally

Cultural radicals

See also

External links