Peter Andreas Munch (December 19, 1908 – January 10, 1984) was a Norwegian-born sociologist, educator, and writer. In 1948, he immigrated to the United States as a post-doctoral research fellow studying
Norwegian-American
Norwegian Americans ( nb, Norskamerikanere, nn, Norskamerikanarar) are Americans with ancestral roots in Norway. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the latter half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the ...
rural sociology in the Midwest. He ended his professional career at
Southern Illinois University
Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois.
Board of trustees
The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of Tr ...
, with a focus on graduate studies and sociological research based on trips to the remote South Atlantic island
Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha (), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately from Cape Town in South Africa, from Saint Helena a ...
.
Biography
Peter Andreas Munch was born December 19, 1908, at
Nes
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...
in
Hedmark
Hedmark () was a county in Norway before 1 January 2020, bordering Trøndelag to the north, Oppland to the west, Akershus to the south, and Sweden to the east. The county administration is in Hamar.
Hedmark and Oppland counties were merged int ...
,
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 the ...
.
He studied theology at the
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...
receiving a
Candidatus theologiæ degree in 1932. He then completed linguistic studies at the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
in order to read ancient religious texts, continuing in 1935 with a period at the
University of Wittenberg
Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university in ...
in Halle, Germany, studying social history in the
Ancient Near East
The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, southeast Turkey, southwest Iran and northeastern Syria), ancient Egypt, ancient Iran ( Elam, ...
. This resulted in numerous publications written in Norwegian, English, and German regarding original Hebrew Old Testament texts and their meaning in the modern world.
During 1937 and 1938, he was a member of the
Norwegian Scientific Expedition to
Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha (), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately from Cape Town in South Africa, from Saint Helena a ...
, where he studied social interaction among the isolated population as a humanist and social scholar. This work was the subject of his doctoral dissertation, finished in 1943 but hidden when he was imprisoned by the
German occupation forces at
Grini detention camp
'',
'' no, Grini fangeleir'', location=Bærum, Viken, Norway, location map=Viken#Norway, built by=Norway, original use=Constructed as a women's prison, operated by=Nazi Germany, notable inmates= List of Grini prisoners, liberated by= Harry Söderm ...
. In 1946, when the University in Oslo was reopened after World War II, he successfully defended the dissertation titled ''Sociology of Tristan da Cunha'' based on the ''
Gemeinschaft
''Gemeinschaft'' () and ''Gesellschaft'' (), generally translated as "community and society", are categories which were used by the German sociologist Ferdinand Tönnies in order to categorize social relationships into two types. The Gesellschaft ...
'' concepts introduced by
Ferdinand Tönnies, and obtained the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
.
Munch immigrated to the United States in 1948 as a research associate in Rural Sociology at the
University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...
, taking a position as Associate Professor at
St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, in 1949. In 1951 he became Head of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the
University of North Dakota
The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of N ...
in
Grand Forks
Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the state of North Dakota (after Fargo and Bismarck) and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 59,166. Grand Forks, along with its twin city o ...
, a position held until he was called to be Professor of Sociology, and later Director of Graduate Studies in Sociology, at
Southern Illinois University
Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois.
Board of trustees
The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of Tr ...
in
Carbondale in 1957. Munch worked there until his retirement in 1977, mainly in the fields of cultural anthropology, rural, and maritime sociology.
The experience that more than any other defined Munch's career was his reestablished connection with the islanders of
Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha (), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately from Cape Town in South Africa, from Saint Helena a ...
. In 1961, a volcanic eruption on the remote island forced evacuation of the entire population, never before exposed to modern life, to an abandoned Royal Air Force base in southern England. Munch quickly applied for research grants to visit the evacuees and to study their adaptation to modern European life. He found that most islanders were unhappy in their new homes and was relieved when the British government agreed to finance the resettlement of Tristan da Cunha in 1963, when the volcano was again dormant. More grants enabled Munch to visit the islanders on Tristan in 1964-1965 for additional research; a visit that resulted in lectures, books, and articles contributing to our understanding of anarchy, atomism, acculturation in social systems, and to our general knowledge of community and social values.
From 1960 until 1964, he was editor of ''The Sociological Quarterly''. He belonged to numerous professional organizations, serving as officer of the Midwest Sociological Society, Illinois Folklore Society, and the Norwegian-American Historical Association. Munch authored several books and more than 80 articles and chapters in professional publications. He was elected to the
Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters ( no, Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway.
History
The Royal Frederick Unive ...
in 1983. After his death, memorial ceremonies were held at the University of North Dakota, the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, the Norwegian-American Historical Association, the University of North Dakota, and Southern Illinois University.
Personal life and family
Peter Munch was the scion of two well-known Norwegian families. He was the second cousin of the painter
Edvard Munch (1868-1944) and the first cousin thrice removed of his own namesake, the historian
Peter Andreas Munch
Peter Andreas Munch (15 December 1810 – 25 May 1863), usually known as P. A. Munch, was a Norwegian historian, known for his work on the medieval history of Norway. Munch's scholarship included Norwegian archaeology, geography, ethnography, ...
(1810-1863). His great-grandfather was the poet and bishop
Johan Storm Munch
Johan Storm Munch (31 August 1778 – 26 January 1832) was a bishop in the Church of Norway. He was also known as a poet, playwright, and magazine editor.
Munch was born at Vågå in Oppland county, Norway. He was the son of parish priest P ...
1778-1832), whose son, Munch's grandfather,
Johan Storm Munch (evangelist) (1827-1898) served as missionary to the United States and was the subject of Munch's book, ''The Strange American Way.'' Peter Munch's aunt was the feminist and early female surgeon
Kristine Munch
Kristine Munch (10 July 1873 – 11 October 1959) was a Norwegian physician. She was among the first female physicians in Norway.
She was born in Horten as a daughter of priest Johan Storm Munch (1827–1908) and Kaja Michaeline Falch (1830–18 ...
and his great-uncle the poet
Andreas Munch Andreas Munch (19 October 1811 – 27 June 1884) was a Norwegian poet, novelist, playwright and newspaper editor. He was the first person to be granted a poet's pension by the Parliament of Norway.
Personal life
Munch was born in Christiania, as s ...
.
On his mother's side, Munch was the grandson of architect/engineer
Georg Bull (1829-1927) and nephew of architect
Henrik Bull
Henrik Bull (28 March 1864 – 2 June 1953) was a Norwegian architect and designer. Among his works are the Paulus Church at Grünerløkka in Oslo, the National Theater, the Historical Museum in Oslo, and the Government Building. He also d ...
(1864-1953). His great-uncles were the violinist
Ole Bull (1810-1880), who entertained in America, and
Knud Bull
Knud Geelmuyden Bull (10 September 1811 – 23 December 1889) was a Norwegian painter and counterfeiter. He studied as a painter, was convicted for printing false bank notes, and was deported from the United Kingdom to Australia during 1846 ...
(1811-1889), who was an emigree to Australia. His first cousin once removed was the architect
Schak Bull (1858-1956).
In 1934, Peter Munch married Helene Stephansen, with whom he had three children. Dr. Munch died in Pleasant Hill, Tennessee at 75 years of age in 1984.
Peter A. Munch Collection
Dr. Peter A. Munch was the creator of a collection of material comprising archives from
Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha (), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately from Cape Town in South Africa, from Saint Helena a ...
. The materials were donated by the Munch family and are now housed in the Saint Louis Room at
Saint Louis University Archives.
Peter A. Munch/Tristan da Cunha Collection (Saint Louis University)
Publications
Books
*''The Expression Bajjôm Hāhū: Is it an Eschatological Terminus Technicus?'', The Norwegian Academy of Sciences, Klasse 36, No. 2, pp. 69, Jacob Dybwad, Oslo (1936)
*''Sociology of Tristan da Cunha. Results of the Norwegian Scientific Expedition to Tristan da Cunha, 1937-1938'' (1945)
*''Some Sociological Terms and Concepts'', The Norwegian Academy of Sciences, Klasse 1945, No.2, pp. 37, Jacob Dybwad, Oslo (1946)
*''Landhandelen i Norge,'' Halvorsen & Larsen (1948)
*''A Study of Cultural change: Rural-Urban Conflicts in Norway'', Studia Norvegica, No. 9. H. Aschehoug & Co. Oslo (1956)
*''The Strange American Way'', S. Illinois Univ. (1970)
*''The Song Tradition of Tristan da Cunha '' (1970)
*''Crisis in Utopia. The Ordeal of Tristan da Cunha'' (1971)
*''Glimpsing Utopia: Tristan da Cunha 1937-38. A Norwegian's Diary'', ed. and translated from the Norwegian, Cathrine Munch Snyder, George Mann Publications. Hampshire, UK (2008)
Articles
''Several articles by Peter A. Munch are referenced within this stub. The complete Curriculum Vitae is available from Cathrine E. Snyder.''
References
External links
Saint Louis University Digital Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Munch, Peter A.
1908 births
1984 deaths
People from Ringsaker
Norwegian emigrants to the United States
Norwegian sociologists
American sociologists
University of Oslo alumni
Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
20th-century Norwegian writers
Grini concentration camp survivors