Decolonizing music history in Scandinavia: Reflections from the chalkface

Abstract

“Race is not a problem here.” “Racism is rare in Scandinavia.” These are some of the comments I (Kate) have heard regarding my efforts to diversify the music history and analysis curriculum at a small conservatoire in Norway, the Academy of Music at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, in Tromsø. One thing I hear behind both of these is the implication that, as a non-Scandinavian, I do not understand the way things work. Even after nearly 15 years of living in Scandinavia, most of them in northern Norway, I admit that there are plenty of things I still don’t know about the place I call home. However, as a white person who grew up in a much more culturally diverse area than anywhere I have lived in in Scandinavia, I also know that there is a lot that white people don’t see—and just because you don’t see it, doesn’t mean it’s not there. As the black feminist mantra goes, if you can’t see the problem, you’re part of the problem.