Soldier and Society: Anthropological Perspectives
Soldier and Society explored how Denmark’s recent engagements in international military operations affected social and cultural imageries of the Danish soldier, and how, consequently, the Danish civilian was re-imagined too.
THE PROJECT IS COMPLETED.
Underlying specific renderings of ‘the soldier’ is a fundamental distinction and opposition between the civilian and the military. While the civil-military distinction is typically treated as an aspect of political or social organisation, we employ the terms ‘civilian’ and ‘military’ as cultural or folk notions that designate particular qualities, values and norms. The terms can be used to describe, categorise and valorise such things as individuals, bodily posture, emotions, social situations, activities, institutions, national identity or artefacts. From this perspective ‘civilian’ and ‘military’ appear as dynamic and flexible terms that are given meaning and value in particular contexts.
Soldier and Society consisted of three individual sub-projects that explored the revival and transformation of ‘the soldier’ from three distinct, but closely related perspectives. Taken together, the sub-projects provided more comprehensive ethnographic and theoretical understandings of ‘the soldier’ as a crucial figure in contemporary Danish society.
The three sub-projects were:
- From untested to initiated (Thomas Randrup Pedersen):
(How) can military service and war-zone deployment transform soldiers into stronger human beings, professionally as existentially? - From warforce to workforce (Birgitte Refslund Sørensen):
(How) can soldiers’ experiences and skills be translated and put into use in civilian workplaces and educational contexts? - From war to culture (Mads Daugbjerg):
(How) does Denmark’s recent participation in war influence Danish commemoration and national identity?
PhD project
Cand.scient.anthr. Maj Hedegaard Heiselberg conducted an anthropological study of how families of Danish veterans with post-deployment psychological problems experienced and coped with these (2015-2017). The position was funded by the national Veteran Center and was part of a larger research program on veteran families. Birgitte Refslund Sørensen was project supervisor.
Grant
Birgitte Refslund Sørensen was awarded DKK 240.787 by the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation's International Network Programme for "The Anthropology of Contemporary Civil-Military Entanglements Network" (ACCME). The project is a collaboration among anthropologists working on contemporary transformations of civil-military relations in Denmark, Israel and Japan.
Workshops on civil-military entanglements
The ACCME network’s first workshop took place in Tel Aviv, Israel, July 27-28, 2015.
The workshop included panels on:
- “Changing civil-military relations”
- “Families, spouses and military institutions”
- “Ideals of soldiering and civil commitment”
- “Beyond (national) militaries”
- “Experiences of soldiers and soldiering”
- “Negotiating citizenship, resources and rewards”
- “Studying civil-military entanglements”
Birgitte Refslund Sørensen presented the paper “The Invisible Uniform: Civil-military relations in everyday life”; Mads Daugbjerg presented “Reviving the Viking: Charting Danish ‘activism’ and new warrior ideals on the home front”, and the title of Thomas Randrup Pedersen’s paper was “When Fighting Monsters: Moral Breakdowns in the Shadows of the Soldier’s Soul”
On a half-day excursion, workshop participants experienced how civil-military relations are inscribed in Israel’s geographical and social landscape. ACCME’s next workshop will take place in Copenhagen, November 4-5, 2015.
2015
PhD course: Anthropology of (the) Willing: The Subject Is Dead, Long Live the Subject!, Copenhagen Graduate School, University of Copenhagen, 14-15 September, organized by Thomas Randrup Pedersen. Thomas presented the paper “Will to Virtue: Endurance, Edgework, and Engagement among Danish ISAF Troops”.
Master class with Michael D. Jackson and Francine Lorimer: The Concept of the Everyday Life, Dept. of Anthropology, University of Copenhagen, 15 June, Thomas Randrup Pedersen presented his PhD project “What Doesn’t Kill You: An Anthropological Exploration of Denmark’s New Warrior Generation”.
Research stay abroad: Thomas Randrup Pedersen was Visiting Graduate Researcher, Dept. of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), 6 April – 8 June. Thomas was supervised by Prof. C. Jason Throop and took part in the interdisciplinary discussion group Mind, Medicine, and Culture (MMAC). Thomas also exchanged ideas and debated issues with Prof. Sabine Frühstück, Dept. of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB).
Guest lecture: “Once Were Warriors: Norse Mythology and Viking Heritage among Danish ISAF Troops” given by Thomas Randrup Pedersen at the bachelor’s/master’s course Danish Culture and Society, Department of Anthropology, University of Copenhagen, 10 February.
2014
PhD course: Narrative Theory in the Social Sciences, Centre for Alcohol and Drug Research, School of Business and Social Sciences, Aarhus University, 2-4 June, Thomas Randrup Pedersen presented the paper “War on Narratives: Political Grunt Stories and Ethical Soldier Tales within the Ranks of Danish ISAF Troops”.
PhD course: Phenomenology and Existentialism in the Social Sciences, Human Centered Communications and Informatics, Aalborg University, 26-27 May, Thomas Randrup Pedersen presented the paper “Troop Movements: Existential Mobility among Danish ISAF Forces”.
PhD course: The Trouble with Violence – Lessons from Psychology, Sociology and Anthropology, Copenhagen Graduate School of Social Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 13-14 May, Thomas Randrup Pedersen presented the paper “Forceful Desires: An Anatomy of Violence among Danish ISAF Troops”.
PhD retreat: The Anthropology of Moralities, Department of Anthropology, University of Copenhagen, Vandrarhem Söderåsen, 5-7 May, Thomas Randrup Pedersen presented the paper “’Bad Asses’ Fight ‘Bad Guys’: Ethical Quests for Existential Fulfilment among Danish ISAF Troops”.
2013
Guest lecture: “Honour and Strength: A Hero’s Welcome?” given by Thomas Randrup Pedersen at the bachelor’s/master’s course Heroes, Humanitarians, or Hooligans? Examining Contemporary Soldier Identity, Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen, October 23
Master’s course: “Civil-military Relations in War and Peace: Anthropological Perspectives”, Department of Anthropology, University of Copenhagen. Lecturers: Birgitte Refslund Sørensen and Thomas Randrup Pedersen.
Guest lecture: “Danish Soldiers Today: Heroes, Men of Honour, Strong Human Beings?” given by Thomas Randrup Pedersen at the master’s course Soldier Identity, Military Culture, and Complex Emergencies, Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen, 28 February
2012
PhD course: Civil-Military Relations: The State and Organized Violence, Centre for Military Studies, Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen, 26-30 November, Thomas Randrup Pedersen presented the paper “Recruiting the ‘Warrior’, Recognising the ‘Diplomat’: Outline of an Anthropological Exploration of Civil-military Relations in Today’s Denmark”.
2015
Sørensen, Birgitte Refslund (forthcoming) ‘Veterans’ homecomings: Secrecy and post-deployment social becoming’. To be published in Current Anthropology. Special Issue: The life and death of the secret.
2014
Daugbjerg, Mads (2014) ‘Patchworking the Past: Materiality, Touch, and the Assembling of “Experience” in American Civil War Reenactment’. International Journal of Heritage Studies, special issue: Reenacting the Past, 20(7-8): 724-41.
Daugbjerg, Mads; Eisner, Rivka Syd; Knudsen, Britta Timm (2014) Guest editorial: ‘Re-enacting the Past: vivifying heritage “again”.’ International Journal of Heritage Studies, special issue: Reenacting the Past, 20(7-8): 724-41.
Daugbjerg, Mads (2014) Borders of Belonging. Experiencing History, War and Nation at a Danish Heritage Site. Berghahn Books.
Daugbjerg, Mads (2014) ‘Krigens smerte før og nu. Vandrehistorier fra fronten’.
2013
Sørensen, Birgitte Refslund (2013) ‘Soldaterfamilier: Sociale fordringer og forandringer’. Hanne Overgaard Mogensen & Karen Fog Olwig (eds.) Familie og slægtskab: Antropologiske perspektiver. Copenhagen: Samfundslitteratur: 97-114.
Sørensen, Birgitte Refslund (2013) ´Hærens Officersskole som erindringssted: Slottet, skolen, osteklokken og det gyldne lokum'. Hærofficerer i 300 år, 1713-2013. Hærens Officersskole.
2012
Sørensen, Birgitte Refslund &Thomas Pedersen (2012). ‘Hjemkomstparader for danske soldater – ceremoniel fejring af krigeren og den krigsførende nation’. Slagmark – Tidsskrift for Idéhistorie, special issue: War, 63: 31-46.
From military to civilian careers: Birgitte Refslund Sørensen has been involved in the development of two new projects that focus on veterans’ transition from a military to a civilian career (2015-2016).
One project targets veterans with PTSD or severe psycho-social challenges, and is implemented by The Danish Disability Sport Information Centre.
The other project focuses on army leavers who only have military experience and competencies, and is implemented by Care Consulting. She and Matti Weisdorf, research assistant, are responsible for the projects’ research component and evaluation.
Veterans are fellow human beings and not clients: The Danish YMCA’s soldiers mission (KFUM’s soldatermission) has opened a number of homes for veterans, who are challenged in their homecoming process, where they can find temporary accommodation and a supportive social environment. Two master students, Amalie Andersen and Sara Ottosen, have conducted ethnographic field research at two homes under the supervision of Birgitte Refslund Sørensen. Their research will result in an evaluation report for YMCA and in two master theses.
Funded by
The collaborative research project Soldier and Society: Anthropological Perspectives was funded by The Danish Council for Independent Research | Humanities. The funding was granted by the council following an assessment of the research proposal by an international panel of experts.
The project idea and proposal was developed by the core team of researchers themselves.
Project period: August 2012 till August 2015.
