Tore Linné Eriksen (born 2 May 1945) is a Norwegian historian. His fields of study include
global history
World history may refer to:
* Human history, the history of human beings
* History of Earth, the history of planet Earth
* World history (field), a field of historical study that takes a global perspective
* ''World History'' (album), a 1998 albu ...
,
development studies
Development studies is an interdisciplinary branch of social science. Development studies is offered as a specialized master's degree in a number of reputed universities around the world. It has grown in popularity as a subject of study since the e ...
and
African history
The history of Africa begins with the emergence of hominids, archaic humans and — around 300–250,000 years ago—anatomically modern humans ('' Homo sapiens''), in East Africa, and continues unbroken into the present as a patchwork of d ...
, especially focusing on
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...
.
Early life and career
Linné Eriksen hails from
Kolbotn
Kolbotn is an urban area in Norway's Nordre Follo county. Kolbotn is in the centre of the traditional district, Oppegård. The population is about 6,000. Kolbotn has several elementary schools, four middle schools and a high school. Town is locat ...
, but enrolled at the
Oslo Cathedral School
Schola Osloensis, known in Norwegian as Oslo Katedralskole (''Oslo Cathedral School'') and more commonly as "Katta",Knut Kjeldstadli,
Steinar Stjernø
Steinar Stjernø (born 10 January 1945) is a Norway, Norwegian academic.
He obtained the mag.art. degree (PhD equivalent) in Public Administration and Organizational Theory from the University of Bergen in 1971. He worked as a researcher at the ...
,
Helge Rønning
Helge Rønning (born 1 September 1943) is a Norwegian literary researcher. He was born in Oslo. He was editor of the magazine ''Samtiden'' from 1979 to 1988, and was appointed professor at the University of Oslo from 1987. Among his research in ...
and
Theo Koritzinsky
Theodor Koritzinsky (born 2 November 1941) is a Norwegian academic and politician for the Socialist Left Party.
He was chairman of the Socialist Youth League from 1965 to 1966. He later joined the Socialist Left Party, and was their chairman ...
. Here, Linné Eriksen was among the founders of Operasjon Dagsverk in 1964.
After finishing school, he briefly worked as a teacher in Northern Norway. He was later employed in the publishing house
Pax forlag
Pax Forlag is a Norwegian publishing house, established in 1964.
The first manager was Tor Bjerkmann, who chaired the company from 1964 to 1972.
Starting with Bjerkmann's new translation of George Orwell's ''Animal Farm'', Pax published 150 qua ...
, founded in 1964, and made his literary debut there in 1966. He then enrolled 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 ...
, and was chairman of the
Norwegian Students' Society
Norwegian Students' Society ( no, Det Norske Studentersamfund) is Norway's oldest student society.
The Norwegian Students' Society was established during 1813 in Oslo, Norway. Two years after the Royal Frederick University (today named the Univer ...
in 1968. Among the radical students, Linné Eriksen was preceded and succeeded by two conservatives;
Georg Apenes
Georg Apenes (5 April 1940 – 2 October 2016) was a Norwegian politician and jurist.
Career
Apenes was born in Fredrikstad. After finishing secondary education, he briefly worked as a substitute school teacher in his hometown in 1960 before ente ...
and
Halvor Stenstadvold
Halvor Stenstadvold (born ) is a Norwegian businessperson and politician for the Conservative Party. A political scientist by education, he spent most of his career in the Federation of Norwegian Industries and Orkla Group. He has also been the ch ...
respectively. Originally a member of the Socialist Youth League (SUF), together with some of the later founders of the Workers' Communist Party, Linné Eriksen was excluded in 1969. He later became involved in the Socialist Left Party. In May 2011 he left the Socialist Left Party due to its support for the Norwegian participation in the Libyan war, and its environmental and development policies.Klassekampen: Melder seg ut i protest /ref>
Academic career
Linné Eriksen finally graduated from the
University of Trondheim
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, the ...
with a cand.philol. degree in 1974. From 1981 he was employed as a researcher at the
Norwegian Institute of International Affairs The Norwegian Institute of International Affairs ( no, Norsk utenrikspolitisk institutt; NUPI) is a Norwegian research institution based in Oslo, Norway. It was established by the Norwegian Parliament in 1959.
History
The Norwegian Institute of In ...
. In 1997 he was hired as
associate professor
Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''.
Overview
In the '' North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is ...
at
Oslo University College
Oslo University College ( no, Høgskolen i Oslo; HiO) was the largest state university college in Norway from 1994 to 2011, with more than 18,000 students and approximately 1800 employees.
, being promoted to professor in 2007. He is now retired, but continues his research and writing.
Notable publications include the 1974 book ''Underutvikling''. In 1985 he published both ''David Livingstone'' and ''The Political Economy of
Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
''. ''Den vanskelige bistanden'' followed in 1987, about
development aid
Development aid is a type of foreign/international/overseas aid given by governments and other agencies to support the economic, environmental, social, and political development of developing countries. Closely-related concepts include: develop ...
. In 1993 he won the
Brage Prize
The Brage Prize (Norwegian: ''Brageprisen'') is a Norwegian literature prize that is awarded annually by the Norwegian Book Prize foundation (''Den norske bokprisen''). The prize recognizes recently published Norwegian literature.
The Brage Priz ...
for the school textbooks in modern history, ''Norge og verden fra 1850 til 1940'' and ''Norge og verden etter 1940''.
After 2000, his interest has shifted somewhat towards the history of
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
and
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
. He has, however, not discontinued his
African studies
African studies is the study of Africa, especially the continent's cultures and societies (as opposed to its geology, geography, zoology, etc.). The field includes the study of Africa's history (pre-colonial, colonial, post-colonial), demography ...
. The 2000 ''Norway and National Liberation in Southern Africa'' was followed by a 2002 book on
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...
, which received a prize from the
Norwegian Ministry of Culture
The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Equality ( no, Det kongelige kultur- og likestillingsdepartement; short name ''Kultur- og likestillingsdepartementet'') is responsible for cultural policy, regulations and other matters related to the ...
. In 2007 he published the book ''Det første folkemordet i det tjuende århundret: Namibia 1903-1908'' on the
Herero and Namaqua Genocide
The Herero and Namaqua genocide or the Herero and Nama genocide was a campaign of ethnic extermination and collective punishment waged by the German Empire against the Herero (Ovaherero) and the Nama in German South West Africa (now Namibia). I ...
, considered the first of many
genocide
Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the ...
s in the 20th century. In 2008 he contributed to ''Folkemordenes svarte bok'', an anthology on genocide.
In addition to the Socialist Left Party, Linné Eriksen has been involved in
Nei til EU
Nei til EU ( en, No to the EU) is the main Norwegian interest group opposing a future Norwegian accession to the European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic uni ...
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...