Rap and black metal instead of Nobel Prize winners in the school canon

Rap by immigrant artists, black metal and the classical music of Edward Grieg are among the educational content for schools proposed this week by the Norwegian Ministry of Education. The lists did not include literary classics – Henrik Ibsen and Nobel Prize winners Knut Hamsun and Jon Fosse.

The Ministry of Education presented a set of so-called recommended content that teachers will be able to use in teaching, including: Norwegian language, music and social studies.

The proposals included, among others: Grieg's composition “In the Cave of the Mountain King”written for the drama “Peer Gynt”. They appear next to her songs by artists with Indian and Egyptian roots duet Karpe and rappers with Somali origins Musti. The list is supplemented by recordings black metal band Dimmu Borgir.

They were also on the lists songs by the Norwegian band a-hathe football chant “Alt for Norge”, and also “Zombie” by the Irish band The Cranberries, “Imagine” by John Lennon and “Mamma Mia” by ABBA.

The content recommended for schools does not include the most renowned Norwegian writers. Young people will learn about the work of the playwright Ibsen through music Grieg to “Peer Gynt”, and the works of Nobel laureates Knut Hamsun and Jon Fosse were not included at all.

During the parliamentary debate, Education Minister Kari Nessa Nordtun emphasized that the aim of the project is to create a common base of cultural references for students, but without imposing a single mandatory list of works. The set is intended to be an inspiration for teachers who can choose examples that best fit the topics they cover. The recommendations are to enter into force with the new school year.

From Oslo Mieszko Czarnecki (PAP)

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