Transculturation, contact zones and gender on the periphery. An example from Iceland 1890–1920

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article explores mobility in the North-Atlantic between 1890 and 1920 as manifested in the entanglements of different cultural flows within the peripheral town of Reykjavík, Iceland's capital. It focuses on, firstly, the dissemination of bourgeois ways of life from the European mainland to Reykjavík, in which dominant-class women were key actors. Secondly, it explores the transculturation processes different currents of people and ideas set in motion among the town's middle and lower classes, underlining the process’ gendered aspects. The article reveals how the clashing, intertwining, and merging of different migration flows shaped Reykjavík's culture during an era of increased mobility and the role gender played in the process. It therefore provides an example of how gender, mobility, and class intersected in the construction of culture and class structure in peripheral local communities during a period of heightened global and regional mobility in 1890–1920.