"Skaldernas sång är folkets röst!" : En studie av Fosterländska Förbundet i Norrköping som borgerligt tankekollektiv 1887–1907

Sammanfattning: In this thesis I research a senior high school association called The Patriotic Society, and the records that they produced between 1887–1907. The title, which roughly translates to “The song of the bards is the voice of the people!”, is a quote from a poem, published in the paper of the association.  I seek to determine what their “thought style” – as defined by Ludwik Fleck – consists of through these records, and also how the inherent characteristics corresponded to two contemporary, educational ideals described by Hans Wennås: the classic-humanistic represented by the conservative aristocracy, and the utilitarian which the bourgeoisie sympathized with. There has earlier been research done about bourgeois and aristocratic ideas, and their settings in the swedish senior high schools – although there has not been any research done about this specific association. Moreover, to fulfill my specific purpose, I raise two questions in the beginning of the thesis: what was the characteristic features of The Patriotic Societies’ thought style, and how did they relate to Wennås educational ideals? By analyzing the associations paper Saga, protocols from their meetings and lectures that they held, I came to distinguish three primary characteristics in the thought style: a liberal patriotism with a strong idea of nordic community, a literary orientation that emphazised the patriotic and the idealistic, and lastly bourgeoisie ideas mainly consisting of a co-occuring liberal standpoint combined with a pronounced class consciousness. In conclusion, The Patriotic Society corresponded by these means the most to the utilitarian ideal, than the classic-humanist.