Eilert Sundt
Encyclopedia
Eilert Sundt was a Norwegian
sociologist, known for his work on mortality
, marriage
and other subjects among the working class
.
His father was ship’s captain, Lars Sundt, and he was born into a large family of 13 children. All the children worked to help make ends meet. Farsund at that time had many seaman, small fisherman and chandlers, all of whom must strive hard in difficult times. This provided his initial exposure to the ideas which he came to examine extensively later in his life: poverty, overpopulation and the work issues associated with the transition from an older farm culture to 19th century business and industry.
In 1835 he began his studies in Kristiania, but came back to Farsund in 1838 and became a teacher. He resumed his studies in Kristiania in 1841. There he met and became close friends with Henrik Wergeland
, who was also born and raised in Agder. When Henrik Wergeland was buried in 1845, Eilert Sundt led the student contingent and spoke at the funeral on their behalf.
His interests in sociology were broad. He studied prison conditions, customs and treatment of Gypsies, causes of death, the evils of married life in Norway, conditions of prostitutes, suicide, fishery and forestry workers' living and working conditions, building customs, shipping practices, household cleanliness and administration of poverty laws. A man of his times, he also was interested in ethnography, ethnology, architecture, and demography, linguistics (with special emphasis on the dialects of Norwegian).
From 1857 to 1866 Eilert Sundt was editor for "Folkevennen" (A Friend of the People), for which he wrote a number of the more important articles. His work served to inform many of the authors of Norwegian literature
in their transition to a socially aware realism at the close of the 19th century.
Eilert Sundt served as the parish priest in Eidsvoll
in 1869, and he died there in 1875.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
sociologist, known for his work on mortality
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
, marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
and other subjects among the working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
.
His father was ship’s captain, Lars Sundt, and he was born into a large family of 13 children. All the children worked to help make ends meet. Farsund at that time had many seaman, small fisherman and chandlers, all of whom must strive hard in difficult times. This provided his initial exposure to the ideas which he came to examine extensively later in his life: poverty, overpopulation and the work issues associated with the transition from an older farm culture to 19th century business and industry.
In 1835 he began his studies in Kristiania, but came back to Farsund in 1838 and became a teacher. He resumed his studies in Kristiania in 1841. There he met and became close friends with Henrik Wergeland
Henrik Wergeland
Henrik Arnold Thaulow Wergeland was a Norwegian writer, most celebrated for his poetry but also a prolific playwright, polemicist, historian, and linguist...
, who was also born and raised in Agder. When Henrik Wergeland was buried in 1845, Eilert Sundt led the student contingent and spoke at the funeral on their behalf.
His interests in sociology were broad. He studied prison conditions, customs and treatment of Gypsies, causes of death, the evils of married life in Norway, conditions of prostitutes, suicide, fishery and forestry workers' living and working conditions, building customs, shipping practices, household cleanliness and administration of poverty laws. A man of his times, he also was interested in ethnography, ethnology, architecture, and demography, linguistics (with special emphasis on the dialects of Norwegian).
From 1857 to 1866 Eilert Sundt was editor for "Folkevennen" (A Friend of the People), for which he wrote a number of the more important articles. His work served to inform many of the authors of Norwegian literature
Norwegian literature
Norwegian literature is literature composed in Norway or by Norwegian people. The history of Norwegian literature starts with the pagan Eddaic poems and skaldic verse of the 9th and 10th centuries with poets such as Bragi Boddason and Eyvindr Skáldaspillir...
in their transition to a socially aware realism at the close of the 19th century.
Eilert Sundt served as the parish priest in Eidsvoll
Eidsvoll
is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sundet.-Name:...
in 1869, and he died there in 1875.