This paper will examine whether a Norwegian “pedagogy of place” – as the Norwegian pedagogue Erling Kristvik (1882-1969) sought to formulate it – is possible or even desirably in the 21st century, as more and more of our problems are global and demands a cosmopolitical awareness. Throughout the centuries, education has represented an encounter between generations connected to a particular place. Education has always consisted in the transmission of practices of work, rituals, ethics, and worldviews through actions and doctrines, but maybe first and foremost through narratives and poetry. However, in a post-enlightenment and modern society both community and belonging to a place need to be constructed in a particular central institution (school) by and through a corresponding knowledge form (pedagogy). Focusing on the notion of place, reveals interesting similarities between Adorno’s and Horkheimer’s concept of “the dialectics of Enlightenment” and Heidegger’s conception of the nature of technology, seeing as both are characterized by the erasing of place. Education plays an ambiguous role in this process – whether we call it the dialectics of Enlightenment (Adorno/Horkheimer) or the rise of technology (Heidegger), education necessarily connects us to a particular place through local curriculum, cultural history, and national heritage. At the same time, education seeks to sever the connection to a particular place through centralized factory-like schools, standardized curriculum, and formal competences. Erling Kristvik has addressed this problem in a Norwegian context. Early in the 20th century he wanted to formulate a “pedagogy of place” to counter the technical and alienating tendencies of modern society. He introduced «heimstadlære» (homestead-subject) as a holistic subject where the pupils’ education was closely anchored in their home environment. By entering a dialogue between Kristvik, Adorno/Horkheimer, and Heidegger, this paper asks whether a specific Norwegian “pedagogy of place” is possible in the 21st century. Is it meaningful to formulate a specific Norwegian version of Bildung when more and more of our local practices are entangled in international and global horizons of meaning? Furthermore, when discussing whether a specific Norwegian “pedagogy of place” is desirable in the 21st century, I will ask if this specific Norwegian version of Bildung is a contribution to common problems of humanity, or if it represents an exclusive nostalgia?

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