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Spring 2001 |
Norwegian Teachers Association of North America |
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Name Change Proposals and Discussion All NorTANA members will receive a mail ballot with the final proposal. Below are the original proposals and the discussion of the proposed name change: 1) Terje Leiren's
proposal, Proposal Submitted by Terje Leiren Proposal to change the name of "NORWEGIAN TEACHERS ASSOCIATION OF NORTH AMERICA," to "NORWEGIAN STUDIES ASSOCIATION OF NORTH AMERICA." As a follow-up to the beginning of the discussion at the Norway Seminar in Bozeman, Montana, I would like to propose that the membership of NorTANA change the name of our organization to "Norwegian Studies Association of North America." I am making this proposal so that our organization's name fully reflects what we stand for and thereby also demonstrates our inclusion of ALL teachers and scholars and students of Norwegian studies whether they teach or not. Over the last several years, I, and several other dedicated members, have come to believe that by calling ourselves "teachers association," we have, inadvertently at best, signalled to those who do not teach the Norwegian languages that this professional organization is not for them. We have had difficulty recruiting members whose interests are in political science, sociology, history, etc. because they were not "teachers of Norwegian." Even though our by-laws state we are inclusive, the title says otherwise to many outsiders. I believe it is time to take a serious look at how we can make our organization stronger and better. This also includes how we can appeal to a larger and broader constituency. Therefore, I am asking that a discussion of this proposal be placed on the agenda for the NorTANA meeting in Madison and that we change the name of our organization to the "Norwegian Studies Association of North America." (NorSANA or NSA, for short.) Sincerely, Terje Leiren
Proposal submitted by Chris Hale One objection to a name change for NorTANA is that it would necessitate a change in the acronym. NorTANA (Norwegian Teachers Association of North America) has become a recognized name and has received an award under it. The main objection to the current name seems to be that the word "Teachers" is not inclusive enough and makes it sound as though the organization is meant to be primarily for Norwegian language teachers and not for those who deal with Norway in non- language courses or in their research. My proposal is to rename the association to make it more inclusive and to keep basically the same acronym. Therefore, I would like to suggest that the name NorTANA be changed to NoRTANA (Norwegian Researchers and Teachers Association of North America). Chris Hale
Letter to the Editor from Lloyd Hustvedt After Terje Leiren's proposal was printed in the NorTANA newsletter last spring, we received the following letter as a contribution to the discussion. Printed with the permission of Lloyd Hustvedt. I ask that my statement below be considered when and if Terje Leiren's name change proposal comes up for discussion: We already have a Scandinavian Studies Society. Do we need or want a Norwegian version of something we already have in larger format? Will the name suggest a corresponding agenda? NorTANA began, at least, with an uncomplicated focus on problems related to the teaching of the Norwegian language, and there was, fortunately, no shortage of problems. I have no desire to be parochial about this. If the proposed name change will invite a dilution of or shifts in NorTANA's traditional agenda, we should ask if that is what we want? If a name change will not dilute or alter the former agenda, then we might ask, why change the name? If a name changes is geared to attract more members, social scientists in particular, with no corresponding agenda changes, then an element of sham enters. I have been outside the loop for some time. As long as the focus remains on "teaching," I can only welcome the entry of as many social scientists as we can possibly recruit. Leiren is right, the by-laws are "inclusive" when it comes to membership, and the organziation can, to be sure, use all the help it can get. We might examine where social scientists and language teachers share common views and where they diverge. Working for an expanded Norwegian studies program in American education is certainly a common cause. When it comes to how we go about making what we already have better, we may have little to tell the social scientists and they in return have little to tell the language teachers. Here each must go their own way and do their own thing. Can you think of anything less interested in the problems of language teaching than SASS? NorTANA must not drift in that direction, and at all costs stay away from reading papers to each other. Lloyd Hustvedt
Letter from Roger Greenwald 11 April 2001 I've just received the Spring 2001 NorTANA Newsletter and have read with interest the proposals from Terje Leiren and Chris Hale regarding NorTANA's name (proposals I was already familiar with) and the letter by Lloyd Hustvedt on this topic. I think Lloyd makes a valid point when he suggests that changing the name so it contains "Studies" and no longer contains "Teachers" might well create, if not an outright deception, then at least undesired connotations. NorTANA is indeed a very different sort of organization from SASS and is likely to remain so. On the other hand, as one of the members of NorTANA who does not teach Norwegian, I agree with Terje's wish to have a name that more accurately reflects the inclusiveness of the organization than the present name does. I feel that I have gotten (and continue to get) a great deal from being a member; I hope I've contributed something as well; and I think the organization would be stronger for encouraging suitable people from the ranks of non-teachers and of teachers of subjects other than Norwegian lang & lit to join. Since the newsletter, web site, and other materials about NorTANA make clear what the organization's goals and activities are, I think it is unlikely that people who really don't belong in it would be "lured" to join, no matter what the name is. But the present name does give the impression that anyone other than teachers of Norwegian need not apply. It is worth reflecting for a moment on what sorts of people aside from teachers of Norwegian might be "suitable" members. In addition to university teachers whose interests include aspects of Norway or the circumpolar region, the group of people who might wish to join includes independent scholars who produce teaching materials, translators (like me) who at least _hope_ some of the books they produce will be used in teaching, and perhaps even a publisher or publisher's editor (how nice _that_ would be!). It is also worth remembering that the Norway Seminar and NorTANA are not synonymous, so that some members who may wish to attend the Seminar may not take part in other NorTANA activities designed specifically for teachers of Norwegian (and vice versa). Taking the above points into consideration, I find myself in favor of the name proposed by Chris Hale, NoRTANA: Norwegian Researchers and Teachers Association of North America. It both retains "Teachers" and adds a word, "Researchers," that opens a fairly wide door. And it has the added virtue of enabling us to retain the organization's present acronym (with a change to an uppercase R). Finally, I hope that what I've written here may go some way toward addressing Lloyd Hustvedt's concerns. Best regards, Having already expressed my approval to him, Chris Hale suggests that I write to you as well about my reaction to the name change suggestions in the recent issue of the Nortana News Letter. I think the suggestion from Chris is an excellent one, namely that the word Researcher be added in the title so that the acronym remains virtually the same while, at the same time, being more inclusive. Gurli |
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Last updated: May 26, 2001 |
Web site maintained by Nancy Aarsvold. URL: http://www.stolaf.edu/depts/norwegian/nortana/ |