Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography
Encyclopedia
The Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography (SSAG) (Swedish
: Svenska Sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi) is a scientific learned society
founded in Sweden
in 1877. It was established after a rearrangement of related sections of the Anthropological Society, itself formed in 1873 by Hjalmar Stolpe
, Hans Hildebrand
, Oscar Montelius
, and Gustaf Retzius
.
The society functions as a link between science and the public, especially in the subjects of anthropology
and geography
. It awards research fellowships, organizes excursions and lectures, hands out awards such as the Vega Medal and Retzius Medal. In 1880, it began publishing the Swedish Yearbook Ymer and it has published the international journal Geografiska Annaler
since 1919. The journal is divided between physical geography
and human geography
.
Several eminent geographers and explorers such as Sven Hedin
, Salomon August Andrée
and Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld
have been members of the association.
Medal in 1881 on the occasion of Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld's return to Stockholm, after he had discovered the North East Passage
. Since then, the Vega Medal has been awarded to a physical geographer roughly every three years. In the intervening years, the society awards the Anders Retzius
Medal to a human geographer or an anthropologist. Both awards are handed out by the king of Sweden on 24 April, the anniversary of Nordenskiöld's return to Stockholm.
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
: Svenska Sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi) is a scientific learned society
Learned society
A learned society is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline/profession, as well a group of disciplines. Membership may be open to all, may require possession of some qualification, or may be an honor conferred by election, as is the case with the oldest learned societies,...
founded in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
in 1877. It was established after a rearrangement of related sections of the Anthropological Society, itself formed in 1873 by Hjalmar Stolpe
Hjalmar Stolpe
Hjalmar Stolpe, a Swedish entomologist, archaeologist, and ethnographer, was born April 23, 1841, in Gävle, Sweden, and died January 27, 1905. He is most well known for his archaeological excavations at the Viking-age site Birka....
, Hans Hildebrand
Hans Hildebrand
Hans Olof Hildebrand Hildebrand was a Swedish archeologist. Born in Stockholm, he was the son of Bror Emil Hildebrand and Anna Mathilda Ekecrantz...
, Oscar Montelius
Oscar Montelius
Oscar Montelius was a Swedish archaeologist who refined the concept of seriation, a relative chronological dating method...
, and Gustaf Retzius
Gustaf Retzius
Magnus Gustaf Retzius was a Swedish physician and anatomist who dedicated a large part of his life to researching the histology of the sense organs and nervous system.-Biography:...
.
The society functions as a link between science and the public, especially in the subjects of anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
and geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
. It awards research fellowships, organizes excursions and lectures, hands out awards such as the Vega Medal and Retzius Medal. In 1880, it began publishing the Swedish Yearbook Ymer and it has published the international journal Geografiska Annaler
Geografiska Annaler
Geografiska Annaler is a scientific journal published by the Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography. The journal is published in two series A and B. Series A deals with arctic research, physical geography, glaciology and quaternary science in general...
since 1919. The journal is divided between physical geography
Physical geography
Physical geography is one of the two major subfields of geography. Physical geography is that branch of natural science which deals with the study of processes and patterns in the natural environment like the atmosphere, biosphere and geosphere, as opposed to the cultural or built environment, the...
and human geography
Human geography
Human geography is one of the two major sub-fields of the discipline of geography. Human geography is the study of the world, its people, communities, and cultures. Human geography differs from physical geography mainly in that it has a greater focus on studying human activities and is more...
.
Several eminent geographers and explorers such as Sven Hedin
Sven Hedin
Sven Anders Hedin KNO1kl RVO was a Swedish geographer, topographer, explorer, photographer, and travel writer, as well as an illustrator of his own works...
, Salomon August Andrée
Salomon August Andrée
Salomon August Andrée , during his lifetime most often known as S. A. Andrée, was a Swedish engineer, physicist, aeronaut and polar explorer who died while leading an attempt to reach the Geographic North Pole by hydrogen balloon...
and Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld
Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld
Freiherr Nils Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld , also known as A. E. Nordenskioeld was a Finnish baron, geologist, mineralogist and arctic explorer of Finnish-Swedish origin. He was a member of the prominent Finland-Swedish Nordenskiöld family of scientists...
have been members of the association.
Awards given by the society
The society created the VegaVega (ship)
SS Vega was a Swedish barque, built in Bremerhaven Germany in 1872. She was the first ship to complete a voyage through the Northeast Passage, and the first vessel to circumnavigate the Eurasian continent.-Construction:...
Medal in 1881 on the occasion of Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld's return to Stockholm, after he had discovered the North East Passage
Northern Sea Route
The Northern Sea Route is a shipping lane officially defined by Russian legislation from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean specifically running along the Russian Arctic coast from Murmansk on the Barents Sea, along Siberia, to the Bering Strait and Far East. The entire route lies in Arctic...
. Since then, the Vega Medal has been awarded to a physical geographer roughly every three years. In the intervening years, the society awards the Anders Retzius
Anders Retzius
Anders Retzius , was a Swedish professor of anatomy and a supervisor at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm....
Medal to a human geographer or an anthropologist. Both awards are handed out by the king of Sweden on 24 April, the anniversary of Nordenskiöld's return to Stockholm.
Recipients of the Vega Medal
|
William Morris Davis William Morris Davis was an American geographer, geologist, geomorphologist, and meteorologist, often called the "father of American geography".... (1920) Albert I, Prince of Monaco Albert I was Prince of Monaco and Duke of Valentinois from 10 September 1889 until his death.-Early life:... (1922) Albrecht Penck Albrecht Penck , was a German geographer and geologist and the father of Walther Penck.Born in Reudnitz near Leipzig, Penck became a university professor in Vienna from 1885 to 1906, and in Berlin from 1906 to 1927. There he was also the director of the Institute and Museum for Oceanography by 1918... (1923) Lauge Koch Lauge Koch was a Danish geologist and Arctic explorer.He was the renowned leader of 24 Danish government expeditions to Greenland, and the central character in the Lauge Koch Controversy, an international and intra-national conflict... (1924) Boris Vilkitsky Boris Andreyevich Vilkitsky was a Russian hydrographer and surveyor. He was the son of Andrey Ippolitovich Vilkitsky.... (1926) Harald Sverdrup Harald Ulrik Sverdrup was a Norwegian oceanographer and meteorologist who made a number of important theoretical discoveries in these fields. Having first worked in Bergen and Leipzig he was the scientific director of the North Polar expedition of Roald Amundsen aboard the Maud from 1918 to 1925... (1930) Roy Chapman Andrews Roy Chapman Andrews was an American explorer, adventurer and naturalist who became the director of the American Museum of Natural History. He is primarily known for leading a series of expeditions through the fragmented China of the early 20th century into the Gobi Desert and Mongolia... (1937) Vagn Walfrid Ekman Vagn Walfrid Ekman was a Swedish oceanographer.Born in Stockholm to Fredrik Laurentz Ekman, himself an oceanographer, he became committed to oceanography while studying physics at the University of Uppsala and, in particular, on hearing Vilhelm Bjerknes lecture on fluid dynamics.During the... (1939) Lennart von Post Ernst Jakob Lennart von Post was a Swedish naturalist and geologist. He was the first to publish quantitative analysis of pollen and is counted as one of the founders of palynology. He was a professor at Stockholm University 1929-1950.-Early life:Lennart von Post was born in Johannesberg, near... (1944) Richard Evelyn Byrd Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd, Jr., USN was a naval officer who specialized in feats of exploration. He was a pioneering American aviator, polar explorer, and organizer of polar logistics... (1948) Carl Troll Carl Troll , was a German geographer, brother of botanist Wilhelm Troll.From 1919 until 1922 Troll studied amongst other biology, chemistry, geology, geography and physics at the Universität in München. In 1921 he obtained his doctorate in botany and in 1925 his habilitation in geography... (1951) Laurence Dudley Stamp Sir Dudley Stamp, CBE, DSc, D. Litt, LLD, Ekon D, DSc Nat , was professor of geography at Rangoon and London, and one of the internationally best known British geographers of the 20th century.... (1954) Paul-Émile Victor Paul-Émile Victor was a French ethnologist and explorer.Victor was born in Geneva, Switzerland. He graduated from École Centrale de Lyon in 1928. In 1934, he participated in an expedition traversing Greenland... (1955) Carl O. Sauer Carl Ortwin Sauer was an American geographer. Sauer was a professor of geography at the University of California at Berkeley from 1923 until becoming professor emeritus in 1957 and was instrumental in the early development of the geography graduate school at Berkeley. One of his best known works... (1957) Jacob Bjerknes Jacob Aall Bonnevie Bjerknes was a Norwegian-American meteorologist. -Background:Jacob Aall Bonnevie Bjerknes was born in Stockholm, Sweden. His father was the Norwegian meteorologist Vilhelm Bjerknes, one of the pioneers of modern weather forecasting. His paternal grandfather was noted... and Tor Bergeron Tor Bergeron Tor Bergeron was the Swedish meteorologist who proposed a mechanism for the formation of precipitation in clouds. In the 1930s, Bergeron and W. Findeisen developed the concept that clouds contain both supercooled water and ice crystals... (1958) Mikhail Somov Mikhail Mikhailovich Somov was a Soviet oceanologist, polar explorer, Doctor of Geographical Sciences .... (1959) |
Thor Heyerdahl Thor Heyerdahl was a Norwegian ethnographer and adventurer with a background in zoology and geography. He became notable for his Kon-Tiki expedition, in which he sailed by raft from South America to the Tuamotu Islands... (1962) Louis Leakey Louis Seymour Bazett Leakey was a British archaeologist and naturalist whose work was important in establishing human evolutionary development in Africa. He also played a major role in creating organizations for future research in Africa and for protecting wildlife there... (1963) Maurice Ewing William Maurice "Doc" Ewing was an American geophysicist and oceanographer.Ewing has been described as a pioneering geophysicist who worked on the research of seismic reflection and refraction in ocean basins, ocean bottom photography, submarine sound transmission , deep sea coring of the ocean... (1965) Filip Hjulström Henning Filip Hjulström was a Swedish geographer. Hjulström was professor of geography at Uppsala University from 1944, and in 1949, when the subject of geography was split, he became professor of Physical Geography.... and Sigurður Þórarinsson Sigurður Þórarinsson Sigurður Þórarinsson was an Icelandic geologist, volcanologist, glaciologist, professor and lyricist. He is considered a pioneer in the field of tephrochronology, and he made significant contributions in many areas of geology, especially volcanology and glaciology, both in Iceland and... (1970) Albert P. Crary Albert Paddock Crary , was a pioneer polar geophysicist and glaciologist. He made it to the North and then to the South Pole on February 12, 1961 as the leader of a team of eight. The south pole expedition had set out from McMurdo Station on December 10, 1960, using three Snowcats with trailers... (1972) Willi Dansgaard Willi Dansgaard was a Danish paleoclimatologist. He was Professor Emeritus of Geophysics at the University of Copenhagen and a member of the Royal Danish Academy of Science and Letters, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Icelandic Academy of Sciences, and the Danish Geophysical Society.-... (1975) Cesare Emiliani Cesare Emiliani was an Italian-American scientist, considered one of the greatest geologists and micropaleontologists of the 20th century and the founder of paleoceanography, developing the timescale of marine isotope stages, which despite modifications remains in very wide use today.He... (1983) Hubert Lamb Hubert Horace Lamb was an English climatologist who founded the Climatic Research Unit in 1972 in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia.-Career:... (1984) J. Ross Mackay John Ross Mackay, OC, FRSC is an award winning Canadian geologist. He is most noted for his explorations of permafrost phenomena in the western Canadian Arctic... (1986) Gösta Hjalmar Liljequist Gösta Hjalmar Liljequist was a Swedish meteorologist.In Sweden, radio broadcast weather forecasts begun in 1926, and, starting in 1941, Liljequist was one of the recurrent meteorologists appearing in Swedish radio for many years... (1994) John Imbrie John Imbrie is an American paleoceanographer best known for his work on the theory of ice ages.After serving with the 10th Mountain Division in Italy during World War II, Imbrie earned his bachelor's degree from Princeton University. He then went on to receive a Ph.D. from Yale University in 1951... (1999) Lonnie Thompson Lonnie Thompson , is an American paleoclimatologist and Distinguished University Professor in the School of Earth Sciences at The Ohio State University. He has achieved global recognition for his drilling and analysis of ice cores from mountain glaciers and ice caps in the tropical and sub-tropical... (2002) |
Recipients of the Anders Retzius Medal in gold
|
Fredrik Barth Thomas Fredrik Weybye Barth is a Norwegian social anthropologist who has published several ethnographic books with a clear formalistic view... (1988) David Harvey (geographer) David Harvey is the Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York . A leading social theorist of international standing, he received his PhD in Geography from University of Cambridge in 1961. Widely influential, he is among the top 20 most cited... and Sven Godlund (1989) Allan Pred Allan Richard Pred was an internationally-known American geographer and professor at the University of California at Berkeley He wrote over 20 books and monographs, translated into seven languages, and over 70 articles and book chapters.... (1991) Jack Goody Sir John Rankine Goody is a British social anthropologist. He has been a prominent teacher at Cambridge University, he was elected Fellow of the British Academy in 1976, and he is an associate of the US National Academy of Sciences... (1992) Peter Haggett Peter Haggett, CBE Sc.D. FBA is an eminent British geographer and academic, Professor Emeritus and Senior Research Fellow in Urban and Regional Geography at the School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol.... (1994) Veena Das Veena Das is Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Anthropology at the Johns Hopkins University. She also serves on the Executive Board of the Institute of Socio-Economic Research on Development and Democracy in India. She studied at the Indraprastha College for Women and Delhi School of Economics at... (1995) Peter Gould Peter Gould was an Evan Pugh Professor Emeritus of Geography at Penn State University. Throughout his tenure at Penn State University, Gould received many awards including the Lauréat Prix International de Géographie Vautrin Lud, the Retzius Gold Metal of the Swedish Society for Anthropology and... (1997) |
David Maybury-Lewis David Henry Peter Maybury-Lewis was an anthropologist, ethnologist of lowland South America, activist for indigenous peoples' human rights and professor emeritus of Harvard University.... (1998) Sherry Ortner Sherry Beth Ortner is an American cultural anthropologist and has been Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at UCLA since 2004.-Biography:... (2001) Doreen Massey (geographer) Doreen Barbara Massey FRSA FBA AcSS , is a contemporary British social scientist and geographer, working among others on topics typical of marxist geography... (2003) Tim Ingold Tim Ingold is a British social anthropologist, currently Chair of Social Anthropology at the University of Aberdeen. He was educated at Leighton Park School and Cambridge University... (2004) John Comaroff John L. Comaroff is a Harold H. Swift Distinguished Service professor of Anthropology and Social Sciences at the University of Chicago. He is also Research Professor at the American Bar Foundation.... and Jean Comaroff Jean Comaroff Jean Comaroff is Bernard E. & Ellen C. Sunny Distinguished Service Professor of Anthropology and of Social Sciences at the University of Chicago and Honorary Professor of Anthropology at the University of Cape Town. She is an expert on the effects of colonialism on people in Southern Africa.She... (2007) Allen J. Scott Allen John Scott is a professor of geography and public policy at University of California, Los Angeles.- Biography :Scott was born in Liverpool, England in 1938 and graduated from Oxford University in 1961. He holds a Ph.D. degree from Northwestern University... (2009) Ulf Hannerz Ulf Hannerz, born June 9, 1942 in Malmö, is an emeritus professor of social anthropology at Stockholm University. His research includes urban societies, local media cultures, transnational cultural processes, and globalization.... (2010) |