Benjamin R. Teitelbaum
Benjamin R. Teitelbaum is an ethnographer of contemporary radical nationalism in Europe, a performer of Scandinavian folk music, and Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He earned his Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from Brown University, and has also studied at Harvard University, the Stockholm Royal College of Music, Bethany College, and the Eric Sahlström Institute. In addition to scholarship, his analysis and commentary on radical nationalism in Scandinavia has appeared in various print media and radio outlets in Sweden, Norway, and the United States, including Aftonbladet, (Norwegian) Dagbladet, Dagens Nyheter, Swedish Radio Radio, Norwegian Radio, Foreign Policy, and the New York Times. As a musician, he specializes in Swedish folk music and Sweden's unofficial national instrument, the nyckelharpa. Having earned the first degree in nyckelharpa performance awarded outside Sweden, he tours nationally and internationally as a performer and teacher.
2 Books Written
War for Eternity: The Return of Traditionalism and the Rise of the Populist Right
by Benjamin R. Teitelbaum
Rating: 3.8 ⭐
• 2 recommendations ❤️
Steve Bannon in the United States. Olavo de Carvalho in Brazil. Aleksandr Dugin in Russia. Gábor Vona in Hungary. All rising to power in the past decade. All affiliated with an obscure philosophical movement called Traditionalism.Since the early 20th century, Traditionalism has defined itself against modernity and Enlightenment values. Traditionalist thinkers such as René Guénon and Julius Evola celebrated hierarchy, denounced the idea of progress, and regarded liberal secularism, capitalism, and communism as aligned forces working to replace social, cultural and political norms. Ethnographer Benjamin Teitelbaum had been studying Traditionalism for years as a sort of novelty, associated with a restless subsection of the right - too antisocial for activism and largely without influence. And yet when Steve Bannon entered the White House in 2017, reports suggested he was an avid reader of Traditionalist teachings.Through exclusive interviews and deep historical context, Teitelbaum reveals the radical worldview infusing the thinking of powerful actors and inspiring a renegade reinterpretation of humanity, geopolitics and history. Fast-paced and gripping, War for Eternity is a must-read for anyone trying to understand the Far Right's vision to change the world.
Lions of the North: Sounds of the New Nordic Radical Nationalism
by Benjamin R. Teitelbaum
Rating: 4.2 ⭐
Often labeled "neo-Nazis" or "right-wing extremists," radical nationalists in the Nordic countries have always relied on music to voice their opposition to immigration and multiculturalism. These actors shook political establishments throughout Sweden, Denmark, and Norway during the 1980s and 1990s by rallying around white power music and skinhead subculture. But though nationalists once embraced a reputation for crude chauvinism, they are now seeking to reinvent themselves as upstanding and righteous, and they are using music to do it. Lions of the North explores this transformation of anti-immigrant activism in the Nordic countries as it manifests in thought and sound. Offering a rare ethnographic glimpse into controversial and secretive political movements, it investigates changes in the music nationalists make and patronize, reading their puzzling embrace of lite pop, folk music, even rap and reggae as attempts to escape stereotypes and craft a new image for themselves. Lionsof the North not only exposes the dynamic relationship between music and politics, but also the ways radical nationalism is adapting to succeed in some of the most liberal societies in the world.