Discipline and Punish at Camp : Citizenship and the Issue of Violence at a Swedish Boy Scout Camp

• This article examines reports of physical punishment at the national Swedish Boy Scout camp Åvatyr in 1950. The Swedish newspapers Dagens Nyheter and Expressen described the events in terms of bullying and violence, while the camp directors declared that the reports were merely exaggerated accounts of innocent pranks and practical jokes. This article draws information from newspaper articles, Scout magazines and archival sources to discuss how the incidents at the Åvatyr camp tapped into a debate on disciplinary measures against children in Sweden. The analysis also concerns how these acts of punishment related to the Boy Scouts’ scheme of citizenship instruction. Finally, the long-term effects of this purported scandal are evaluated, including a call for reform of masculinity and citizenship ideals within the Boy Scout movement during the following decade.

• This article examines reports of physical punishment at the national Swedish Boy Scout camp Åvatyr in 1950. The Swedish newspapers Dagens Nyheter and Expressen described the events in terms of bullying and violence, while the Camp directors declared that the reports were merely exaggerated accounts of innocent pranks and practical jokes. This article draws information from newspaper articles, Scout magazines and archival sources to discuss how the incidents at the Åvatyr camp tapped into a debate on disciplinary measures against children in Sweden. The analysis also concern how these acts of punishment related to the Boy Scouts’ scheme of citizenship instruction. Finally, the long-term effects of this purported scandal are evaluated, including a call for reform of masculinity and citizenship ideals within the Boy Scout movement during the following decade.

Ämnesord

HUMANIORA  -- Historia och arkeologi -- Historia (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- History and Archaeology -- History (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

boy scouts

camps

citizenship

violence

self-government

boy scouts

Publikations- och innehållstyp

art (ämneskategori)

ref (ämneskategori)