Talk:Uppsala

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The historical section seems to confuse Uppsala (former Östra Aros) with Gamla Uppsala (former Uppsala). The present-day cathedral was NOT built on the site of the heathen temple.

[edit] Liberalism

User:Holdek, you have now thrice changed the word "liberalism" to "socialism" in the sentence "Historically, Uppsala has been a centre both of conservatism and liberalism, both receiving their ideological nourishment from the University." Please explain in which way you think it is more correct to say that Uppsala has been a centre for socialism than of liberalism. Please name some important Uppsala socialists or give some examples of events important in the history of Swedish socialism which have taken place in Uppsala. You are also welcome to discuss the liberalism of Uppsala and explain why you think it is less worthy of mention. Tupsharru 06:45, 11 November 2005 (UTC)

The problem is that I suspect the original author meant to use the word "liberalism" to mean "leftism" based on the second sentence, "evenly divided between left and right." I don't have any details of the University and its connections to political thought, but likewise I don't see any evidence support the sentence as it originally was in the article. If you have some facts on this I'd like to see them. Otherwise, based on how the paragraph is constructed, I'd guess that my take on it is more accurate, but it is just a guess and I am open to an alternative that we can reach consensus on. --Holdek ^(talk) 08:26, 11 November 2005 (UTC)

On the whole, the article needs a complete rewrite and expansion using proper references, but I think your edit is based on a misunderstanding of the intentions of the earlier author. You seem to assume that the original author wasn't aware of Swedish/European political terminology, but as far as I can see, the sentence originated with a Swedish Telia IP (here, later merged with the main article). Swedes generally find the American usage of liberal as equalling "leftist" as rather exotic, and I doubt anyone would use it that way. The paragraph is, as I understand it, to be read as contrasting a historical situation with the current one.

Uppsala has had a number of prominent liberals, stretching back to the later Geijer (after his "defection" from conservatism), the liberal Verdandi student society, founded in 1882 with Karl Staaff, later prime minister 1905-06 and 1911-14, as its first chairman, and the historian Nils Edén, who was liberal prime minister 1917–1920. I can also think of a couple of nationally prominent social democrats with an Uppsala affiliation from the 19th century or first half of the 20th century, Hjalmar Branting and Östen Undén. There could well be others. My hunch is still that the liberal tradition is stronger, at least until the time of the radicalisation of the students in the late 1960s and 1970s. If you prefer to remove the sentence entirely, you are welcome to do so. Tupsharru 10:59, 11 November 2005 (UTC)

No, you give some good examples and you might very well be right about the original intentions of the author. Perhaps then I am basing my edit on the akwardness of the paragraph that lends itself to a lack of of clarity. I'm going to make another edit; tell me if you think it works alright. Holdek ^(talk) 15:55, 11 November 2005 (UTC)