Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Sprach- und literaturwissenschaftliche Fakultät - Nordeuropa-Institut

Democracy and Critique

 

Democracy and Critique

Henrik-Steffens seminar series
14.–16. & 21.–23. November 2024

The seminar series is funded by the Henrik-Steffens-professorship.

 

 

This semester, the Henrik-Steffens seminar series comprises two block seminars, each over three days, that offer insights into how democracy and critique are analyzed in different research areas: Researchers and authors will participate in panel discussions, lectures, and workshops on two topics: Democracy and Crisis, and Minority Voices in Scandinavian and German Literature. The seminar series will ask: What are the key tools deployed by Nordic Democracies? How do Nordic consensus-oriented political cultures act and react in times of polyphony and crisis?

 
▼ Stakes of Democracy
14. – 16. November 2024

Crises are disruptions where democracy-as-usual becomes visible and rendered explicit. Crises are key for examining and understanding what we stand to lose if democracy fails. In other words, crises are key events that articulate and make tangible what is at stake in democracy. And what is at stake is trust, nature, and value.

The research group Stakes of Democracy (University of Oslo) investigates what is at stake for democracies in times of crisis and starts from the hypothesis that Trust, Nature, and Value, are key matters of concern at the core of what is at stake. With Prof. Kristin Asdal, TIK Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture , Prof. Helge Jordheim Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages University of Oslo, & Prof. Anders Ekström, Department of History of Science and Ideas, Uppsala University, Sweden.

 

Thursday, 14 November 
Felleshuset Nordic Embassy, Rauchstraße 1, 10787, Berlin

Friday, 15 November
Dorotheenstraße 24, 10117 Berlin, im Raum 3.134

  • 17:00–18:30
    Henrik-Steffens-Vorlesung with Prof. Dr. Kristin Asdal: Crisis and the politics of nature in the struggle for parliamentary democracy + Discussion
  • 19:00–20:30
    Henrik-Steffens-Vorlesung with Prof. Dr. Anders Ekström: Thinking Publics, Building Society

 

Saturday, 16 November
Dorotheenstraße 24, 10117 Berlin, im Raum 3.134

  • 13:00–14:30
    Henrik-Steffens-Vorlesung with Prof. Dr. Helge Jordheim: How democracies remember. 22. July in Norwegian collective memory + Discussion

 


▼ Minority Voices in Contemporary Nordic Literature
21. – 23. November 2024

In recent years, several young authors with immigration backgrounds have emerged in the Nordic countries, such as Zeshan Shakhar, Nancy Herz, and Athena Farokhzads. How does this new generation of writers use their personal and collective experience in their writing, and how are these new perspectives in turn contributing to social innovation? To what extent are they “read into” these backgrounds? 

Both Norwegian and German society have been characterized by immigration since the 70s. How has this migratory experience been reflected in the German and Norwegian literary scene? How are these new perspectives in turn contributing to social innovation? Are there similarities between the Nordic and the German experiences? With Prof. Elisabeth Oxfeldt and Prof. Tonje Vold, University of Oslo, Dr. Hanna Rinderle, Nordeuropa-Institut, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Nancy Herz, and other Scandinavian authors.

 

Thursday, 21 November 
Felleshuset Nordic Embassies, Rauchstraße 1, 10787, Berlin

 

Friday, 22 November
Dorotheenstraße 24, 10117 Berlin, im Raum 3.134

  • 17:00–18:30
    Henrik-Steffens-Vorlesung mit Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Oxfeldt & Prof. Dr. Tonje Vold: "Literary Activism and Minority Voices in Contemporary Scandinavia" 

 

Saturday, 23 November
Dorotheenstraße 24, 10117 Berlin, im Raum 3.134 

  • 13:00–14:30
    Henrik-Steffens-Vorlesung mit Dr. Hanna Rinderle,  Nordeuropa-Institut „Flight and Displacement in Contemporary Scandinavian Literatures"

 

 

▼ When and Where

All events will take place at the Nordeuropa-Institut: Room 3.314, Dorotheenstraße 24, 10117, Berlin, and the Nordic Embassies: Rauchstraße 1, 10787, Berlin.

  • The languages spoken in the course are German, Scandinavian and English.
  • The block seminars are for BA and MA students - students from the University of Oslo are invited.
  • Travel can be reimbursed up to 300€ per participant, which is only available for 10 external students per block seminar. There are 10 spots available for students from the University of Oslo.

 

▼ Registration

Students of the HU Berlin register via AGNES.

Students from University of Oslo register here: https://nettskjema.no/a/448226

 

▼ Moodle

A more detailed description of the individual dates can be found on HU-Moodle. The password for the Moodle course is: Demokratie2024

[Participants from outside Humboldt-Universität have the option of creating a guest account on Moodle: see Moodle-Registration for external participants without an HU account].

 

▼ Reisekostenzuschuss

Pro Block wird jeweils 10 externen Studierenden ein Reisekostenzuschuss in Höhe von bis zu 300 Euro pro Person gewährt, und zwar in der Reihenfolge der Anmeldung.

Die Anmeldung zu den Blockseminaren ist bis zum 11. Oktober möglich.

 

▼ ECTS

Norwegian students who physically attend the block seminar, and write a 10-page essay can earn 5 ECTS points (Master’s students)/6 ECTS points (Bachelor’s students).

The external participants are responsible for acceptance of the ECTS points earned for participation in the Henrik-Steffens block seminars at their respective universities.


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