nordlitt – Skandinavistische Literaturforschung im Gespräch

Ruth Maier (1920-1942) floh 1938 aus Wien nach Norwegen, wo sie bis zu ihrer Deportation 1942 lebte. Ihre Tagebücher und Briefe gelten heute als zentrales Zeugnis des Holocaust in Norwegen. In nordlitts erstem Podcast mit Publikum sprechen wir mit Ingeborg Helleberg (derzeit norwegisches Kinderbuchinstitut) über ihre Arbeit mit diesen Archivmaterialien. Wir erfahren, warum Ruth Maiers persönliches Schreiben und literarische Entwürfe für die Erinnerung an Antisemitismus und Judenverfolgung in Österreich und Norwegen bedeutsam sind – und wie sie darüber hinaus Aufschluss geben über die komplexe Auseinandersetzung der Jungen Exilantin mit Geschlechtsidentität, sexueller Orientierung und den eigenen Ambitionen als Autorin. (00:00:00) Begrüßung Live-Podcast (00:01:25) Wie Ingeborg zu Ruth Maier als Forschungsthema kam (00:07:38) Wer war Ruth Maier und was hat sie hinterlassen? (00:14:11) Jan Erik Volds Arbeit mit Ruth Maiers dagbok (2007) (00:20:10) Die Holocaust-Gedächtniskultur in Norwegen (00:24:12) Ruth Maiers Zweisprachigkeit  (00:26:55) Die norwegische Rezeption von Ruth Maiers dagbok (00:30:23) Gegen „die ewige Jüdin“ und „das ewige Opfer“ (00:35:32) Ruth Maiers Erfahrungen mit und Gedanken über das Jüdischsein  (00:44:02) Identität und queere Liebe (00:56:00) Die Funktion des Schreibens (01:01:52) Life-Writing als Methode (01:06:04) Fragen aus dem Publikum (01:15:41) Was würdest du deinem Studierenden-Ich raten?

Ieva Steponavičiūtė-Aleksiejūnienė, Vilnius University, invites nordlitt to workshop around the concept of play in two stories by Danish author Karen Blixen/Isak Dinesen. Ieva muses with Blixen on why art cannot make us happy, and we uncover creative connections between artistic processes, superficiality, and cannibalism. Blixen also guides us toward a new, gender-crossing take on theories of creative misreading. Moreover, we encounter a family history entangled with the history of Scandinavian Studies in the Soviet Union and Lithuania, and we learn about the significance of Denmark for post-communist Lithuanian scholars. Finally, Ieva encourages us to listen to the text and emphasizes the importance of intellectual exchange beyond national and political borders.  Timestamps: (00:00:00) Introducing Ieva Steponavičiūtė Aleksiejūnienė (00:01:56) Life Patterns and Scandinavian Studies in Lithuania   (00:13:40) Georg Brandes Skolen (00:20:52) Introducing Karen Blixen (00:31:38) Looking at Blixen through Play (00:41:43) Workshop: Recurring Images and Characters in “Echoes” (00:48:06) Metafiction, Art and Life (00:51:34) Resurrection and Cannibalism  (00:58:54) Is Blixen difficult? (01:03:48) The Playful Vampire-Artist (01:11:29) Theories of Influence (01:16:08) Navigating through “Tempests” (01:23:27) Art Cannot Make People Happy (01:34:23) The Tension between Symbol and Allegory (01:39:54) Art and Transcendence (01:42:57) The Shipwreck Versus the Floating Ship (01:46:00) Other Research Interests: Scandinavia, Lithuania and Beyond (01:54:00) Advice to Student-Self Bibliography, further information, and comments are available on Experiment Geisteswissenschaften. https://exgeist.hypotheses.org/category/nordlitt Ideas and conception: Stefanie von Schnurbein Cut: Cecilia Falkman

Mons Bissenbakker, Copenhagen University, invites nordlitt to a conversation about new Danish literature on trans experiences. We discuss how trans writers navigate existing narratives and seek alternative modes of expression within a system that resists ambivalence – both its own and that of others. We also speculate about the problem of masculinity and find resonances between being on testosterone and menopause. Revisiting a story by Victoria Benedictsson/Ernst Ahlgren, Mons Bissenbakker demonstrates a new trans reading, navigating between resonance and recognition, and offering insights into 19th century sexology and the figure of the invert. Last but not least, he outs nordlitt's final question as a rather “trans” enquiry. Timestamps: (00:00:00) Introducing Mons Bissenbakker (00:03:00) Literature as a Way of Establishing Conversation (00:06:16) Transgender Literature in a Danish Context  (00:14:37) The Relationship to Language, Narrative and Genre (00:24:41) Gry Stokkendahl Dalgas and At performe transkønnet vrede (00:31:52) Luka Holmegaard and Havet i munden (00:37:51) Understanding Pain and Suffering through the Medical System versus SM (00:49:35) Building Community and its Political Implications (56:16:00) Victoria Benediction/Ernst Ahlgren through a “Trans-Lens” (01:04:32) ”Ur mörkret” and Reading for Resonance and Recognition (01:10:17) The Figure of the Invert  (01:18:25) Misogynist Feminism (00:27:42) Naming and Understanding the Author Ernst Ahlgren (01:34:38) Future Research Projects (01:37:04) Advice to Student-Self (“a very trans-question”!) Bibliography, further information, and comments are available on Experiment Geisteswissenschaften. https://exgeist.hypotheses.org/category/nordlitt Idea and conception: Stefanie von Schnurbein Cut: Cecilia Falkman

With Karolina Drozdowska, a Polish guest from NTNU in Trondheim, nordlitt widens its geographical range eastwards. Drawing on a wide array of contemporary and historical texts, from new crime novels to Romantic patriotic poems, we discuss continuities and changes in representations of Polish people and Eastern Europeans in Norwegian literature since the Enlightenment. We learn about the persistence of the Iron Curtain, the demonization of Russia, and we muse about the function of stereotypes and caricatures. We also explore ways of combining and working with large online corpora and close readings, while reflecting on the benefits of working in international, interdisciplinary networks. Dreams of new research projects take shape, accompanied by the reassuring advice: Be not afraid of academia. Timestamps: (00:00:00) Introducing Karolina Drozdowska (00:04:37) Scandinavian Studies in Poland (00:13:45) Representations of Eastern Europeans in Norwegian Literature (00:19:18) Method: Building a Corpus (00:24:45) Work Migration, Exoticization, and the Shadow of the Iron Curtain (00:32:50) Caricatures and Postcolonial Readings (00:47: 37) Shifting Images and Imaginations (00:51:20) Otherness and “Grey People” (00:58:05) Lithuania and Lithuanians in Norwegian Crime Fiction (01:07:45) Research Networks (01:13:00) The Research Project ImagiNation (01:18:12) Poland in 19th Century Scandinavian Literature (01:27:26) Comparisons: Representations of Ukrainians and Jewish Migration (01:34:37) Connecting Research and Translation Work (01:39:44) Advice to Student Self Bibliography, further information, and comments are available on Experiment Geisteswissenschaften. https://exgeist.hypotheses.org/category/nordlitt Idea and conception: Stefanie von Schnurbein Cut: Cecilia Falkman