There is a general consensus within the social sciences that the Scandinavian welfare state represents a political and cultural paradigm that is unparalleled in certain respects. Many political controversies have revolved around the model, but it has also been negotiated with much fervor in postwar Scandinavian fiction. Lasse Horne Kjældgaard’s lecture, “The Poetics of the Scandinavian Welfare State” will address the literary energies unleashed by the Scandinavian welfare state model in Danish fiction written during the so-called “golden age of welfare,” from 1950 to 1980.
Monday, May 21st
Kane Hall Walker Ames Room 225, 4-5 p.m.
Guests are invited to attend a reception immediately after the lecture in the same room.
Lasse Horne Kjældgaard (born 1974) is the newly appointed director for the prestigious Danish Society for Language and Literature in Copenhagen and Professor of Danish literature at the University of Copenhagen. He serves as literary reviewer for the daily Politiken and is editor of the periodical Kritik. Most recent book publications include: Tolerance - eller hvordan man lærer at leve med dem, man hader (with Thomas Bredsdorff, 2008), Sjælen efter døden: Guldalderens moderne gennembrud (2007) and textual critical editions of Karen Blixen, Den afrikanske Farm (2007) and Syv fantastiske Fortællinger (2012).