Video narratives

Defense cooperation in the Nordic countries: What we can learn from history

In this film from the Nordic Humanities Center, Professor of History at the University of Southern Denmark, Rasmus Glenthøj, highlights security policy cooperation in the Nordic countries and draws historical parallels to the situation after the Crimean War (1853–1856). Back then, the Nordic countries also attempted to form an important alliance, but unfortunately, in the name of national sovereignty, they failed to take the necessary steps to firmly establish the cooperation in time. Moreover, there was no support from the Nordic countries when Prussia attacked Denmark in 1864. Therefore, we must learn from the past.

War Photography from Ukraine: The Difficult Selection

In this film, Mette Sandbye, Professor of Photography Studies at the University of Copenhagen, presents three themes she will address in two events featuring leading Danish press photographers. Taking the exhibition Press Photo of the Year at The Royal Library as a starting point, Sandbye speaks with photographers from the newspapers Information, Politiken, and Berlingske about, among other things, how to maintain public interest after three years of war in Ukraine. The conversation also explores how to visually represent the current state in Denmark — a condition that is neither wartime nor true peacetime.

A wave of literature written with particular sensitivity

In this film, Tue Andersen Nexø, Associate Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Copenhagen, speaks with two younger authors, Anna Rieder and Sebastian Nathan, who write poetry and prose, often drawing on their own experiences of being hospitalized in psychiatric wards. The recordings were made at the Center for Art and Mental Health, where the two authors teach creative writing to others. In spring 2025, Tue Andersen Nexø will publish the book ”Fælles liv – utopiske modbilleder til velfærdsstaten i ny dansk litteratur”, which explores the literary movement that Rieder and Nathan are also a part of.

The Nordic Humanities Center aims to highlight the humanities

Center Director and Professor of Literary Studies, Anders Engberg-Pedersen, elaborates on the vision for a new humanities research center, made possible by a generous donation from the A.P. Møller Foundation. He does so in conversation with Simon Møberg Torp, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Southern Denmark.