Susan Brantly

Professor

College of Letters & Science | Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic+

Hometown: Murrieta, California

Susan Brantly is a professor of Scandinavian Studies at UW-Madison. She specializes in 19th-century Scandinavian literature and culture and the author, Isak Dinesen. She has worked as a consultant for the Broadway sequel to Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and for the LMIGroup to help discover the stories behind a recently discovered painting by Vincent van Gogh. She has been featured on Wisconsin Public Radio and Wisconsin Public Television.

Talks:

Isak Dinesen: The Woman and the Mask

An examination of the art and life of Isak Dinesen (a.k.a. the Baroness Karen Blixen). Her life is the basis for the Oscar-winning movie “Out of Africa,” and her tale “Babette’s Feast” is the inspiration for another Oscar-winning movie.

Scandinavian Art and Literature

Over the centuries, Nordic writers have been inspired by painters, and even some painters have become writers. This talk looks at the intersection of art and literature in Scandinavia and provides some insight into changing artistic tastes.

Rasmus B. Anderson: The Hub of Norwegian-American Cultural Life

A look at the career of the founding professor of the Scandinavian Department in UW-Madison. It provides insight into the thriving cultural life of Norwegian-Americans in Wisconsin.

A Van Gogh Mystery: Pathways of Nordic Art and Literature in the 1880s

A presentation of the complicated cultural connections that led to the discovery of a van Gogh painting at a garage sale.

Of Its Time: Ibsen, Women and 19th Century Norway

A talk about the cultural context that produced Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House” and the possibilities that Nora had after she left Thorvald.