Paul and Reneta Madsen Professor of Scandinavian Studies
College of Letters & Science l Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic
Dr. Claus Elholm Andersen is the Birgit Baldwin Chair and Paul and Renate Madsen Professor of Scandinavian Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he is also the Head of Nordic and Associate Chair of the Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic. Recent publications include the monographs Knausgård and the Autofictional Novel and A Dissonans in This World. Readings in Hans Christian Andersen’s Early Fairytales. He has previously held positions at the University of Helsinki and the University of California, Los Angeles. He writes regularly for the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.
Talks:
Hygge, Health, and Happiness
What is hygge? And how does it relate to happiness and health? In this talk, Professor Andersen will introduce the concept of hygge, explain how it relates to the Scandinavian way of life, and show what Americans can learn from it.
The Scandinavian Recipe for Happiness
Scandinavian consistently rank among the happiest people in the world. This talk will explore why that is. And what can we learn from the Scandinavian’s happiness?
Scandinavia Today
What are the main issues in contemporary Scandinavia? What challenges do the Scandinavian countries face in terms of the welfare state, immigration, and the EU. This talk will discuss some of the more controversial topics in current Scandinavia.
Scandinavian Literature - What Makes It Special?
Ibsen, Strindberg, Hans Christian Andersen, and Isak Dinesen. Scandinavian has produced dusins of high profiled authors for the past 200 years. What do all of these have in common? And how do the canonical writers of the past relate to the bestselling crime authors of today, as Stieg Larsson and Jussi Adler Olsen?