Norwegian literature of the second half of the 19th century
The SPbU Representative Office in Spain invites you to an online lecture "Norwegian literature of the second half of the 19th century," dedicated to a crucial period in the country’s history that laid the foundations of the Norwegian language, culture and national identity. The lecture will be given by Olga Ermakova, Doctor of Philology and Associate Professor at the Department of Scandinavian and Dutch Philology at SPbU.
Why was women’s emancipation one of the key themes in Norwegian literature? Which famous Norwegian writer may have been the founder of modern European drama? What works have been inspired by Norway’s majestic nature?
The second half of the 19th century is a unique period in the history of Norwegian literature — several generations of outstanding writers, who undoubtedly influenced the development of world literature, made their debut during this time. They bring with them a variety of literary directions, genres and styles. In our lecture we will focus on the historical and cultural context of the period and the development of literary movements in Norway under the influence of external impulses and internal political conditions.
We will also address the issue of language, as Danish remained the main written language in Norway in the mid-19th century. The creation of a national written language was one of the most important issues for writers of the time, and they approached the problem in different ways: from complete neglect to a radical shift to landsmål — a language created on the basis of Norwegian dialects.
Lecturer
Olga Ermakova is the editor-in-chief of the journal "Scandinavian Philology." She has been teaching the course "History of Scandinavian Literature XVI-XIX Centuries" for 20 years and is the author of the courses "Norwegian Poetry" and "Literature in New Norwegian." Her research interests include Norwegian literature and oral folk traditions of the 17th and 18th centuries, religious literature, modern Norwegian literature, and the reflection of Norwegian national identity in literature and language.
The lecture is a part of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the oldest university in Russia — SPbU. It will be held online in Russian with simultaneous translation into Spanish.