Department of Slavic and Baltic Studies, Finnish, Dutch and German
Colloquiums in German and Dutch: Elisabeth Wåghäll Nivre on Early Modern travel narratives
Seminar
Date:Tuesday 18 February 2025
Time:13.00 – 14.30
Location:E509 (and Zoom)
Lecture by Elisabeth Wåghäll Nivre, professor of German, with the title "Early Modern Travel Narratives of the North/the Nordic Countries".
Abstract: Early Modern Travel Narratives of the North/the Nordic Countries
In the context of the scientific and geographic exploration of the world by Europeans, the early modern period is often referred to as the Age of Discovery, characterized by a transformation of the medieval concept of curiositas (Blumenberg 1966). The interest in the new and previously unseen is thus closely intertwined with a desire to understand the (lived) world and to generate new knowledge. Traveling Europeans produced detailed accounts of their encounters with foreign lands and their inhabitants. However, research has often overlooked the aesthetic value of these texts, neglecting the aspects of aesthetic experience expressed by the narrating "I." Travel accounts of life in the Nordic regions during premodern times frequently offer readers glimpses into extreme physical and mental strain. These passages stand in contrast to purely descriptive sections that catalogue what can be counted, categorized, or added to the vast Wunderkammer of early modern knowledge. In my presentation, I will try to show how these texts can contribute to a deeper understanding of early modern travellers and their writings from the perspective of a 21st century literary scholar.
The seminar will be in English. Please contact Hanna Henryson (hanna.henryson@tyska.su.se) for more information and for the Zoom link (when applicable)!
