Martin Zerlang

The invention of the locomotive changed landscapes, cityscapes, social relations, sensibilities prophesied by Hans Christian Andersen it also made huge impact on literature: on genres, themes, style. This book is about this commotion, this literary locomotion as it has been represented in Danish literature. The book explores the movements between text and context, and the interplay between literature and social history. Through the prism of the railway, the book provides an overview of Danish literary history, from writers such as Søren Kierkegaard, Georg Brandes, Henrik Pontoppidan, Johannes V. Jensen, Tove Ditlevsen, Peter Høeg. The locomotive of history is a well-known metaphor, but a historical reading of these writers also show the impact of history on this metaphor, from something extraordinary to something more ordinary. Hans Christian Andersen wrote about meeting God face-to-face on the railway. The experience of the modern commuter is closer to what Georges Perec calls the infraordinary. As reflected in the work of Peter Høeg, however, the railway also figures in the intense contemporary debates on decolonizing. The book draws on theoretical insights expressed in concepts such as chronotope, character and literary speed. This book will be of interest to students and scholars in literature studies, history, transport and mobility studies, human geography and urban studies.

The Railway in Danish Literature

Locomotion in Literature

The history of cities is also the history of city squares. The agora, the forum, the piazza, the plaza: All presuppose the idea of a center. It’s a material and mental phenomenon. Literature is an important part of this history, and the interplay between the square as physical space and the square as literature is the topic of this book. This is an encyclopedic book combining an overview of the history of city squares with a plethora of analytical examples of its reflection in literature: Literature uses the city square as a frame; city squares serve as frames for drama; novels and other kinds of literature comment on city squares; city squares are sources of inspiration for all sorts of literary activities. Socrates in the agora, Cicero in the Forum, Calderón in the Plaza Mayor, Corneille in the Place Royale, Richardson in Grosvenor Square, James in Washington Square, Woolf in Bloomsbury Square, Döblin and Gröschner in Alexanderplatz, Rodoreda in Diamond Square in Barcelona, DeLillo in Times Square, Al Aswany in Tahrir Square, the Maidanistas in the Maidan of Kyiv: These are just some of the examples presented and analyzed in this book. The book is of direct interest for researchers, students, and professionals such as architects and urban planners, but it is written in a way that makes it accessible for all readers with an interest in urban culture, architecture, history, literature, and cultural studies.

On the History and the Histories of City Squares

Writing the City Square

Dorthe Aagesen

Hanne Abildgaard

Rikke Warming

The Avant-garde in Danish and European Art 1909-19

"I det 20. århundredes "danske" selvforståelse er især arven fra bøndernes frigørelseskampe i det 19. århundrede blevet den sejrsfane, der vajer foran triumftoget. I det moderne borgerlige samfund, som er fremstået efter en lang, modsigelsesfuld historisk proces, hvor bøndernes nedbrydning af feudale produktionsforhold og etablering af et "frit" marked spillede en væsentlig rolle, er det blevet "glemt", at den glorværdige arv fra bondefrigørelsens dage er blevet tilegnet, efter at bønderne selv var blevet et bytte for de samfundsmæssige processer, som fremkaldtes med etableringen af småborgerlig vareproduktion." Professor Martin Zerlang tegner et portræt af den danske bondeklasse og deres klassekamp fra bondefrigørelsen i 1788 og op til bøndernes politiske magtovertagelse 1901. Bogen fortæller om de forskellige roller, bønderne har spillet for det danske samfund op igennem 1800-tallet, om højskolebevægelsens store betydning og bøndernes klassemæssige identitet, der blev bevaret selv under stort pres under den store verdensmarkedskrise i 1880‘erne. Martin Zerlang (f. 1952) er en dansk forfatter og professor ved Institut for Kunst og Kulturvidenskab på Københavns Universitet. Han er uddannet mag.art. i litteraturvidenskab og forsker i dag i både litteratur og moderne kultur. Blandt Martin Zerlangs mange udgivelser kan nævnes "Underholdningens historie", "Bøndernes klassekamp i Danmark" og "Herman Bangs København".

Martin Zerlang

Books

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