2014 Jacob Bøggild

An approved doctoral dissertation on Hans Christian Andersen should always be appreciated. In spite of the unique position of our distinguished poet in the Danish cultural history and as a Danish writer with a worldwide reputation, surprisingly few dissertations – that is scientific works on the highest level – have been written about him and his work. The previous dissertation is a stunning 18 years old, and the dissertation by Jacob Bøggild is the last in an exclusive list of just six dissertations within the last 100 years!

Consequently it is not an exaggeration to claim that the long and productive work hitherto as well as the arrival of Jacob Bøggild as professor at the Hans Christian Andersen Centre at the University of Southern Denmark has shown that the research into Hans Christian Andersen at the University of Southern Denmark has taken an important step into the 21st century. With this work Jacob Bøggild has shown great ingenuity and originality in his documentation and presentation in writing, in numerous lectures and newspaper articles – and in a very thought provoking TV-lecture to be found on the website of DR! – to show that the poetry of Andersen contains qualities that makes him artistically valid today. And also shows that Andersen still has loads of material and meaning that inspires new experiences and insights. Throughout his creative career and perhaps most clearly in his fairy tales, Andersen gives high octane fuel for thought in the interaction between the good story that we all love and the more philological meaning that Jacob Bøggild relates directly to Kierkegaard himself, and this interaction presents a challenge that most of us will never stop investigating and will always inspire us.