Literary conference as part of the Nordic Sound 2026

We don't just eat to survive; we also use food to negotiate cultural affiliations, individuality and community. In other words: We are what we eat. This is why (non-)eating also plays an important role in Scandinavian literature. Be it Michel's soup bowl, the ascetic refusal to eat in Knut Hamsun's Hunger or the great feast in Karen Blixen's Babette's Feast.

Together with scholars from Germany and abroad, we are investigating the functions of food in the literature of Northern European countries. We want to investigate what can be told with and about food and why we can also devour texts. The conference is embedded in the seminars (Gem)einsam Hungern (Räthel) and (Gem)einsam Essen (Westfeld), which are offered in the summer semester at the Institute for Fennistics and Scandinavian Studies.

Speakers:

Prof Dr Stefanie von Schnurbein (HU Berlin)
Prof. Dr Mia Österlund (Åbo Akademi)
Prof Dr Sophie Wennerscheid (University of Copenhagen)
Hanna Rinderle (HU Berlin)
Merle Heiduczek, B.A. (University of Bremen)