Holberg Prize Talks

Fifty years after the 1968 revolt, how important are affects in influencing the behavior of voters, activists and policy makers? Achille Mbembe, Kathleen Cleaver and George Galloway met in Bergen on 1 December, 2018 to discuss these issues at the Holberg Debate: "Politics and Affects: The Dynamics of Social Mobilization". This recording is the keynote George Galloway held at the debate. George Galloway is a British politician, activist, writer and broadcaster. He is a former Member of Parliament in the UK and has been a vocal participant in public debate over the last five decades, particularly in matters related to anti-war efforts, Middle East conflicts, racism and class struggle.

Fifty years after the 1968 revolt, how important are affects in influencing the behavior of voters, activists and policy makers? Achille Mbembe, Kathleen Cleaver and George Galloway met in Bergen on 1December, 2018 to discuss these issues at the 2018 Holberg Debate: "Politics and Affects: The Dynamics of Social Mobilization" This recording is the keynote Achille Mbembe held at the debate. Achille Mbembe is a Cameroonian historian, philosopher and political theorist who specializes in African history and politics. He is Professor at the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. Mbembe is particularly well known for his work on post-colonialism and race.

The Danish theologian Frederik Poulsen was awarded the 2020 Nils Klim Prize for his outstanding contributions to Old Testament Studies. His work is characterised by an innovative combination of historical-critical and literary methodologies that have enabled him to cast new light on the ancient texts of the bible. Frederik Poulsen is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Theology at the University of Copenhagen. Interviewer: Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme, Professor in theology, University of Oslo.

Professor Timothy Garton Ash of the University of Oxford is the keynote speaker of the first Holberg Debate in 2016. He was invited to elaborate on the central themes of his book "Free Speech: Ten Principles for a Connected World". Following an interview with Anine Kierulf, Professor Garton Ash joins in a panel discussion with Jostein Gripsrud and Kari Steen-Johnsen about dilemmas related to free speech, information controll and the need for civilized conflict in modern multicultural societies.

The 2020 Holberg Prize is awarded to British-Canadian scholar Griselda Pollock for her groundbreaking contributions to feminist art history and cultural studies. In this interview, Pollock discusses her background and her research, the history of art history, the women's movement, and more. Griselda Pollock is Professor of Social and Critical Histories of Art and Director of CentreCATH (Centre for Cultural Analysis, Theory & History) at the University of Leeds. Interviewer: Mathias Danbolt, Associate Professor of Art History, University of Copenhagen.

At the 2020 Holberg Debate, Amb. John Bolton and Member of the Hellenic Parliament Yanis Varoufakis discussed current threats to regional and global stability. The debate took place on 5 December and was chaired from Bergen, Norway. At the 2020 Holberg Debate we were joined via videolink by two top speakers who have both been important policy makers at crucial times in their respective countries: Member of the Hellenic Parliament and former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis and Ambassador John Bolton (US), former National Security Advisor and US Ambassador to the UN. Moderator for the event is Scott Gates, Professor of Political Science at the University of Oslo (UiO), as well as Guest Researcher at UiO’s Department of Economics and Research Professor at Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). The Holberg Debate is an annual event organised by the Holberg Prize. The debate is inspired by Ludvig Holberg's Enlightenment ideas and aims to explore pressing issues of our time.

Slavoj Žižek has been called the «the most dangerous philosopher in the West» and a cultural theorist superstar, as he mixes Marxism with pop culture and psychoanalysis. In an age where the principles of the free marked have become the driving force of both the economy, public services, foreign policy, and education, “communism” remains a dirty word among the political establishment. Three decades after the fall of «Communism» in Eastern Europe, so why does Žižek still call himself a communist? Programme: - Introduction by Ellen Mortensen, Academic Director of the Holberg Prize - Keynote adress by Professor Slavoj Žižek, Senior Researcher in Philosophy at the University of Ljubljana - Slavoj Žižek is interviewed by Professor Tyler Cowen, Holberg L. Harris Professor of Economics at George Mason University Q&A with video link participants and the live audience - End of event Time: 7 December, 2019 Venue: The University Aula in Bergen, Norway

2019 Nils Klim Laureate Finnur Dellsén is Senior Lecturer of Philosophy at the University of Iceland. In this interview he discusses a range of topics, including his research in the philosophy of science, when to trust experts, and what constitutes scientific progress. Interviewer is Ole Thomassen Hjortland, Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Bergen. The Holberg Prize is awarded annually to scholars who have made outstanding contributions to research in the humanities, social sciences, law or theology. The Nils Klim Prize is awarded annually to a younger researcher from a Nordic country, for outstanding research contributions in the above fields. (Photo: Eivind Senneset)

In this interview, 2019 Holberg Prize Laureate Paul Gilroy discusses a range of topics, including his childhood and adolesence in post-colonial Britain, his research on race and identity, and how to best meet the threats posed by neo-fascism and the climate crisis. Paul Gilroy is Professor of the Humanities and Director of the Centre for the Study of Race and Racism at UCL. Interviewer is Bjørn Enge Bertelsen, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Bergen. The interview was recorded on 3 June, 2019. Produced by the Holberg Prize, in collaboration with the University of Bergen. (Photo: Eivind Senneset)

In connection with the Holberg Committee meeting in Rome on 8 January, 2019, Committee member Mary Beard held a lecture at the Royal Norwegian Embassy on 7 January. The title of the lecture was: "What's the Point of Ancient Rome". Mary Beard is Professor of Classics at the University of Cambridge, a fellow of Newnham College, and Royal Academy of Arts Professor of Ancient Literature. She is the Classics editor of The Times Literary Supplement, where she also writes a regular blog, "A Don's Life". The Holberg Prize is awarded annually to scholars who have made outstanding contributions to research in the humanities, social sciences, law or theology. The recipient of the 2019 Holberg Prize will be announced on 14 March, at holbergprize.com.

In this interview 2018 Nils Klim Laureate Franscesca R. Jensenius discusses her research, her background and more with Elana Wilson Rowe, Senior Research Fellow at NUPI. Dr. Jensenius, Senior Research Fellow at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), will receive the 2018 Nils Klim Prize for her research on elections, development patterns, and the empowerment of minority groups and women in India and elsewhere. The podcast is produced by NUPI and the Holberg Prize. The interview was recorded on 5 March, 2018.

If people have freedom of choice, do their lives go better? Under what conditions? By what criteria? Consider three distinct problems: (1) In countless situations, human beings face a serious problem of “navigability”; they do not know how to get to their preferred destination, whether the issue involves health, education, employment, or well-being in general. This problem is especially challenging for people who live under conditions of severe deprivation, but it can be significant for all of us. (2) Many of us face problems of self-control, and our decisions today endanger our own future. What we want, right now, hurts us, next year. (3) In some cases, we would actually be happy or well-off with two or more different outcomes, whether the issue involves our jobs, our diets, our city, or even our friends and partners, and the real question, on which good answers are increasingly available, is what most promotes our welfare. The evaluative problem, in such cases, is especially challenging if a decision wo

For the Holberg Masterclass on June 4, 2018, The Holberg Prize invited six Nordic PhD candidates to discuss the topic "What to do about Human Error" with 2018 Holberg Laureate Cass Sunstein. The event took place at the University of Bergen, Norway. What to Do About Human Error. In recent decades, we have learned a great deal about human error. For example, people tend to focus on the present rather than the future; to be unrealistically optimistic; to make mistakes in assessing risks; to be overconfident; and to pay attention to only a subset of the considerations before them. Obesity is one result; another is premature death. A large question, for societies and individuals alike, is what to do about human error. What interventions, from the private or public sector, would work best? When is coercion justified? When is liberty the solution? What about education? What is the role of machine learning and algorithms? About Cass Sunstein Professor Cass Sunstein is currently Robert Walmsley University Professo

The 2018 Nils Klim Laureate Francesca R. Jensenius presents her research and discusses the use of electoral quotas in India with Pradeep Chhibber, Pratap Mehta and Anne Waldrop. Electoral quotas have played an important role in Indian politics for the past century. Many groups have demanded and still demand quotas, often on the basis of arguments that quotas are needed to bring “their” perspectives into politics – that a guaranteed political presence will result in better representation of their group’s interests. In the book Social Justice through Inclusion: The Consequences of Electoral Quotas in India (OUP 2017), Francesca R. Jensenius provided evidence of the long-term effects of electoral quotas for one of India’s most marginalized communities, the Scheduled Castes (the former “untouchables”). Drawing on extensive qualitative and quantitative data she showed that the quotas to a limited extent have contributed to the mobilization around, and representation of, group interests for SCs, but that they hav

Should free speech laws be changed, and if so, how? How should the US approach the issue of gun control? And has the US Supreme Court become too politicized? These are some of the questions that 2018 Holberg Laureate Cass Sunstein addresses in this interview. Interviewer: Professor Ivar Bleiklie Photo: Rose Lincoln

I 2011 vant Jørn Jacobsen Nils Klim-prisen for sin forskning på norsk strafferett. I dette intervjuet fra 2017 snakker han blant annet om hvorfor han valgte en akademisk karriere, om verdien av rettsteori og om utfordringer for strafferetten. Intervjuet er foretatt av Marita Ramsvik for Holbergprisen.

Professor Claes de Vreese speaks on the topic of “Dealing with Populism: A Challenge for the News Media.” The lecture took place on 9 February 2018, at a reception for the Holberg Prize at the Royal Norwegian Honorary Consulate General. In 2004, de Vreese was the very first recipient of the Nils Klim Prize, awarded by the Holberg Prize organization to researchers under the age of 35, also in humanities, social sciences, law and theology. He is now Professor and Chair of Political Communication at the University of Amsterdam.

In 2004, Claes de Vreese became the first Nils Klim Laureate. In this 2017 interview, he discusses pressing political issues and describes his research interests, which range from political communication and media framing to electoral behavior, and more. De Vreese is interviewed by Marita Ramsvik for the Holberg Prize.

Are we currently seeing a global war of information that is escalating, both openly and covertly, far beyond what many of us are aware of? And to what extent does the presence of propaganda and manipulated information in news and social media threaten our democracy and our ability to make informed decisions? 00:00:00 Introduction 00:10:19 Keynote address - Julian Assange 00:29:42 Interview with Assange 00:55:35 Assange's Q&A with the audience 01:19:07 Keynote address - Jonathan Heawood 01:43:26 Keynote address - John Pilger 02:17:27 Heawood's and Pilger's Q&A with the audience Julian Assange joins the panel via videolink. Assange is an award-winning journalist and the founder and editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks. He is also a programmer, cryptographer, author and activist. Founded in 2006, WikiLeaks has published millions of leaked documents and several videos. This includes logs that relate to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the controversial “Collateral Murder” video from Iraq, U.S. diplomatic cable

Holberg Laureates Stephen Greenblatt and Manuel Castells discuss the status of the humanities and the social sciences, at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, September 22, 2017.