Shows
The Cultural Life of the Nobel Prize in LiteraturePynchon and the Nobel (feat. Dr Eric Sandberg)In this episode, we welcome Dr. Eric Sandberg, Associate Professor at City University of Hong Kong and Docent at the University of Oulu, Finland. Dr. Sandberg is the author of Virginia Woolf: Experiments in Character (2014), co-editor of Adaptation, Awards Culture, and the Value of Prestige (2017), and author of Crime Fiction and the Holocaust, which explores why detective fiction has become a key mode for engaging with the Holocaust. His work also delves into the hardboiled detective genre and the novels of Thomas Pynchon, a frequent Nobel Prize nominee.We discuss the broader cultural significance of the Nobel...
2025-10-0533 min
The Cultural Life of the Nobel Prize in LiteratureWole Soyinka’s Nobel Legacy (feat. Dr Solomon Azumurana)In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Solomon Azumurana from the Department of English at the University of Lagos, whose research focuses on the comparative study of African and African American novels, gender studies with an emphasis on women’s creative writing, and the intersection of literary theories and fiction.We dive into the debates surrounding Wole Soyinka’s 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature, exploring the controversies that marked his historic win as the first African laureate. Dr. Azumurana sheds light on Soyinka’s play A Dance of the Forests, highlighted by the Swedish Academy during his Nobel...
2025-10-0538 min
The Cultural Life of the Nobel Prize in LiteratureUkrainian Literature as Witness Literature (feat. Dr Hanna Protasova)In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Hanna Protasova, a Ukrainian literary scholar and journalist, who earned her Candidate of Sciences degree from Ukraine’s Taras Shevchenko Institute in 2021, specializing in Ukrainian literary modernism and émigré literature. Currently a PhD student in Comparative Literature at Western University, Canada, her dissertation examines Holocaust representation in Ukrainian fiction and non-fiction from the 1940s to 2020s.We discuss whether Ukrainian writers, like Boris Pasternak or Jean-Paul Sartre, ever distanced themselves from Nobel Prize nominations due to political pressures, and what this reveals about the risks and responsibilities authors face unde...
2025-10-0524 min
The Cultural Life of the Nobel Prize in LiteratureMass media and the Nobel Prize (feat. Dr Karin Nykvist)In this episode, we are joined by Dr Karin Nykvist, Associate Professor in Comparative Literature at Lund University and a freelance literary critic for the Swedish newspaper Sydsvenskan, where she has contributed book reviews for over 20 years and occasionally covered Nobel Prize announcements.We explore the behind-the-scenes impact of Nobel announcement day on newsroom routines at Sydsvenskan, from rapid shifts in editorial priorities to the scramble for expert commentary. We also discuss why controversial laureates often dominate headlines more than beloved figures, unpacking the role of debate in amplifying literary discourse.
2025-10-0518 min
The Cultural Life of the Nobel Prize in LiteratureMultilingualism and the Nobel Prize (feat Dr. Mónika Dánél)In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Mónika Dánél, Assistant Professor at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest. Dr. Dánél, a lead investigator for the research project Space-ing Otherness: Cultural Images of Space, Contact Zones in Contemporary Hungarian and Romanian Film and Literature, specializes in comparative literature with a focus on multilingualism in East-Central European contexts.We explore her argument that multilingualism, rather than the nation, serves as a more effective lens for studying comparative literature in this region. Dr. Dánél discusses why this approach better captures the cultur...
2025-10-0517 min
The Cultural Life of the Nobel Prize in LiteratureHan Kang and the Politics of Translation (feat. Dr Claire Gullander-Drolet)In this episode, we are joined by Dr Claire Gullander-Drolet, Assistant Professor in the Department of English at City University of Hong Kong. Dr Gullander-Drolet’s research focuses on literary translation and memory, and she is currently leading a Hong Kong Research Grants Committee-funded project on feminist translation studies approaches to world literatures in English.We discuss the Swedish Academy’s recognition of Han Kang, the 2024 Nobel Prize laureate in Literature, and explore the poetic and historical dimensions of her work. Dr Gullander-Drolet sheds light on the controversies surrounding the English translation of The Vegetarian, offering insights into...
2024-12-0339 min
The Cultural Life of the Nobel Prize in LiteratureMedia Reaction, Public Discourse, and the Nobel (feat. Dr Karl Ågerup)In this episode, we are joined by Dr Karl Ågerup, Senior Lecturer at Södertörn University (previously Head of the Humanities Division and Associate Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Örebro). Dr Ågerup’s research focuses on the pedagogical and political dimensions of fictional discourse, and his latest book, Critical Responses to the Nobel Prize in Literature (2022), explores the varied critiques of this prestigious award.We discuss the goals of the 196th Nobel Symposia and what inspired Dr Ågerup to study the criticism surrounding the Nobel Prize in Literature. He offers insights into why critics pu...
2024-10-0817 min
The Cultural Life of the Nobel Prize in LiteratureJapan's Literary Quest and the Nobel (feat Prof Takashi Inoue)In this episode, we are joined by Professor Takashi Inoue, Professor of Japanese Literature at Shirayuri University. Prof. Inoue specializes in modern and contemporary literature and has published extensively on renowned authors Mishima Yukio and Oe Kenzaburo. His updated biography on Mishima was honored with the Yomiuri Prize for Literature in 2020, and his latest English-language work examines Japan's quest for the Nobel Prize in Literature through the narratives of “before” and “after” winning.We discuss Prof. Inoue's aims for the 196th Nobel Symposia and the inspiration behind his exploration of Japan's literary aspirations. He shares insights drawn from arc...
2024-10-0525 min
The Cultural Life of the Nobel Prize in LiteratureWorld Literature and the Nobel (feat. Dr Paul Tenngart)In this episode, we are joined by Paul Tenngart, Associate Professor of Comparative Literature at Lund University and an expert in Swedish and French poetry, literary translation, and climate fiction. His latest book, The Nobel Prize and the Formation of Contemporary World Literature (2023), explores how the Nobel Prize has shaped global literary aesthetics since its inception.We discuss the aims of the 196th Nobel Symposia, the inspiration behind his research on the Nobel Prize, and what makes this prestigious award unique. Paul also introduces the concept of "canon formation from the side," highlighting the Prize’s cultural in...
2024-10-0531 min
The Cultural Life of the Nobel Prize in LiteratureTextology, Genetic Criticism, and the Nobel (feat. Prof Wojciech Kruszewski)In this episode, we are joined by Prof Wojciech Kruszewski, a philologist and editor at The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Poland. Prof Kruszewski is the Head of the Chair of Textology and Edition and has been leading the Philomath's Archive - Digital Edition research group since 2019. His notable editorial work includes a four-volume selection of Polish poet Anna Kamieńska’s works (2020) and a critical edition of Adam Mickiewicz's drama Dziady (2022).We delve into the field of textology, exploring how it relates to genetic criticism and how both can enhance our understanding of major aut...
2024-10-0534 min
The Cultural Life of the Nobel Prize in LiteratureTabulating the Nobel (feat. Prof Carlos Spoerhase and Dr Jørgen Sneis)In this episode, we talk with Prof Carlos Spoerhase and Dr Jørgen Sneis from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. Together, they lead a research project on the Nobel Prize in Literature and its global influence.We discuss their "Literature in the Nobel Era" conference series and key findings from their research. They explain how the Nobel’s reputation as a prestigious award was shaped by media coverage and data tables. We also explore the connection between Alfred Nobel’s legacy and the media’s early interest in the prize, as well as the Nobel’s role in promot...
2024-10-0534 min
The Cultural Life of the Nobel Prize in LiteratureTeaching the Nobel (feat. Prof Bette London)In this episode, we talk with Professor Bette London from the University of Rochester about her course on Nobel Prize Literature. We discuss how the course introduces students to the Nobel Prize, the works included in the syllabus, and the controversies surrounding the prize. Professor London also shares how students are encouraged to think critically about the Nobel, while still recognizing its cultural importance. We also explore her view that the diverse range of countries, languages, and traditions represented by the Nobel means that "we’re all learners together."
2024-10-0536 min
The Cultural Life of the Nobel Prize in LiteratureDisability and the Nobel Prize: A Discussion with Dr Alice HallDr Alice Hall is a lecturer in Contemporary and Global Literature at University of York. In 2013, she was one of ten academics chosen as ‘New Generation Thinkers’ by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the BBC. With Professor Sanjoy Bhattacharya, she set up a new MA in Medical History and Humanities, which launched in 2016. She currently holds a Springboard Fellowship funded by the Academy of Medical Sciences and the Wellcome Trust. Disability and Modern Fiction Faulkner, Morrison, Coetzee and the Nobel Prize for Literature is the book she published in 2012.Within disability studies there are the medi...
2022-07-0640 minThe Cultural Life of the Nobel Prize in LiteratureA Swedish Perspective on the Nobel Literature Prize: A Discussion with Yukiko DukeYukiko Duke is a cultural critic, journalist and editor of the Swedish literary magazine. She is also the artistic director of the Stockholm annual literary festival.The Swedes are a reading people. But the readership rate has been declining. Sales of books are down as is the usage of public libraries, probably due to the many different ways of getting cultural information, such as through the internet or Netflix. Thus, there is no need to read anymore. But during the pandemic, book sales soared. People realized the important role played by literature in connecting with the times a...
2022-06-2835 minThe Cultural Life of the Nobel Prize in LiteratureThe Singer-Songwriter Nobel Laureate: Discussing Bob Dylan with Duncan BartlettDuncan Bartlett is a rock musician journalist who has written about Bob Dylan in the Wall Street Journal, a current affairs journalist and editor of Asian Affairs magazine, as well as a research associate at SOAS. As an observer and great fan of Dylan, Bartlett has been listening to Dylan since the age of 13, has every single one of his albums and has attended numerous concerts.Dylan’s initial apparent reluctance to accept the Nobel prize may stem from a number of factors. He was honoured and flattered and it is not as though he doesn’t acce...
2022-06-2751 minThe Cultural Life of the Nobel Prize in LiteratureWriters on Prizes: A Discussion with Xu XiXu Xi is the author of fourteen books, including five novels, seven collections of short fiction & essays and one memoir. Her novel Habit of a Foreign Sky (2010) was a finalist for the Asian Man Booker Award and her short story Famine (2004) was awarded the O’Henry prize. Her works feature on many college literature reading lists.Xu Xi defines success as being able to live life as a writer. That is to continue reading, writing, publishing, talking with other writers and having time to loaf. Monetary success is less important as she has always had and still ha...
2022-05-231h 02The Cultural Life of the Nobel Prize in LiteratureAuthorship and Literary Prizes: A Discussion with Prof Jeremy TamblingProfessor Tambling is a writer and critic, who has been engaged with education and teaching at all levels and across the range, including holding the Chair of Comparative Literature in Hong Kong, and of Literature in Manchester. He has published 27 books and numerous articles.It is important to write good books for students. His research activities include new research as well as outcomes from teaching. The latter is not new research but makes topics interesting and approachable which is very important when writing teaching books for students.Choice of topics for publication comes either in...
2022-05-0949 minThe Cultural Life of the Nobel Prize in LiteratureThe Reluctant Nobel Laureate: Discussing Samuel Beckett with Dr Hannah SimpsonDr Simpson is the Rosemary Pountney Junior Research Fellow in British and European Drama at the Faculty of English, St. Anne’s College, University of Oxford. One of her primary areas of study is Samuel Beckett, literature Nobel laureate in 1969.Beckett studies have often down played the importance and relevance of the Nobel prize. Yet it remains useful in understanding his works since they are so diametrically opposed to the historical framework of the prize. It is strange he was even awarded the prize. He was a strong contender in 1968, and possibly in 1964, but his works were co...
2022-05-0946 minThe Cultural Life of the Nobel Prize in LiteratureModernism and Literary Prizes: A Discussion with Dr Bret JohnsonIn this episode, Michael is joined by Dr Bret Johnson, a PhD graduate from Loughborough University, to discuss the influences of the literary prize culture on the stratification of early-twentieth-century modernist literature into cultural registers. By looking into Virginia Woolf and Y.B. Yeats’ reactions to being awarded the 1928 Femina Vie Heureuse and the 1923 Nobel Prize in Literature respectively and looking into the public perception of them receiving these two different prizes, they investigate how literary prizes manipulate modernist authors’ images and make them unable to reach their target audiences. Their conversation also inspires us to reflect on the impa...
2022-03-2831 minThe Cultural Life of the Nobel Prize in LiteratureThe Subversive Nobel Laureate: Discussing Mo Yan with Prof Shelley ChanIn this episode, Michael and Prof Shelley Chan, Professor of Chinese Language and Cultural Studies at Wittenberg University, discuss Mo Yan, the 2012 Literature Nobel Laureate. Prof Chan published one of the best English language studies on Mo Yan: “A subversive voice in China: The fictional world of Mo Yan” (2011).In Chinese literature subversive implies expressing disapproval of the political circumstances. But Mo Yan goes beyond the political and subverts the reading experience of his Chinese audience. He challenges the concept of history found in revolutionary historical fiction. His experimental writing style, his use of language, adverbs and colou...
2022-03-2128 minThe Cultural Life of the Nobel Prize in LiteratureOrhan Pamuk and World Literature: A Discussion with Dr Gloria FiskIn this episode, Michael and Dr Gloria Fisk, Associate Professor at Queen’s College Department of English, City University of New York discuss the tensions faced by trans-cultural and non-western writers. Central to this conversation is Orhan Pamuk, the 2006 literature Nobel laureate. And Dr Fisk’s 2018 book ‘Orhan Pamuk and the Good of World Literature’.The benefits of world literature lie in its ethical, political, aesthetic and material dimensions. The reader gains a humanistic empathy with a hitherto unknown culture at the same time as acquiring more social capital à la Bourdieu and a global outlook. The writer has to le...
2022-03-1139 min
The Cultural Life of the Nobel Prize in LiteratureChinese Literature and the Nobel Prize: A Discussion with Dr Howard ChoyIn this episode, Michael and Howard Choy, Associate Professor of Chinese Language and Literature at Hong Kong Baptist University discuss the Nobel Prize in Literature within the Chinese speaking sphere, with focus on the political stances, reader expectations and stylistic differences surrounding Chinese Nobel laureates Gao Xingjian and Mo Yan.Keywords: Literary Criticism, Nobel Prize, Literature, Human Condition, Disability
2022-02-1637 min