HDCB01142U DCC H.C. Andersen and Søren Kierkegaard: The Quest for Identity in Modernity

In the spring semester 2026, the focus is primarily on H. C. Andersen. For this reason, the course description is different from previous semesters.

The official course title will still be “H.C. Andersen and Søren Kierkegaard: The Quest for Identity in Modernity”, but in daily speaking the course title will be “Hans Christian Andersen and his Contemporaries”.

Hans Christian Andersen and his Contemporaries

This is an English course for all international students each semester. Focusing on Andersen and relevant themes, the course introduces students to literature and philosophical text from Denmark’s Golden Age.

As an ambitious poet and well-travelled Dane in the long 19^th century, H.C. Andersen experienced a rapid societal transition: Romantic ideas and scientific discoveries sparked new theories about art, modern identity, and man’s relationship with nature. The industrial revolution transformed cities, the countryside, means of travel and communication. The Napoleonic wars accelerated nationalistic glorifications of the old North, and with the Constitutional Act (1849), Denmark formally introduced democracy as its new system of government.

In this course, we will examine how Andersen and other Danish writers contemplated on these political and cultural changes and how their thoughts resonate with us today. Together with Andersen, we will dive into relevant texts from H.C. Ørsted, Adam Oehlenschläger, B.S. Ingemann, N.F.S. Grundtvig, and Søren Kierkegaard.

The course consists of 10 lectures and two excursions: One will trace the 19^th century writers’ footsteps in Copenhagen. The other excursion will involve a visit to a museum dedicated to H.C. Andersen.

In the autumn semester 2025, the focus is primarily on H. C. Andersen. For this reason, the course description is different from previous semesters.

The official course title will still be “H.C. Andersen and Søren Kierkegaard: The Quest for Identity in Modernity”, but in daily speaking the course title will be “Hans Christian Andersen and his Contemporaries: Longing for Nature and the Past”.

Hans Christian Andersen and his Contemporaries: Longing for Nature and the Past is an English course for all international students each semester.

Together with contemporary writers and philosophers in 19th century Denmark, H.C. Andersen experienced a rapid societal shift during his lifetime: Romantic ideas and scientific explorations sparked new theories about man’s relationship with nature; the Napoleonic wars accelerated nationalistic glorifications of the medieval North; and with the Constitutional Act (1849), Denmark formally introduced democracy as its new system of government.

In this course, we will examine how Andersen and other Danish writers contemplated on these political and cultural changes and how their thoughts concerning Romanticism, nationalism, and medievalism resonate with us today. Focusing on the two themes: nature and the past, we will dive into literature and philosophical texts from Andersen as well as Søren Kierkegaard, Adam Oehlenschläger, N.F.S. Grundtvig, H.C. Ørsted, and B.S. Ingemann.

Together with lectures, the course includes two excursions. We will visit Andersen’s childhood home in Odense together with the impressive museum Hans Christian Anderson's House. Our second excursion will be in Copenhagen where we trace the writers’ daily life in the 19th century.

Danish Culture Courses – University of Copenhagen

Name of Exam: HDCB01141E Danish Literature and Philosophy in Context of Danish Culture and Society.