Georg Brandes and Human Rights History

Guest Lecture by William Banks.

Georg Brandes was known as the “Father of the Modern Breakthrough” for his influence on Scandinavian writers in the late nineteenth century. A prominent writer, thinker, and speaker, he often examined intellectual topics beyond the literary criticism he was best known for. In fact, Brandes devoted a great deal of the final quarter century of his long life to what may arguably be understood as an early form of human rights activism. This lecture provides an introduction to the critic’s pioneering international rights advocacy with an eye toward situating it within the broader history of human rights. Finally, the curious and somewhat counterintuitive relationship between Brandes’ political journalism and his mature (Nietzschean) literary criticism shall be discussed.

The lecture will be followed by a small reception.

Participation in the event is free and registration is not required.

Contact: Torben Jelsbak

About

William Banks is an independent scholar and editor of Georg Brandes: Human Rights and Oppressed Peoples. Collected Essays and Speeches, published by The University of Wisconsin Press, 2020.