With the increasing academic exchanges between Fudan University and the universities in Nordic countries, large numbers of well-known scholars and professors specialized in Nordic literature have visited Fudan University through the Nordic Centre and given lectures on renown figures such as Ibsen, Andersen, and Strindberg. The students at Fudan University are getting more and more interested in Nordic literature and they have benefited a lot from those lectures and discussions. In view of this situation, it is assumed that the newly-launched Nordic Literature Research Institute will enable the faculty and students to expose themselves more to Nordic literature and the latest development in the research in this field.
Fudan University boasts itself as one of the key universities in China to start Nordic literature teaching and research early. Back in the 1930s, Ibsen’s plays were taught and performed on campus. In 1987 an elective course on Ibsen was taught by Professor Sun Jian. It was the first course of such kind offered in Chinese universities. In 2005, Professor Sun initiated another pioneering course on Nordic literature which has been well received. Fudan University, together with the University of Oslo and Tsinghua University, organized an international conference on Ibsen in 2002. Besides, Fudan University also took an active part in activities celebrating the great masters of Nordic literature and it has become the most important venue for Ibsen, Andersen and Strindberg festivals held in recent years in Shanghai. At the 11th International Convention on Ibsen held in the University of Oslo in August 2006, Fudan University was designated as the venue for the 12th International Convention on Ibsen in 2009 and Professor Sun Jian has become a member of the International Ibsen Committee.
The Nordic Literature Research Institute, with Professor Sun Jian as its director, consists of three members at present; Dr. Wang Hongzhang, associate professor specializing in literary theory; Dr. Zhu Jianxin, associate professor versed in western films and Ms Wang Aiping, associate professor with research interest in women’s issues in western literature. At the initial stage, the institute will work toward the following goals:
1. Developing courses both at undergraduate and graduate levels
a. Nordic Theatre
b. Scandinavian Literary Criticism
c. Nordic Film
d. Women in Nordic Literature
2. Organizing a conference on H.C. Andersen in March or April 2007 together with some institutions in Beijing and the Danish Cultural Committee in China.
3. Establishing a professorship for professors from the Nordic universities to teach and conduct research in the institute.
4. Setting up a fund for awarding the students with excellent performance in Nordic literature classes.
5. Publishing a journal once or twice annually with contributions from scholars from home and overseas on issues of Nordic literature.
The Nordic Literature Research Institute warmly welcomes scholars and professors from the universities in Nordic countries to visit, lecture and conduct research at Fudan and it also appreciates support of various kinds from different institutions in the Nordic countries.