"My interest in the attraction that lies in Grundtvig's person and work was awakened during choral singing. It struck me that his lyrics could be related to the theoretical considerations about the importance of rituals for the self-preservation of communities, which I worked with during my studies in religious studies," says Katrine Frøkjær Baunvig.

"It inspired me to first investigate Grundtvig's use of words such as "I" and "we" in the hymns and later to use AI-based studies to understand the logics behind cohesion in his writing. Most recently, this has led to the book: "Grundtvig and the Monsters", which was published on All Saints' Eve."

As a professor, Katrine Frøkjær Baunvig will continue her great commitment to Grundtvig's writings and cultural heritage:

"I will focus on two key tasks in connection with my professorship. I will focus on ensuring digital preservation of high-quality cultural heritage material, such as Grundtvig's works at www.grundtvigsværker.dk And then I will also focus on computational methods for exploring cultural heritage material from the 1800s. The latter I will do with a view to examining what the relationship is between, on the one hand, our contemporary view of and use of Grundtvig and his contemporaries, the Golden Age, and, on the other hand, the life's work and the period as it appears on the basis of the surprising amount of data we have available from this particular period. In this work, I also cast a particularly interesting side-glance at a particular cultural characteristic that is often linked to Grundtvig and the Golden Age period: the community song and its history."

For Katrine Frøkjær Baunvig, digital cultural heritage preservation is an urgent task:

"The Centre for Grundtvig Research's publication of Grundtvig's works is one of many examples of how public and private funds are spent on digitised cultural heritage. However, there is a lack of a clear plan for storing and preserving this data. Therefore, I will work for long-lasting solutions for the production, display and storage of digital cultural heritage material," she says.

Exploring the national standard narratives about Grundtvig and the Golden Age
In addition to the digital cultural heritage preservation, the new professor wants to explore the traditional national narratives about Grundtvig and the Golden Age.

 "Grundtvig and the Golden Age are living cultural heritage and canonical material for many Danes today. Curricula at all levels of education and a steady interest in the media testify to this. The explosive growth, not least in 19th-century data, now enables us to examine this formative period and memory space – are the national standard narratives about Grundtvig and about the Golden Age adequate? This open research question drives a number of my ongoing research projects with support from AUFF NOVA, the Carlsberg Foundation and the EU's HERA instruments," she explains.

Inaugural lectureAn inaugural lecture will be held in the Aula/Vandrehallen on Friday 7 February 2025 at 14-15.00 followed by a reception.

Contact

Katrine Frøkjær Baunvig, Head of Center, Professor
Grundtvig Center
School of Culture and Society
Aarhus University
Mail: baunvig@cas.au.dk
Mobile: +45 9352 1770