Sara Danius
Sara Danius | |
---|---|
Born | Sara Maria Danius 5 April 1962 |
Died | 12 October 2019 Stockholm, Sweden | (aged 57)
Alma mater | Uppsala University Duke University University of Nottingham Stockholm University |
Spouse(s) | Stefan Jonsson (m. 1989–2010) |
Children | 1 |
Institutions | Swedish Academy Södertörn University Uppsala University Stockholm University |
Sara Maria Danius (5 April 1962 – 12 October 2019) was a Swedish literary critic and philosopher, and a scholar of literature and aesthetics. Danius was professor of aesthetics at Södertörn University,[1] docent of literature at Uppsala University[2] and professor in literary science at Stockholm University.[3]
Danius was a member of the Swedish Academy and its first female permanent secretary.[4] She was one of the central figures in the 2018 controversies resulting in the cancellation of the Nobel Prize in Literature that year and the following restructuring of the academy.[5]
Early life and education[]
Danius was the daughter of author Anna Wahlgren (b. 1942) and Lars Danius (1907–1996).[6] She was the oldest of nine full and half siblings.[7] She went to Åva gymnasium in Täby, where she studied natural science.[8] She played basketball in Elitserien, the highest league in Sweden, and continued to play on a recreational level throughout her life.[8][9] In 1981–82, she worked as a certified croupier and dealer at casinos in Stockholm.[8][9]
Danius graduated from Stockholm University in 1986.[10] She received her Master of Arts in critical theory at the University of Nottingham in 1989. She lived in the United States for ten years and, in 1997, received a Ph.D. from Duke University. In 1999 she received a Ph.D. from Uppsala University.[3][10] She published on the relationship between literature and society and wrote about Marcel Proust, Gustave Flaubert, and James Joyce.
Career[]
Danius was a literary critic for the Swedish daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter from 1986.[6] In 2008, she became professor of aesthetics at Södertörn University[1] and docent of literature at Uppsala University.[2] She was an executive member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters since 2010,[11] and in 2013 became professor in literary science at Stockholm University.[3]
"Perseverance, self-criticism, inquisitiveness. I'm not particularly curious, but I can become obsessed with certain things. I have realized I'm something of a nerd."
— Danius about her career in a 2013 interview[3]
In March 2013, Danius was elected to the Swedish Academy, succeeding Knut Ahnlund on chair 7. Danius was formally installed in the academy at a ceremony on 20 December 2013.[1][2] She took over the post as permanent secretary of the academy from Peter Englund on 1 June 2015.[4][12]
She played a central role in awarding the literature Nobel to Bob Dylan.[1] This was the first time a musician and songwriter won the Nobel Prize in Literature.[2] The award caused some controversy, particularly among writers arguing that the literary merits of Dylan's work are not equal to those of some of his peers.[13][circular reference]
She was asked to resign from her position and left the academy on 12 April 2018, against the background of critique over the academy's handling of the Me Too-related Jean-Claude Arnault scandal.[5][14] The scandal evolved into the 2018 controversies resulting in the cancellation of the Nobel Prize in Literature that year and the following restructuring of the academy.[15][16]
Two former permanent secretaries, Sture Allén and Horace Engdahl, called Danius a weak leader in her handling of the affair.[17] On 26 February 2019 she resigned from her seat at the Swedish Academy.[18] Her move came after several academy members tried to sweep the scandal under the rug, prompting the resignation of three academy members "in disgust."[19][20]
Personal life[]
Danius was interested in fashion.[3][21] At the Nobel Banquets she wore specially designed dresses by Pär Engsheden and inspired by three authors she admired: Marcel Proust, Honoré de Balzac and Virginia Woolf.[22] Her signature garment, a pussy bow blouse,[21][23] became a symbol to wear for those who supported her during the Swedish Academy crisis.[24]
From 1989 to 2010, she was married to author Stefan Jonsson; they had a son named Leo.[6][8]
Danius died on 12 October 2019, aged 57, after having suffered from breast cancer for several years.[25][26][27]
Bibliography[]
- Försök om litteratur, Stockholm: Bonnier, 1998. ISBN 9789100567569.
- Prousts motor, Stockholm: Bonnier, 2000. ISBN 9789100571061.
- The senses of modernism: technology, perception, and aesthetics, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-8014-3899-3.
- The prose of the world: Flaubert and the art of making things visible, Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, 2006. ISBN 91-554-6599-4
- Voices: contemporary ceramic art from Sweden, Stockholm: Carlsson, 2006. ISBN 91-7203-778-4.
- Proust-Benjamin : om fotografin, 2011. ISBN 978-91-86883-05-8.
- Näsa för nyheter : essä om James Joyce, 2013. ISBN 978-91-87219-02-3.
- Den blå tvålen: Romanen och konsten att göra saker och ting synliga, 2013. ISBN 978-91-0-012049-8.
- Husmoderns död och andra texter, Stockholm: Bonnier, 2014. ISBN 9789100171971.
- Om Bob Dylan, 2018. ISBN 9789100177812.
References[]
- ^ a b c "Ny ledamot i Svenska Akademien" (Press release) (in Swedish). Swedish Academy. 7 March 2013. Archived from the original on 11 March 2013.
- ^ a b c Wiman, Björn (7 March 2013). "DN-medarbetare tar plats i Svenska akademien". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish).
- ^ a b c d e Anell, Eva (1 October 2013). "Vill bidra med humor och olydnad". tidningencurie.se (in Swedish). Curie. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
- ^ a b "Sara Danius ersätter Peter Englund". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 20 December 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
- ^ a b Jones, Evelyn (12 April 2018). "Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy leaves her position". Dagens Nyheter. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
- ^ a b c Sara Danius, Vem är det: Svensk biografisk handbok 1993, p. 235
- ^ Brown, Andrew (17 July 2018). "The ugly scandal that cancelled the Nobel prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
- ^ a b c d "Sara Danius – från croupière till första kvinna som ständig sekreterare". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 12 October 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
- ^ a b "Danius, Sara". svenskaakademien.se (in Swedish). Swedish Academy. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
- ^ a b Sara Danius, profile at Södertörn University (in Swedish)
- ^ "Sara Danius". vitterhetsakad.se (in Swedish). Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
- ^ "Chair no. 7 - Sara Danius". The Swedish Academy. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
- ^ "Nobel Prize in Literature".
- ^ "Sara Danius forlater Svenska Akademien". Aftenposten (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ^ "Nobel Prize for Literature postponed amid Swedish Academy turmoil". BBC. 4 May 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
- ^ Holmgren, Mia (2 May 2018). "Kungen: Det är nu Akademiens ansvar att vidta nödvändiga åtgärder" [The King: The academy is now responsible for taking necessary action]. Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 12 October 2019.
- ^ Anderson, Christina (12 April 2018). "In Nobel Scandal, a Man Is Accused of Sexual Misconduct. A Woman Takes the Fall". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
- ^ "Sara Danius lämnar Svenska Akademien" (Press release) (in Swedish). Svenska Akademien. 26 February 2019.
- ^ Anderson, Christina (7 April 2018). "Swedish Academy in Crisis as 3 Members Quit Amid #MeToo Scandal". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- ^ Anderson, Christina (12 April 2018). "In Nobel Scandal, a Man Is Accused of Sexual Misconduct. A Woman Takes the Fall". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- ^ a b Ljung, Susanne (12 January 2018). "Susanne Ljung möter Sara Danius" (in Swedish). Sveriges Radio. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
- ^ Strömqvist, Susanna (22 February 2018). "Pär Engsheden om tanken bakom Sara Danius Nobelklänningar: "Skapade som en trilogy"". ELLE (in Swedish). Retrieved 12 October 2019.
- ^ Strömquist, Susanna (12 December 2015). "Sara Danius: "Jag är alltid på jakt efter en snygg knytblus"". ELLE (in Swedish). Retrieved 12 October 2019.
- ^ Jerdén, Erik (12 April 2018). "Knytblus-upprop till stöd för Danius". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 12 October 2019.
- ^ Jones, Evelyn (12 October 2019). "Former Secretary of the Swedish Academy Sara Danius is dead". Dagens Nyheter. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
- ^ Farran-Lee, Lydia; Wikén, Erik (12 October 2019). "Sara Danius död efter lång tids sjukdom" (in Swedish). SVT.
- ^ "Former head of scandal-hit Swedish Academy dies of cancer". Reuters. 12 October 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
Further reading[]
- 1962 births
- 2019 deaths
- 20th-century Swedish philosophers
- 21st-century Swedish philosophers
- 20th-century Swedish writers
- 21st-century Swedish writers
- 20th-century Swedish women writers
- 21st-century Swedish women writers
- Aesthetics
- Alumni of the University of Nottingham
- Deaths from breast cancer
- Deaths from cancer in Sweden
- Duke University alumni
- Members of the Swedish Academy
- People from Täby Municipality
- Philosophers of art
- Södertörn University faculty
- Stockholm University faculty
- Stockholm University alumni
- Swedish literary critics
- Women literary critics
- Swedish women academics
- Swedish women's basketball players
- Uppsala University alumni
- Uppsala University faculty
- Women philosophers