Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Would you like to make your large-class teaching more engaging? Team-Based Learning (TBL) is a proven, structured way to increase student activity and collaboration - even in big lecture halls. This Science Education Hub session is especially relevan

With Martin Conway In the last decade, there has been much talk of a “crisis” of democracy in Europe. The ascendancy of a particular version of democracy in Western Europe after 1945, which was then extended after 1989 to Central and Eastern Europe, is now widely felt to be threatened by the various forces of populism, the resurgence of authoritarian political models, and the wider loss of confidence prompted by globalisation, economic crisis, and the impact of events on the frontiers of Europe, most notably the war in Ukraine. In this lecture, Conway will seek to bring a historical perspective to a debate that is often approached on overly presentist terms. In particular, his lecture will seek to examine how far the real change is one in the contours of democracy rather than its collapse. Martin Conway is Professor of Contemporary European History, and also currently the Chair of the Board of the History Faculty at the University of Oxford. He has written widely on a number of themes of European history of the mid- and later twentieth century. His doctoral work was on Belgium during the Second World War, which was published as Collaboration in Belgium. Léon Degrelle and the Rexist Movement 1940–44 (Yale University Press, 1993), and also in Dutch and French language editions. He has subsequently written books on Catholic politics, on Political Legitimacy, and on Europeanization. His most recent book was Western Europe’s Democratic Age 1945-68 (Princeton University Press, 2020). He is currently working on a study of Male Citizenship in Twentieth-Century Europe, and is one of the editors of a new book series, European Histories of the Present, from Cambridge University Press  which looks to develop an agenda for the history of Europe in the twenty-first century.Sign up here:https://event.sdu.dk/afterthedemocraticageeuropeinthetwenty-firstcentury

After a short presentation of the concept of poly-crisis and extreme contexts, a panel of three scholars will present empirical cases of creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship in different extreme contexts (e.g. entrepreneurship during interstate wars), followed by a discussant who reflects on the cases. The session ends with discussion in plenum. The panel is comprised of: [list][*]Adam Frost (DIAS fellow)[*]Steffen Korsgaard, SDU IEB (Kolding)[*]Siddhesh Rao, CBS[/list]  This event is organised by Kim Klyver, DIAS Chair.

This lecture will provide some historical perspective on the rise of protectionism in today’s world, drawing on evidence from the mercantilist period of the early modern period, as well as the 19th and 20th centuries.

Growth and Its DiscontentsThe history of capitalism is inseparable from the history of growth. Growth is often celebrated as capitalism’s greatest achievement, yet it has also provoked anxiety. Malthus warned of population pressures, Jevons of coal depletion, while Boserup suggested that scarcity could spur innovation. These debates remind us that growth has always been contested. By contrast, much of modern economics tends to take growth for granted, focusing instead on refining methods and estimating causal effects. This seminar returns growth to the centre of debate, asking how historical reflections on prosperity and limits can help us think about capitalism’s future in an age of climate crisis and inequality. There will be short presentations by a panel of experts bringing varying perspectives:Professor Carl-Johan Dalgaard, University of Copenhagen, https://dors.dk/raad-vismaend/formandskabet/carl-johan-dalgaardProfessor Eoin McLaughlin, Heriot-Watt University, https://www.eoinmclaughlin.ie/Professor Wim Naudé, RWTH Aachen University, https://www.wimnaude.com/Professor Niklas Olsen, University of Copenhagen, https://researchprofiles.ku.dk/da/persons/niklas-olsen This will be followed by a panel debate, chaired by Professor Søren Askegaard, DIAS, SDU.

Over the past two decades, we have witnessed an explosion in the number of academic journals and publishers across most (if not all) research fields. This proliferation has placed significant strain on academics’ time (e.g., reviewing demands) and on university library budgets, and has raised pressing questions about both the quality and quantity of research outputs. Drawing on his personal experience as a former Editor-in-Chief of an Elsevier journal, as well as insights from a recent PNAS article on journal reform (https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2401231121), DIAS Chair Nikos Ntoumanis will open the session with reflections on why the current publication model is no longer fit for purpose and what reforms may be needed (or have recently been introduced). Following this short presentation, a panel discussion with DIAS colleagues Sergey I. Bozhevolnyi, Anthony Fernandez, Mette Præst Knudsen, and Lars Boje Mortensen, all of whom have editorial experience, will further explore the challenges and opportunities facing academic publishing today. We also look forward to hearing the audience’s views and experiences with current or alternative publication models.

Matthew Collins (biochemistry) and Lars Boje Mortensen (literary history) will speak about CODICUM, an ERC Synergy project which spans the humanities and the sciences. Their talk will cover books and book production before the advent of paper and print (before c. 1400 / 1450).You will be able to see (and perhaps touch) a real medieval parchment book and several fragments of such books (courtesy of the SDU library)!Lars will introduce pre-modern books and their significance for intellectual and literary history – particularly within the Nordic context of CODICUM. Next, Matthew will demonstrate some of the startling research possibilities that thousand year old animal skins offer through DNA analysis and protein profiles, and the new facility at SDU. Together, these approaches will unravel new patterns of book history, intellectual networks and surprising insights and applications of “biocodicology”.