Mads Clausen Institute

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.

Climate Change and Dilemmas by Henrik SeidingClimate change is no longer a distant challenge – it is reshaping the very way we plan, design, and live in our cities. Urban development is at the frontline, facing a series of complex dilemmas: How do we balance densification with the need for green, climate-adaptive spaces? How can cities move fast enough to address urgent risks while still ensuring democratic legitimacy and citizen engagement? And how do we reconcile ambitions for economic growth with the necessity of building long-term resilience?Henrik explores these tensions, drawing on examples from Aarhus and abroad, where technical solutions, nature-based strategies, and questions of climate justice collide. Cities like Aarhus, Copenhagen and Rotterdam illustrate both the possibilities and the trade-offs in climate-conscious urban planning.The key message: there are no simple answers. Navigating these dilemmas requires political courage, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and a willingness to rethink how we define livability in a climate-challenged future. Henrik Seiding is Executive Director of the Department of Technical Services and Environment in Aarhus MunicipalityClimate Transformation and Dilemmas by Jens Hesselbjerg Christensen Over the past 35 years, climate science has advanced from a specialized research field to a central topic in public and political discourse. This lecture addresses not only the state of climate change but also the persistent challenges in communicating its science to society. While climate science is grounded in empirical evidence and reproducible results, public discussions often frame it as a matter of opinion, creating a tension between fact-based knowledge and perception.Drawing on my experience engaging with the media and broader audiences since the early 1990s, I will explore how careful, informed listeners differ from instances where communication is complicated by preconceptions, journalistic dogmas, or ideological framing—exemplified by controversies surrounding figures such as Bjørn Lomborg.The lecture will highlight key dilemmas: balancing accuracy with accessibility, countering misinformation without alienating audiences, and navigating the expectation of debate when scientific consensus is clear. I will also reflect on the role of scientists as public informers, the ethical responsibilities in presenting complex uncertainties, and the societal demand for immediate solutions in contrast to the slow, evolving nature of climate science. Through examples from my career, the talk will offer insights into how climate scientists can engage effectively with the public while maintaining integrity, emphasizing that communicating climate change is not about persuading with opinion but translating evidence into understanding and action.

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.

In contemporary healthcare, everybody seems to want more data, on more people, and use them for ever more purposes. There are many good reasons for such ambitions, and yet it is becoming obvious that the current data intensification generates not just stories of benefit and success, but also complaints about misunderstandings, meaningless work, and unintended consequences. In his book, Data Paradoxes (MIT Pres, 2023), Klaus Hoeyer outlines and describes why we tell such different – almost opposing stories about data, and why very different stories might all be partly true. How can we use such insights productively – not least in an age where also cross-border data integration is high on the political agenda? Klaus Hoeyer is professor of Medical Science and Technology Studies at the Centre for Medical STS, University of Copenhagen. His research focuses on the links between policy, practice and experience in medical research and clinical practice. In recent years, he has focused mainly on the increased emphasis on collection, storage, use, reuse of health data, and how these data practices change the health services. This research is primarily financed by the European Research Council.

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”.