MAP uncovers the paths of Norwegian literature towards a world readership during the first dramatic half of the 20th century. After Ibsen and Bjørnson had opened the global literary market, the road map to international success changed substantially. Authors increasingly depended on literary agents to navigate a new world of international copyright and publishing, and new visual media. Two world wars and the impact of Nazism, followed by the rising dominance of the Anglo-American book market and the English language, were game changers. How the works of Undset's and Hamsun's generations were made (or failed to become) world literature has never been studied comprehensively.
The MAP team explores the publication and the reception of Norwegian literature (highbrow and lowbrow) in Europe, the British Commonwealth, USA and Latin-America. We will explore the first literary agency in Norway, the impact of the Nobel Prize for Literature, women and children’s literature in translation, foreign film adaptations of books, the importance of religion and ideology for dissemination, and much more. The exceptional case of Undset’s global success will feature in several sub-projects. Furthermore, literature from a small language and country will highlight the asymmetries of world literature.
MAP works with libraries, archives, and museums to uncover significant material in Norway and abroad. Popular results include seminars, lectures, exhibitions, online publications of source material and results, and podcasts and other media events.
MAP brings together an international and interdisciplinary team of scholars in book and media history. The main partners are the National Library of Norway (NB), the University of Oslo, the University of Tromsø and Bournemouth University, in collaboration with Nynorsk Kultursentrum and Lillehammer Museum.
