Research Projects

Anatomical Theater: Early Modern and Contemporary Dissection as Investigative Art 

PI: Karen-Margrethe Simonsen

Funded by DFF Explorative network grant 2024-2028. 

This network brings Danish and European researchers from humanities and the medical sciences together with cultural sector partners to develop interdisciplinary strategies and historical perspectives for analysing and disseminating knowledge about anatomical dissection. We have four objectives: 1. Establish a new methodological approach by drawing on a key development in the humanities: ‘investigative aesthetics’ pioneered by Matthew Fuller and Eyal Weizman. 2. Undertake a comparative historical analysis of dissection practices and spaces. 3. Enhance the public dissemination of anatomical knowledge by engaging in close dialogue with representatives from the museum sector (Medical Museion Copenhagen and Boerhaave Museum Leiden), and with artists and curators whose work on anatomy involves public engagement. 4. Enhance understanding of pedagogical challenges involved in anatomical dissection in contemporary medical training.

Theatre of Absolutism: Transnational Drama on 17th Century Copenhagen’s Forgotten Stage

PI: Mikkel-Theis Paulsen

Funded by DFF (Grant number 6218-00024B) 

This project seeks to uncover a forgotten chapter in Danish literary and cultural history: the presence of a vibrant, transnational theatre culture in 17th century Denmark with connections to the bustling theatre industry in Amsterdam. Copenhagen’s first public playhouse, the “Skauborg” (1663) was located near the royal castle and was modelled after Amsterdam’s famous Schouwburg theatre, which was a central hub for transnational theatre exchanges. The repertory of the Danish Skauborg playhouse consisted of political tragedies and bloody revenge dramas by Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and Lope de Vega, among others. This is remarkable for a number of reasons. Partly because scholarship has long assumed that commercial, professional theatre was not established in Denmark until much later, and that playwrights such as Shakespeare were not performed here until the late eighteenth century. Partly because Skauborg’s politically charged repertoire was staged during a period of profound societal turbulence in the aftermath of Frederik III’s coup d'état and the introduction of absolutist rule in Denmark.

The project combines textual analysis, archival research in Denmark and the Netherlands, and digital network analysis to illuminate the history of the Skauborg theatre, its repertory, and its transnational exchanges with Amsterdam. Particular attention is given to the ways in which early modern drama was adapted across shifting political and cultural contexts. In doing so, the project seeks to contribute with new knowledge of 17th century Danish literary and cultural history, as well as of the political functions of theatre during a period of significant historical transformation.