15. sep. 2026—15. sep. 2026
Copenhagen Conversations – Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht & Didier Fassin
A conversation about art, politics, and responsibility in a world under pressure
What does it mean to be human and to take responsibility in a time when the world feels more uncertain than ever?
Two prominent international thinkers meet for the first time: Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht and Didier Fassin. Joined by moderator Noa Redington, they invite the audience into an open and inquisitive conversation about our contemporary world - exploring politics, culture, and the choices we face.
Drawing on art, literature, and political thought, the conversation revolves around the questions many of us are grappling with: How do we understand ourselves today? What is our responsibility to one another and to the world? And how do we find our way in an era defined by crisis and change? Didier Fassin is an anthropologist, sociologist, and author focusing on morality and politics in a globalized world. Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht is a literary scholar and one of Germany’s most prominent voices in the conversation on art, experience, and Western history.
About the speakers
Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht
Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht is an influential German-American literary theorist. He is Professor Emeritus at Stanford University and has played a prominent role as a public intellectual. His extensive body of work has been translated into more than twenty languages, focusing on art, aesthetics, and experience - including an exploration of the historical era that has shaped the West in the wake of the two World Wars.
About the speakers
Didier Fassin
Didier Fassin is a French anthropologist, sociologist, and physician. He is a professor at both Princeton University and the Collège de France and serves on the leadership board of the École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS) in Paris. Fassin has authored more than twenty books addressing political, moral, and social issues both within and beyond Europe. His most recent work, Moral Collapse: Consenting to the Destruction of Gaza, was published in Danish in 2025.
Practical information
Language: The conversation will be held in English.
Date: 16th of September, 7:00–9:00 PM (incl. a break)
Venue: The National Museum of Denmark
Price: Standard ticket DKK 225. Annual Pass holders DKK 195. The ticket also includes admission to the museum on the same day between 10:00 AM and 5:00 PM.
About the event: Copenhagen Conversations is a conversation series featuring leading international scholars who, drawing on cultural history and contemporary issues, reflect on how we can understand and navigate life in our time. The series is created in collaboration between the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies (University of Copenhagen) and the National Museum of Denmark.