Holberg Prize Talks

2019 Nils Klim Laureate Finnur Dellsén is Senior Lecturer of Philosophy at the University of Iceland. In this interview he discusses a range of topics, including his research in the philosophy of science, when to trust experts, and what constitutes scientific progress. Interviewer is Ole Thomassen Hjortland, Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Bergen. The Holberg Prize is awarded annually to scholars who have made outstanding contributions to research in the humanities, social sciences, law or theology. The Nils Klim Prize is awarded annually to a younger researcher from a Nordic country, for outstanding research contributions in the above fields. (Photo: Eivind Senneset)

In this interview, 2019 Holberg Prize Laureate Paul Gilroy discusses a range of topics, including his childhood and adolesence in post-colonial Britain, his research on race and identity, and how to best meet the threats posed by neo-fascism and the climate crisis. Paul Gilroy is Professor of the Humanities and Director of the Centre for the Study of Race and Racism at UCL. Interviewer is Bjørn Enge Bertelsen, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Bergen. The interview was recorded on 3 June, 2019. Produced by the Holberg Prize, in collaboration with the University of Bergen. (Photo: Eivind Senneset)

In connection with the Holberg Committee meeting in Rome on 8 January, 2019, Committee member Mary Beard held a lecture at the Royal Norwegian Embassy on 7 January. The title of the lecture was: "What's the Point of Ancient Rome". Mary Beard is Professor of Classics at the University of Cambridge, a fellow of Newnham College, and Royal Academy of Arts Professor of Ancient Literature. She is the Classics editor of The Times Literary Supplement, where she also writes a regular blog, "A Don's Life". The Holberg Prize is awarded annually to scholars who have made outstanding contributions to research in the humanities, social sciences, law or theology. The recipient of the 2019 Holberg Prize will be announced on 14 March, at holbergprize.com.

In this interview 2018 Nils Klim Laureate Franscesca R. Jensenius discusses her research, her background and more with Elana Wilson Rowe, Senior Research Fellow at NUPI. Dr. Jensenius, Senior Research Fellow at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), will receive the 2018 Nils Klim Prize for her research on elections, development patterns, and the empowerment of minority groups and women in India and elsewhere. The podcast is produced by NUPI and the Holberg Prize. The interview was recorded on 5 March, 2018.

If people have freedom of choice, do their lives go better? Under what conditions? By what criteria? Consider three distinct problems: (1) In countless situations, human beings face a serious problem of “navigability”; they do not know how to get to their preferred destination, whether the issue involves health, education, employment, or well-being in general. This problem is especially challenging for people who live under conditions of severe deprivation, but it can be significant for all of us. (2) Many of us face problems of self-control, and our decisions today endanger our own future. What we want, right now, hurts us, next year. (3) In some cases, we would actually be happy or well-off with two or more different outcomes, whether the issue involves our jobs, our diets, our city, or even our friends and partners, and the real question, on which good answers are increasingly available, is what most promotes our welfare. The evaluative problem, in such cases, is especially challenging if a decision would alter people’s identify, values, or character. Private and public institutions -- including small companies, large companies, governments – can help people to have better lives, given (1), (2), and (3). About Cass Sunstein Professor Cass Sunstein is currently Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard University. He is widely regarded as the leading scholar of administrative law in the U.S. and his scholarship spans several major areas, notably behavioral economics and public policy, constitutional law and democratic theory, legal theory and jurisprudence, and the regulation of risk. From 2009 to 2012, he was Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, where he helped oversee a wide range of reforms involving safety, air quality, civil rights, open government, climate change, economic opportunity, health, and reduction of poverty. He is the founder and Director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School. The Holberg Lecture by 2018 Holberg Laureate, Professor Cass Sunstein was recorded at a live event in the University Aula in Bergen, Norway, on June 5, 2018.

For the Holberg Masterclass on June 4, 2018, The Holberg Prize invited six Nordic PhD candidates to discuss the topic "What to do about Human Error" with 2018 Holberg Laureate Cass Sunstein. The event took place at the University of Bergen, Norway. What to Do About Human Error. In recent decades, we have learned a great deal about human error. For example, people tend to focus on the present rather than the future; to be unrealistically optimistic; to make mistakes in assessing risks; to be overconfident; and to pay attention to only a subset of the considerations before them. Obesity is one result; another is premature death. A large question, for societies and individuals alike, is what to do about human error. What interventions, from the private or public sector, would work best? When is coercion justified? When is liberty the solution? What about education? What is the role of machine learning and algorithms? About Cass Sunstein Professor Cass Sunstein is currently Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard University. He is widely regarded as the leading scholar of administrative law in the U.S. and his scholarship spans several major areas, notably behavioral economics and public policy, constitutional law and democratic theory, legal theory and jurisprudence, and the regulation of risk. From 2009 to 2012, he was Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, where he helped oversee a wide range of reforms involving safety, air quality, civil rights, open government, climate change, economic opportunity, health, and reduction of poverty. He is the founder and Director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School. The PhD candidates are: Max Carlin, Lund University – Public Law Esmaralda Colombo, University of Bergen – Climate Law Matthijs Maas, University of Copenhagen – Law Valgerdur Solnes, University of Iceland; University of Copenhagen – Law. Aksel Braanen Sterri, University of Oslo – Philosophy. Jarno Olavi Touminen, University of Turku – Psychology.

The 2018 Nils Klim Laureate Francesca R. Jensenius presents her research and discusses the use of electoral quotas in India with Pradeep Chhibber, Pratap Mehta and Anne Waldrop. Electoral quotas have played an important role in Indian politics for the past century. Many groups have demanded and still demand quotas, often on the basis of arguments that quotas are needed to bring “their” perspectives into politics – that a guaranteed political presence will result in better representation of their group’s interests. In the book Social Justice through Inclusion: The Consequences of Electoral Quotas in India (OUP 2017), Francesca R. Jensenius provided evidence of the long-term effects of electoral quotas for one of India’s most marginalized communities, the Scheduled Castes (the former “untouchables”). Drawing on extensive qualitative and quantitative data she showed that the quotas to a limited extent have contributed to the mobilization around, and representation of, group interests for SCs, but that they have played in important role in breaking social boundaries by integrating SCs into the mainstream political elite. What are the implications of these findings for the discussion of other groups’ demands for quotas in India? In this seminar, Jensenius presents key findings in the book and discusses some of the implications these findings have for the debates about quotas for other communities in India – including the so-called Other Backward Classes, women and religious communities. The keynote is followed be talks by Drs. Pratap Bhanu Mehta (Vice-Chancellor, Ashoka University), Anne Waldrop (Professor, OsloMet), and Pradeep Chhibber (Professor, University of Californa Berkeley). The event is moderated by Professor Siri Gloppen, University of Bergen.

Should free speech laws be changed, and if so, how? How should the US approach the issue of gun control? And has the US Supreme Court become too politicized? These are some of the questions that 2018 Holberg Laureate Cass Sunstein addresses in this interview. Interviewer: Professor Ivar Bleiklie Photo: Rose Lincoln

I 2011 vant Jørn Jacobsen Nils Klim-prisen for sin forskning på norsk strafferett. I dette intervjuet fra 2017 snakker han blant annet om hvorfor han valgte en akademisk karriere, om verdien av rettsteori og om utfordringer for strafferetten. Intervjuet er foretatt av Marita Ramsvik for Holbergprisen.

Professor Claes de Vreese speaks on the topic of “Dealing with Populism: A Challenge for the News Media.” The lecture took place on 9 February 2018, at a reception for the Holberg Prize at the Royal Norwegian Honorary Consulate General. In 2004, de Vreese was the very first recipient of the Nils Klim Prize, awarded by the Holberg Prize organization to researchers under the age of 35, also in humanities, social sciences, law and theology. He is now Professor and Chair of Political Communication at the University of Amsterdam.