Invitation to PhD Defense by Julie Lejsgaard Christensen

Everyone interested in attending the phD defense of ‘Constructing the Past in the Present. Institutional Narrations and the Production of Classical Antiquity at the New Carlsberg Glyptotek’ is welcome!

The presentation and subsequent discussions will be in English.

A light refreshment will be served at the museum café Picnic after the defense.

The dissertation investigates how antiquity is constructed and conveyed at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek through the museum's presentation of ancient sculptures. With a dual analytical focus, the dissertation examines, on the one hand, how the Glyptotek's practices related to the collection are shaped in a dynamic interplay between the institution's past and present; on the other hand, which museum experiences arise in the encounter between a modern museum audience, the ancient sculptures, and the Glyptotek's display of the collection.

The dissertation is based on recent paradigm shifts within museology and the reception of classical antiquity. It demonstrates how contemporary expectations of museum institutions and their management of art and cultural history in significant areas contrast with the traditional and elevated narrative of antiquity that forms the basis for the Glyptotek's current display of the collection. By challenging the established historical structures, the dissertation opens new perspectives on the antiquity collection and highlights the potential for a more discursive mediation of classical antiquity.

The dissertation also demonstrates that the Glyptotek's practices are closely linked to the museum's institutional identity and history. Therefore, the dissertation concludes that a change in the museum's practices can only occur through a revision of the museum's institutional self-perception. By arguing that such a revision can help reposition the museum and its historical heritage, the dissertation highlights both the potentials and challenges of the historically entrenched museum institution and its role and behavior in a contemporary societal context.

The project is conducted in collaboration between the Glyptotek and Aarhus University, with support from the Ny Carlsberg Foundation.

Assessment committee

Troels Myrup Kristensen, Associate Professor, School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University

Caroline Vout, Professor and Director of the Museum of Classical Archaeology, Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge

Bruno Brulon Soares, Reader in Museum and Heritage Studies, School of Art History, University of St Andrews

Main supervisor

Vinnie Nørskov, Associate Professor and Director of the Museum of Ancient Art, Aarhus University

Co-supervisor

Marchella Ward, Lecturer in Classical Studies, the Open University

Contact

If you have any questions regarding the PhD defense, feel free to Kit Vatit Jensen, kivat@glyptoteket.dk

Location and time Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek Dantes Plads 7 1556 Copenhagen V The Loggia

Please note that the doors (at the main entrance) will open at 12.45 and close at 1 pm.