Niels Ingwersen (May 18, 1935 - November 14, 2009) was a Danish scholar in Scandinavian Studies and a professor at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

."On the death of Professor Emeritus Niels Ingwerson"
University of Wisconsin–Madison. Retrieved 13 February 2013. His courses on

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

were particularly popular.

Early life

Born in

Horsens Horsens () is a city on the east coast of the Jutland region of Denmark. It is the seat of the Horsens municipality. The city's population is 64,418 (1 January 2025) and the municipality's population is 97,921 (), making it the List of cities and ...

, Denmark, Ingwersen studied Scandinavian literature at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

Stockholm University Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...

and the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

. When in Oslo, he met an American student, Faith Boswell Sloniger, whom he married in Tybjerg, near

Næstved Næstved () is a town in Næstved Municipality, the municipality of the same name, located in the southern part of the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand in Denmark. Næstved has several adult education centers, five Primary education, elemen ...

, Denmark, in 1961.

Career

In the early 1960s, Ingwersen and his wife moved to the United States, first spending a year at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

and then, after he completed his studies in Denmark, the couple moved to

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States * Madison (footballer), Brazilian footballer Places in the United States Populated places * Madi ...

in 1965 where he joined the Department of Scandinavian Studies as an assistant professor, becoming a full professor in 1973.Susan C. Brantly, "Niels Ingwersen: An Appreciation"
in "The Nordic Storyteller", ''Cambridge Scholars Publishing''. Retrieved 13 February 2013. He was a key member of the faculty, chairing Scandinavian Studies and Folklore several times and serving as president of the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies Department (SASS) from 1969–1971. He was also visiting professor at the universities of

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...

and

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...

and at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

. His multimedia course on Hans Christian Andersen attracted a record 873 students, later being offered through the university's public television extension. He served almost 40 years at Madison, retiring in 2003."In Memoriam"
''SASS News and Notes'', Vol. 36, No. 3, December 2009. Retrieved 13 February 2013. In addition to Hans Christian Andersen, Ingwersen's regular courses included

Søren Kierkegaard Søren Aabye Kierkegaard ( , ; ; 5 May 1813 – 11 November 1855) was a Danes, Danish theologian, philosopher, poet, social critic, and religious author who is widely considered to be the first existentialist philosopher. He wrote critical tex ...

as well as special attention to

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

s and

folktale Oral literature, orature, or folk literature is a genre of literature that is spoken or sung in contrast to that which is written, though much oral literature has been transcribed. There is no standard definition, as anthropologists have used va ...

s, addressing more than 15,000 students over the years. From 1985 to 1990, together with his wife, Ingwersen edited the prestigious North-American journal ''Scandinavian Studies''.

Assessment

In the ''Festschrift'' in honour of Ingwersen's retirement,

Susan Brantly Susan Brantly is an American scholar in Scandinavian literature and a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Career Susan Brantly received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in German and Scandinavian from Harvard University in 1980, her ...

commented: "Niels possesses the rare talent of making complex issues seem simple, and the backbone of his teaching method is telling stories that engage students and get the message across."

Works

* * * * *

Awards

Ingwersen was awarded the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

in 1997 for promoting Danish literature and culture in the United States. He also received several awards for excellence in teaching and for his courses at Wisconsin-Madison.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ingwersen, Niels Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Danish male writers Danish emigrants to the United States University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty 1935 births 2009 deaths Scandinavian studies scholars People from Horsens