Annual Report 2021

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Guest Professor Bärfuss

INTERCULTURAL KNOWLEDGE

“Madmen and Idiots”

Swiss author Lukas Bärfuss spent the 2021 spring semester teaching at the University of Bern as the 15th “Friedrich Dürrenmatt Guest Professor for World Literature”. On the occasion of Dürrenmatt’s 100th birthday, Bärfuss explored his works during a weekly lecture entitled “Madmen and Idiots”.

 

Lukas Bärfuss, born in 1971 in Thun, is a playwright, novelist and essayist. In his works, Lukas Bärfuss repeatedly examines the dark sides of human nature and social problems. As a public intellectual, he isn’t afraid to make controversial statements regarding current political issues – which is wholly in keeping with Dürrenmatt’s tradition. 

Lukas Bärfuss in «seinem» Hörsaal an der Universität Bern, in dem er seine wöchentliche Vorlesung «Wahnsinnige und Idioten» abhielt: Pandemiebedingt wurde sie live übertragen. Den Studierenden war ermöglicht worden, ihrem Gastprofessor Fragen zu übermitt
Lukas Bärfuss in “his” lecture hall at the University of Bern, where he held his weekly lecture “Madmen and Idiots” to rows of empty seats. It was broadcast live due to the pandemic. Students attended virtually and were able to send questions to their guest professor. (© University of Bern, Image: Annette Boutellier)

Did you know?

“The 2019 Georg Büchner Prize was awarded to Lukas Bärfuss. This distinction is considered to be the most prestigious literary prize in the German-speaking world. After Max Frisch, Friedrich Dürrenmatt and Adolf Muschg, Bärfuss is the fourth Swiss national to win the Georg Büchner Prize.”

The public launch event for the 15th Friedrich Dürrenmatt Guest Professorship for World Literature took place on March 3, 2021, in the Hallersaal of the Burgerbibliothek of Berne. Lukas Bärfuss gave a speech entitled “A little history of madness” and conducted a discussion with literary scholar Oliver Lubrich, project manager of the guest professorship and professor for Modern German Literature and Comparative Literature at the University of Bern.

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Video recording of the launch event with Lukas Bärfuss from March 3, 2021

Trivialization of madness

In his weekly lecture to students of the Faculty of Humanities, Lukas Bärfuss explained where Dürrenmatt’s works fit in within the framework of world literature and discussed the history of psychopathology in modern literature – not just with respect to Dürrenmatt, but also Virgina Woolf, Thomas Pynchon and others. Bärfuss also explored the question of whether there might be “a link between literature’s loss of importance and the profanization and trivialization of madness”: “Psychotropic drugs are becoming suitable for daily use and sessions with a therapist are a part of the lifestyle. A healthy narcissism has now taken hold and burn-outs are expected in any manager’s CV.” 

Lukas Bärfuss bei der Arbeit als Gastprofessor. Er möchte das Emanzipatorische an der Literatur vermitteln: «Wie befreiend es ist, an einem Gedanken zu arbeiten und zu versuchen, diesen Gedanken zu formulieren und zu teilen.»
Lukas Bärfuss during his guest professorship. He’d like to convey literature’s role as an emancipating factor: “Working on a thought and trying to formulate and share that thought is extremely liberating.” (© University of Bern, Image: Annette Boutellier)

When asked about what he wants to teach his students, Lukas Bärfuss responded: “First and foremost, a method. Namely, my method of “exploratory reading”. This method doesn’t have you reading texts, rather the world. Books are artifacts that are related to other artifacts. These relationships aren’t a given, they have to be developed: that’s what happens during ‘exploratory reading’. And then I’d like to convey enthusiasm, my joy of literature, its emancipating factor: Working on a thought and trying to formulate and share that thought is extremely liberating. You don’t have to be a writer to experience that. The current situation is complicated for young people. And in times like these, the need to develop your own ideas is critical – and also having the courage to think for yourself.”

In a nutshell

“I’d like to convey enthusiasm, my joy of literature, its emancipating effect.”
Lukas Bärfuss

Video recordings of the lecture course

Not only students but anybody interested in Lukas Bärfuss’ lecture course was explicitly and warmly welcomed to attend as a guest student. Anybody unable to watch the live broadcast from the lecture hall can watch video recordings of each of the lectures given by Lukas Bärfuss. 

Friedrich Dürrenmatt Guest Professorship for World Literature

The Friedrich Dürrenmatt Guest Professorship for World Literature expands the University’s academic and cultural offerings in Bern and beyond. A different international guest has been teaching at the University of Bern every semester since the spring of 2014. The authors each teach a 14-week course and work together with students PhD students, just like a regular professor. On top of their seminars and lectures, other university and public events were organized both in Bern and other cities in Switzerland. The guest professorship is made possible through the support provided by the Mercator Foundation Switzerland and Burgergemeinde Bern.

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