Kim Andersen
Professor, Washington State University
Managing Editor, The Palouse Review
Professor, born in Copenhagen, Denmark, (Cand. Mag., 1986, University of Copenhagen, Department of Nordic Philology; dissertation: THE EXISTENTIAL HONESTY. ON DEMONIC INFATUATION AND DIVINE KNOWLEDGE. A VIEWPOINT ON FEAR AND TREMBLING AND SØREN KIERKEGAARD. In Danish: Den Eksistentielle Redelighed. Om Dæmoniens Besnærelse og Den Guddommelige Samviden. Et Synspunkt på Frygt og Bæven og Søren Kierkegaard. The Royal Library, Specialenr.: 32117364. Committee chair: Aage Henriksen. Subsidiary subject: Music.)
I teach Honors courses on art and art theory, the Icelandic sagas, and the Honors seminar on how to write an effective thesis proposal. My duties include advising and being part of the Honors team maintaining and developing the program. Since Fall 2013 I have served as the poetry editor for the WSU literary journal Palouse Review. I also serve on various university committees. Since 2000 I have arranged faculty-led trips for Honors students to Scandinavia (2000, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019), Spain and Portugal (2004, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015), and England (2018). I regularly attend conferences and present papers on Honors or philosophical/literary issues.
Before joining the Honors College full time I taught Danish language and Scandinavian literature in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at Washington State University from 1987-2001. As a representative of the Danish government’s program of Danish Lecturers Abroad during this period (see my article on the Danish Lecturers Program), I arranged for the visits to WSU of numerous Scandinavian dignitaries including authors Svend Åge Madsen, Ib Michael, Benny Andersen, Klaus Rifbjerg, and Carsten Jensen, in addition to several scholars of Scandinavian studies.
In 1995 I organized the 85th Annual Conference of the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study bringing approximately 180 scholars, teachers and authors to WSU for four days of presentations and discussions of various humanistic and sociological fields of Scandinavian study. In 1999 I assisted the Danish Ministry of Education in exploring the possibilities of establishing a Danish program at the University of the Virgin Islands.
My publications include articles on Danish 19th and 20th century literature (e.g. Dictionary of Literary Biography (Columbia, SC: Bruccoli Clark and Layman, 2004, Vol 300: Danish Writers from the Reformation to Decadence 1500-1900, “Harald Kidde,” 301-307; vol 214: Twentieth Century Danish Literature, “Svend Åge Madsen,” 268-274; and “Genius and the Problem of “Livs-Anskuelse” Kierkegaard Reading Andersen.” 3rd International H.C. Andersen Conference Proceedings, (The Hans Christian Andersen Center, University of Southern Denmark Press, Brigham Young University, 2004). I co-authored the grammar and word-list part of the popular Danish language study textbook system for English speakers, AKTIVT DANSK – Grammar and Word List for Beginners (Academic Press, Copenhagen, 1991.; Fourth edition 2006 ISBN 87-636-0206-7). Norwegian edition: LEVENDE NORSK Grammar and Word List for Beginners (Oslo: Portal, 2008; ISBN: 82- 92712-11-5).
Journal article: “Kierkegaard, Rorty, and Evolution” – Philosophy and Literature, Volume 38, Number 1A, October 2014, Special Issue. Journal article: “Using Iceland as a Model for Interdisciplinary Honors Study.” Co-authored with Gary Thorgaard, School of Biological Sciences, WSU. Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council (JNCHC) Vol. 15, No. 2, Fall/Winter 2014