Narrating the Living Earth: Literature, Science and Re-imagination of the Anthropocene

Programme

Date & Time: 9 April 2026 at 13.00–15.00
Venue: Humanities Theatre, Uppsala
Host: UUniCORN and the Department of Business Studies, Uppsala University

Registration: Please follow the link

Event literature
Liljestrand, Jens (2024). Even if Everything Ends. Orion Publishing CO
Lagerlöf, Ulrika (2025). Hjortronmyren. Romanus & Selling (in Swedish)
Gapp, Isabelle (2024). Circumpolar Landscape. Lund Humphries Publishers Ltd

Please be seated no less than ten minutes before the program begins.

Scene 1: Welcome and Setting the Context

Time: 13.00–13.45

Purpose: To inaugurate Uppsala Ministry for the Future (UMF), introduce its vision, and frame the main theme.

Welcome and framing – Mats Målqvist, Professor of Global Health and Director of UUniCORN, introduces the Uppsala Ministry for the Future, the event theme, and the participating speakers.

Inauguration – Uppsala University Vice-Chancellor Anders Hagfeldt, on the vision of Uppsala Ministry for the Future, and his hopes for its contributions to research excellence.

Live address – Kim Stanley Robinson, the author of ‘Ministry for the Future’, reflects on literature, science, and future imaginaries (participating online).

On-stage interview – A conversation on the concept, aims, and purpose of Uppsala Ministry for the Future with Fredrik Nilsson, Professor at the Department of Business Studies, Uppsala University, and Anette Mikes, Associate Professor of Accounting at Oxford Saïd Business School and a Fellow at Hertford College, University of Oxford. Moderator: Jason Crawford, Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor at the Department of Business Studies, Uppsala University

Literature and future thinking – author, playwright and screenwriter Laline Paull joins Fredrik Nilsson and Anette Mikes to discuss the role of literature in stimulating new ways of thinking about current and future societal challenges.

Short Intermission • Musical performance by Smålands Nations Vokalensemble (SNVE).

Scene 2 – Literature, Meaning and the End of the World

Time: 13.50–14.20

Purpose: To explore, through literature, existential and societal themes of endings, meanings, and responsibilities in the Anthropocene.

Conversation – Anette Mikes and author Jens Liljestrand on key themes from his book Even if Everything Ends. The narratives of crisis, hope, and moral imagination.

Short Intermission: • Musical performance by Smålands Nations Vokalensemble (SNVE).

Scene 3 – Art, Science and Shared Futures

Time: 14.25–14.50

Purpose: To highlight how literature and art shape our perceptions of the present and the future, and how intersections between literature, science, and artistic practice can create a space for re-imagination.

Conversation – Mats Målqvist in dialogue with author Ulrika Lagerlöf and art historian Isabelle Gapp, providing an overview of their work and how it intersects with Science and Re-imagination of the Anthropocene.

Art and science in dialogue – Laline Paull joins, and the conversation moves on to the synergies between art and science, including art as a methodology for understanding complexity and the Anthropocene.

Scene 4 – Closing Reflections and Conclusions

Time: 14.50–15.00

Purpose: To synthesise insights from the event and reflect on key takeaways.

Summing up – Reflections on the main ideas discussed during the event and what conclusions can be drawn for future thinking, research, and engagement through the Uppsala Ministry for the Future.

Epilogue

Refreshments, mingle, and all the important stuff, the things that need to be said and done. The forming of the sequel.

Registration: Please follow the link