Can authors help researchers better harness the power of imagination in modern research?
Author Jens Liljestrand in conversation with Anette Mikes regarding how she was inspired by the motivations of the characters in his novel, Even If Everything Ends.
Narrating the Living Earth: Literature, Science and Re-imagination of the Anthropocene was the title, and the programme promised two hours of intense conversation between researchers and authors. We attended the inaugural meeting of the Uppsala Ministry for the Future.
Researchers from a diverse range of scientific disciplines gathered in the Humanities Theatre for the inaugural meeting of the Uppsala Ministry for the Future (UMF) – an event seeking to establish frameworks for how high-level scientific research can be developed by better utilising the ability of fiction writers and artists to explain and deepen our understanding of the present.
"Inspiration, new thoughts, and ideas do not follow predetermined lines or academic frameworks. Curiosity involves an attitude and a willingness to keep an open mind and be receptive to new thoughts and ideas, regardless of which scientific discipline we belong to," noted Uppsala University’s Vice-Chancellor, Anders Hagfeldt, as he opened the meeting.
Inspired by Kim Stanley Robinson’s novel
UMF was organised by the Department of Business Studies and UUniCORN (part of the newly established UUniFI, Uppsala University Future Institutes). It was conducted in close collaboration with Hertford College, Oxford, which is home to the Oxford Ministry for the Future (OMF) – in turn named after novelist Kim Stanley Robinson’s hopeful dystopia, The Ministry for the Future.
The programme featured intensive conversations between researchers and authors: art historian Isabelle Gapp highlighted how century-old interpretations of art shape today’s social debates. Jens Liljestrand spoke about the driving forces behind the characters in his wildfire-stricken novel, Even if Everything Ends (Även om allt tar slut). Ulrika Lagerlöf discussed understanding forestry by weaving together the past and the present in her novel, The Cloudberry Mire (Hjortronmyren). Laline Paull explained how she challenges herself and the reader by approaching science in her books. Joining via video link from the USA was Kim Stanley Robinson; it was his book that inspired the start of OMF, and he has promised to be there in person for the next gathering in Uppsala on 17 November.
The discussions were moderated by Jason Crawford, Mats Målqvist, Fredrik Nilsson, and OMF founder Anette Mikes.
For those who wish to catch up on the meeting retrospectively, you find a recorded version here: