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Christian Janss

Professor of German Literature
Image of Christian Janss
Phone +47 22 85 68 71
Room NT 1013
Username
Visiting address Niels Treschows hus 10th floor Niels Henrik Abels vei 36
Postal address ILOS P.O.Box 1003 Blindern 0315 Oslo Norway

Research Interests

My research has focused primarily on three main areas: German poetry, German literature in its cultural context, and Textual criticism and editorial philology.

German Poetry: My doctoral dissertation, Der Rhein – Hölderlins Metapher, marked the starting point of my work in this field. Subsequently, I co-authored the textbook Lyrikkens liv with Christian Refsum and published articles on authors such as R. M. Rilke and Nelly Sachs.

German Literature in Cultural Context: In this area, I have written on Goethe’s Faust, Heinrich von Kleist, and R. M. Rilke’s reading of J. P. Jacobsen. I have also contributed studies on Edvard Munch’s German correspondence and on German versions of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House.

Textual Criticism and Editorial Philology: I have published articles addressing fundamental theoretical issues in this field. As part of the Henrik Ibsens skrifter project, I authored a substantial portion of the textual-critical introductions. In 2013, together with Paula Henrikson (Uppsala), I co-edited the volume Geschichte der Edition in Skandinavien.

Recently, my research has engaged with translation theory and with representations of friendship in literature and philosophy, particularly in the works of Hannah Arendt. I serve as deputy leader of the research group The Aesthetics of Friendship.
 

Teaching

TYSK1400 Tysk samfunn og litteratur etter 1945
TYSK2300 Tysk litteratur 1900–1945
TYSK4200 Tysk tekstkultur
TYSK4300 Praktisk oversettelse
TYSK4332 Literatur und Mythos
TYSK4333 Literatur als Erinnerung
TRANS4401 Litterær oversettelsesteori
EUS2301/4301 Berlin – storbyens litteratur og kultur

Supervision of MA and Ph.D. theses across various periods, themes, and authorships.
 

Background

• Cand. philol., Universitetet i Oslo med russisk mellomfag, allmenn litteraturvitenskap grunnfag og tysk hovedfag 1994
• Studier ved Albert-Ludwigs-Universität, Freiburg 1993
• Høyskolelektorvikar i russisk 1990–1991 og tysk 1994
• Russisktolk i Forsvaret 1988; frilans 1992–2007
• Visiting Scholar ved Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore 1996–1997
• Dr. art. i tysk litteratur, UiO 2001
• Filologisk leder ved utgaveprosjektet Henrik Ibsens skrifter 2002–2009
• Førsteamanuensis i tyskspråklig litteratur, UiO 2010–2020
• Utdanningsleder ILOS 2017–2020
• Professor i tyskspråklig litteratur, UiO 2020–

Other Positions

• Det tysk-norske studiesenteret i Kiel, styremedlem 2015–2020, nestleder 2015–2017
• Rådet for Senter for Ibsenstudier, UiO, rådsmedlem 2007–2015, leder 2012–2015
• Edvard Munchs tekster, Munchmuseet, medlem av styringsgruppen 2007–2012
• Det norske språk- og litteraturselskap, styremedlem 2006–2008
• Stiftelsen Thorleif Dahls Kulturfond, styremedlem 2007–2021
• Nordisk nettverk for edisjonsfilologer, styremedlem 2002–2016
• Stiftelsen Roseslottet, styremedlem 2022–2026
• Nasjonalt fagorgan for tysk, UiOs representant 2013–2019; nestleder 2023–2027
• Fagansvarlig for tysk, ILOS, 2014 og 2022–2025

Tags: German, German language literature, Poetry, Translation, Friendship, Editorial philology, Textual Criticism, Friedrich Hölderlin, Henrik Ibsen, R.M. Rilke, Nelly Sachs

Publications

  • Janss, Christian (2026). Oversettelsesteorier fra antikken til 1950-årene. Norsk oversetterleksikon. Full text in Research Archive
  • Janss, Christian (2026). Topographical Imagination in Marina Cvetaeva’s «Pis'mo», «O Germanii», and «Natal'ja Gončarova» | Slovo. Journal of Slavic Languages, Literatures and Cultures. Slovo. Journal of Slavic Languages, Literatures and Cultures. ISSN 0348-744X. 66(1), p. 317–329. doi: https:/journals.uu.se/slovo/article/view/1237. Full text in Research Archive
  • Janss, Christian (2024). Nelly Sachs og Holocaust. Agora Journal for metafysisk spekulasjon. ISSN 0800-7136. p. 126–150. doi: 10.18261/agora.42.1-2.6. Full text in Research Archive
  • Janss, Christian (2022). Freundschaft statt Brüderlichkeit. Weltoffenheit bei Nelly Sachs aus der Perspektive Hannah Arendts. Nordlit. ISSN 0809-1668. 50, p. 220–232. doi: 10.7557/13.6820. Full text in Research Archive

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  • Xia, Liyang & Janss, Christian (2026). When Nora Stayed – Ibsen's Alternative Ending. doi: https:/www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLY1ZQk6PgqZ4. Full text in Research Archive
  • Janss, Christian (2026). Notions of Friendship in Ibsen’s Emperor and Galilean (1873). Full text in Research Archive
  • Janss, Christian (2026). Bok om nazimorfar kalles upassende | Klassekampen. [Journal]. Klassekampen. Full text in Research Archive
  • Birkeland, Nils Rune; Selås, Magnhild; Gunleifsen, Elin; Drange, Eli-Marie D.; Garshol, Lenka & Klævik-Pettersen, Espen Johan [Show all 26 contributors for this article] (2024). 12 argument for å halde på framandspråka i ungdoms­skulen. Khrono. doi: https:/www.khrono.no/12-argument-for-a-halde-pa-framandspraka-i-ungdomsskulen/907087. Full text in Research Archive
  • Janss, Christian (2023). A Good Book. Erling Aadland, Dylan og diktet. Oslo: Cappelen Damm 2022. Agora Journal for metafysisk spekulasjon. ISSN 0800-7136. p. 553–562. Full text in Research Archive
  • Janss, Christian; Flikke, Geir & Tversland, Berit (2023). "Kunst og motstand". Roseslottets trialoger. (Live og streamet.). [Internet]. Roseslottet. Full text in Research Archive
  • Janss, Christian (2023). Reiseskildring i særklasse. Alfred Döblin: Reise i Polen. Dag og Tid. ISSN 0803-334X. p. 37–37. Full text in Research Archive
  • Janss, Christian; Tangestuen, Mats & Sand, Vebjørn (2023). "Minner gjenfortalt". Roseslottets trialoger (live og streamet). [Internet]. Roseslottet. Full text in Research Archive
  • Janss, Christian (2022). Nelly Sachs and the Compassionate Nobody. Full text in Research Archive
  • Janss, Christian (2022). Rainer Maria Rilke: «Sollen wir unsere uralte Freundschaft...». Full text in Research Archive
  • Janss, Christian (2022). «in zerrissene Mäntel gekleidet». Zur Bedeutung des Kynismus in Henrik Ibsens Kejser og Galilæer (1873). Full text in Research Archive
  • Janss, Christian (2022). Tysk: Quark. Full text in Research Archive
  • Janss, Christian (2021). Tysk: Unbegreiflichkeit. Full text in Research Archive
  • Janss, Christian (2021). "Ferdinand v. Schirach: Kaffe og sigaretter" Oslo: Gyldendal, 2020. Anmeldelse av Sverre Dahls oversettelse. Dag og Tid. ISSN 0803-334X. 60(5). Full text in Research Archive
  • Teistung, Even; Schimanski, Johan & Janss, Christian (2025). Home and Nowhere. On homelessness and belonging in W.G. Sebald and Jenny Erpenbeck. Universitetet i Oslo. Full text in Research Archive
  • Spalek, Alexandra Anna; Helland, Hans Petter; Nordenstam, Trond Gunnar; Janss, Christian; Hagerup, Tone & Ingulstad, Cecilia Kostanetzky [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (2023). Fremmedspråk i krise. En utredning om europeiske fremmedspråk i høyere utdanning. Institutt for litteratur, områdestudier og europeiske språk, UiO. Full text in Research Archive

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Published Sep. 23, 2010 12:01 PM - Last modified Jan. 2, 2026 3:59 PM

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