Martin Fog Lantz Arndal

Short presentation

I research conceptions of equality and what we might call ‘spiritual equality’ as they are expressed in psalm- and hymn books, focusing on both the content of these works and the paratexts that accompany them. By ‘spiritual equality,’ I refer to ideas of equality as they are developed within a religious framework of biblical interpretation, particularly interpretations of the Creation narratives. Central to this is the notion that Adam and Eve are created in the same image—namely, God’s—and from this point, various female (and male) authors develop divergent positions on: (1) whether the sexes are equal, (2) if so, in what way, and (3) whether such equality calls for social or political change. So far, my research shows that early modern Scandinavian defenses of women’s intellectual equality with men resemble their European counterparts, although the Protestant context brings out different nuances. What we can learn from a project like this today is that the arguments for and against intellectual equality in the history of gender equality are long-standing and complex—and that understanding this history can illuminate how many of the same arguments recur in contemporary debates.

Primary fields of research

• Gender and Queer Studies.
• Romanticism.
• Enlightenment.
• Historical feminism.
• Comparative literature
• Ecocriticism.
• Naturphilosophie.

Fields of interest

• History of (Women’s) Philosophy.
• Historiography of Philosophy.
• Political Philosophy of the Seventeenth- and Eighteenth Century.
• Genre studies.

CV

Roskilde University 2012-2015.

- B.A. in Danish Literature and Philosophy.

University of Copenhagen 2016-2018.

- M.A. in Philosophy. Title of project: “The ‘Mansplained’ Enlightenment: Mary Astell’s and Mary Wollstonecraft’s Challenge to Jonathan Israel’s Radical Enlightenment.”

Humboldt Universität zu Berlin 2017-2018.

- Academic Exchange, part of M.A.

University of Copenhagen 2019.

Ph.d.