*The conference is partially supported by a grant from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project No. UGC/IIDS14/H03/24)
The year 2025 marks the 150th anniversary of the passing of the world-renowned Danish fairy tale writer, Hans Christian Andersen. In commemoration of this, we are delighted to announce an international conference to be held in the city of Hong Kong in the early summer of 2025.
Andersen’s legacy has transcended time and culture, inspiring filmmakers and cultural creators for over two hundred years. His stories are beloved not only by children but have also been a wellspring for cultural reinvention worldwide. In East Asia, Andersen has enjoyed warm reception for more than a century, with most of his stories translated into Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, and adapted into comics and films. These tales are cherished as children’s literature for their perceived universal values and morals. Yet, beneath these values and morals lie profound notions of truth, self-identity, and individuality, challenging traditional East Asian concepts of selfhood. Andersen represents new values for East Asian modernity, as seen in the wide circulation of his stories in animated films in Japan and Korea, and the technological representations of culture in the digital age. Thus, the Tokyo Andersen Park, Shanghai Andersen Cultural Paradise, and Qingdao Andersen Park are hubs of cultural reimaginations in the twenty-first century.
The same reach and significance hold true in the West. Since their early circulation in Western Europe, Andersen’s works have traversed boundaries, taking on new forms in adaptations and remediations. Disney’s reinterpretations of “The Little Mermaid” and “The Snow Queen” have been among the company’s most significant blockbusters, introducing Andersen’s fairy tales to a global audience in a fresh guise. Meanwhile, authors, playwrights, and visual artists continue to draw inspiration from Andersen’s texts in their creative endeavors.
Since its inception in the early 20th century, the classical philological and biographical research into Andersen has been supplemented with the addition of several theoretical approaches. Scholars have applied Marxist literary theory, feminism, queer theory, deconstruction, and postcolonialism to analyse Andersen’s texts. Studies have explored the reception and circulation of Andersen from the perspectives of media and technology history. His roots in European Romanticism and influence on modernity have been illuminated, and his pedagogical and educational potentials have been examined. Most recently, scholars have employed perspectives from cultural studies, world literature, ecocriticism, translation studies, genetic criticism, and digital humanities to delve into Andersen’s creative processes, the creation of his texts, and their multifaceted reception and continued relevance both in Denmark and across other cultural and social contexts.
With the conference “Hans Christian Andersen: Life and Afterlife,” we aim to shed light on Andersen – the person, the texts, and the reception – from as many perspectives as possible.
Interested scholars and advanced postgraduate students are invited to submit abstracts of 300 words with a bio of 150 words to the contact persons of the conference. Accepted papers will be presented at the conference. Deadline for submission of abstracts is 15 October 2024. Announcement of the proposals accepted will be made no later than 1 December 2024.
Instructions on Abstract Submissions
Please submit your abstract and bio to: Kwok-kan Tam (kktam@hsu.edu.hk), or Torsten Bøgh Thomsen (tbt@sdu.dk). Please include the following information at the top of the page: (1) full name and title; (2) institutional affiliation (if any), position and email address; (3) 3‒4 keywords describing the presentation; and (4) audio-visual requirements (if any).
Contact Persons for Abstract and Paper Submission
Prof Kwok-kan Tam, Dean of Humanities and Social Science, HSUHK (Email: kktam@hsu.edu.hk)
Dr Torsten Bøgh Thomsen, Head of the Hans Christian Andersen Centre, SDU (Email: tbt@sdu.dk)
Main Theme of the Conference
Hans Christian Andersen: Life and Afterlife
Sub-Themes
Andersen and world literature
Local and global receptions of Andersen
Death and immortality in the texts of Andersen
Andersen in translation
Andersen in adaptation and remediation
Andersen’s visual art
New theoretical approaches to Andersen
Andersen in pedagogy and education
Andersen and contemporary art and literature
Andersen and digital humanities
Appropriation and intertextuality in Andersen’s works
Creative processes of Andersen
Philological and historical perspectives on Andersen
Other themes that are relevant to the main theme of Hans Christian Andersen
Conference Venue
Creative Humanities Hub, North Campus, The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, Hang Shin Link, Siu Lek Yuen, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR
Please click here for more details about traveling to the conference venue.
Conference Language
English
Registration Method
Please complete the online registration form for registration.
Conference Event Fee
| Item | Early Bird Rate (Until Saturday, 1 March 2025) | Standard Rate (Until Monday, 31 March 2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Conference (includes 3 lunches, 1 dinner and 1 banquet) | HK$2500 (for oversea and mainland participants) HK$2100 (for local participants) | HK$2800 (for oversea and mainland participants) HK$2400 (for local participants) |
| City Tour (optional) | HK$300 | HK$500 |
Please note that no refunds will be provided if the participant is unable to attend the event or any portion of the event. Your conference registration will only become effective upon receipt of full payment of the registration fee. No refunds can be processed after the payment has been settled.
Payment Methods
Please make online payment by FPS/Alipay/PayPal (in Hong Kong dollars).
All registration fees will be charged in Hong Kong dollars. For overseas participants, the exact amount of the registration fee will be based on the exchange rate on the date of transaction.
Participants are responsible for arranging and covering all costs for their own travel and accommodation. There are three conference hotels available for participants. Participants are responsible for reserving their room directly with the hotel of their choice.
• Courtyard by Marriott Sha Tin Hong Kong
• Regal Riverside Hotel Sha Tin Hong Kong
More hotel options can be found at Hong Kong Tourism Board’s website.
Visa Requirements
Visa to Hong Kong and Macao is not required for participants holding European and American passports. However, visa is required for participants visiting China after the conference. Participants from mainland China need a permit to enter Hong Kong. Visitors from other countries should check with their local consulates.
Visit Visa / Entry Permit Requirements for Hong Kong
| Date | Item |
|---|---|
| 15 October 2024 | Deadline for abstract submission |
| 1 December 2024 | Notification of acceptance |
| 22‒24 May 2025 | Conference dates |
| 1 September 2025 | Papers presented at the conference will receive invitation for publication review |
Full papers each of 5,000‒6,000 words, in Chicago (author-date) style with in-text citation (https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide/citation-guide-2.html), British spelling and with no more than 10 photo illustrations or tables, are expected to be submitted by 1 September 2025 for review. Selected papers will be published in a volume by an academic press.
Kwok-kan Tam, HSUHK
Anna Tso, HSUHK
Sun Jian, Fudan U
Jacob Bøggild, SDU
Ane Grum-Schwensen, SDU
Torsten Bøgh Thomsen, SDU
