Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
THE SWEDISH ACADEMY, which awards the Nobel Literature Prize, has been plunged into crisis after two of its members resigned amid a growing crisis over a high-profile man accused of sexual assaults.
After an emergency meeting of academy members in Stockholm, the head of the academy Sara Danius said:
It is the Academy’s wish that I leave my post as permanent secretary … I would have liked to have continued, but there are other things to do in life.
Also stepping down is Academy member Katarina Frostenson, a Swedish writer.
The resignations come after the daily Dagens Nyheter in November published statements from 18 women, alleging they had been subject to harassment and physical abuse by the accused man.
The academy has since severed all ties with him and cut grants made to him.
It has also launched an internal investigation and enlisted the services of a law firm.
The Academy, which is under the direct patronage of the Norwegian king, is traditionally very discreet and has been deeply shaken by the scandal.
‘Deep divisions’
The head of the Nobel Foundation, Lars Heikensten, has publicly expressed concern about what he termed a “serious and difficult situation”.
Three academics resigned last week in protest after the institution had expressed renewed confidence in Katarina Frostenson, who finally announced her resignation yesterday.
According to Peter Englund, one of the three who resigned, the case has deeply divided the institution.
He believes that Sara Danius, who succeeded him in 2015, is the target of “unwarranted” internal criticism.
Another member, Horace Engdahl, said that Academy had confirmed that there was “a problem of leadership”. He told Swedish public television, SVT:
A radical gesture was needed to create the conditions for a new beginning.
A professor of literature at Stockholm University, Danius was the first woman to hold the position.
Academicians are life-long members and cannot, in principle, resign, but they can leave their chairs empty.
Of the 18 elders of the academy, seven are no longer active members, and two women, Kerstin Ekman and Lotta Lotass, have gone on leave for several years.
It is not the first time the Academy has faced a wave of resignations.
In 1989, three members decided to leave their seats empty when the Academy refused to condemn a fatwa against Salman Rushdie following the publication of his novel, “The Satanic Verses.” The Academy finally did so 27 years later.
Stockholm prosecutors announced in mid-March that parts of the investigation against the sexual abuse suspect – concerning allegations of rape and assault between 2013 and 2015 – had been dropped due to lack of evidence.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
In all fairness that’s a great result.
Excellent
Great news. Congratulations and best of luck to all students beginning college in this difficult time.
To think we were laughing at the UK making a bo**ix of their calculated grades system, we then said hold my beer.
Good stuff. Delighted for those impacted but leaving very should never have been cancelled.
I’d say Simon is not missing the health portfolio these days…
Brilliant outcome. Good luck to all the students involved.
This further disadvantages the LC class-of-2019. Already hit with a new system that yielded record results and so put them at a huge disadvantage w.r.t. their LC-2020 counterparts – they are now further back in the queue because 2020 students were upgraded only (but not downgraded) because of the system errors.
Tens of thousands of them – why is nobody “moving mountains” for them ?
Simon is really a great minister what he has done in 2020! Much respect for him.
It’s a great turn around, but they should not be left out of pocket. Will they be reimbursed for fees already paid to a different college, for books and other items specific to the original course they were offered which they have paid for? Deposits on now useless accommodation?
@Dave Gillen #wearamask #noToRacism: I guess there will be a scramble for accommodation now. Only high end units left!
Good news, though tbf at this late point, they might as well defer.
@willow moon: Why?
Most colleges only started back last week or the week before and are online. the majority of lectures are recorded on blackboard or moodle.
No hassle catching up.
@willow moon: not really, a lot of courses would have started later this year anyway and even if they started the first week of September catching up is definitely doable since there’s a lot of introductory stuff in every course
@Fiona Reidy: results only released on 7th September and CAO on 11th September so they didn’t start first week .
Just out of internet and to clarify, does this mean the initial 424 students that received course places before the coding debacle have now been removed as it were or “squeezed out” fairly? Are they being reimbursed/compensated for their course fees, accommodation, and other expenses by the Department of Education per se??
@Kiern Mcx: Or did the latter 424 students get additional places in the respective courses so the initial 424 didn’t lose out on their places?
A week where this story dominated everything from the Dail to the airwaves one muppet of a TD even called for a full public inquiry costing millions never mind the amount of calls for the Ministers head.
This actually affected only 450 out of 60,000 students and they now all have been sorted within two weeks .
We really do need to cop ourselves on and calm down on the indignant outrage for a small bit.
Not my Daughter! 2 points short for Pharmacy due to downgrade in Chemistry not to mention points through the roof this year! Teacher gave her H1 no word on her appeal she got H2!
have your say