Ibsen scholarship in Norway has had a strong tradition, with names like Francis Bull, Halvdan Koht, Didrik Arup Seip, Else Høst, Edvard Beyer and Daniel Haakonsen. The tradition represented by these and other scholars had not been carried on by young scholars after 1970, probably due to the time's general refusal of traditional topics and old literature as objects of interest. The situation in Norwegian Ibsen scholarship around 1990 therefore demanded new efforts and achievements in this field. This was one of the reasons why the planning of the first years' activities in the Centre for Advanced Study included scholarly work on Henrik Ibsen's writings as one of the most obvious fields of interest.
Establishing a Centre of this character implies special difficulties. A long planning period is needed to compose academic groups, because the individual scholars have to plan their leave of absence long ahead. We were lucky to be able to compose a very interesting group for the first academic year, and had also many candidates that would like to accept our invitation but who could not find time to go before the following year. The Board therefore decided that the activities in the Ibsen Group should last for two years, making it possible to include the scholars we wanted.

Areas of interest:
• Ibsen's Brand. Analysis of Composition. Aesthetics.
• Ibsen and Kierkegaard. History of Ideas; Existential Approaches to Ibsen.
• Intertextuality. Ibsen's Language.
• The Relevance of Ibsen in Modern African Societies. Ibsen in modern Media.
• Ibsen and Modernity. The Last Plays.
• Intertextuality. The Bible as Intertext in Ibsen's Plays.
• Aesthetical Problems. Ibsen and Tragedy.
• Ibsen's Family Drama. Scandinavian Law and Ibsen's Patterns of Conflict.
• Translating Ibsen (Practical and Theoretical Study)
• Translation Problems. (Theoretical Study). Ibsen and the History of Ideas.
• Ibsen and Modernity. The Function of Idealism and Liberalism in Ibsen’s Writings.
• Ibsen's Female Characters. Ibsen's «Feminism».
• Aesthetical Problems. Ibsen and Tragedy. Ibsen and Kierkegaard (Existential Approaches to Ibsen).
• Scenographic Patterns in Ibsen's Plays.