#31 Bildung Conference Special | Lars Løvlie, Svein Østerud & Steen Nepper Larsen
This special issue of the ResponsAbility Podcast was recorded at the Bildung Conference 2026 at the University of South-Eastern Norway. In this dialogue, we welcome three distinguished Nordic scholars in the field of Bildung and educational philosophy: Lars Løvlie, professor emeritus at the University of Oslo and one of the leading voices in Nordic Bildung theory; Svein Østtveit Østerud, professor emeritus in educational science and media pedagogy at the University of Oslo; and Steen Nepper Larsen, associate professor at Aarhus University, widely known for his critical and philosophical contributions to Bildung and contemporary education. Together, the conversation explores the relevance of Bildung in higher education and society, addressing questions of democracy, technology, existential formation, and the future of education in times of uncertainty and crisis. The episode also reflects the spirit of dialogue and philosophical inquiry that shaped the conference itself, which was mainly organized by our co-host Guro Hansen Helskog.
00:02:42 — Why the conference theme “The Humanizing Power of Exploratory Dialogue” was chosen
00:02:42 — Why the conference theme “The Humanizing Power of Exploratory Dialogue” was chosen
00:03:06 — Reflections on dialogue, Bildung, and humanization based on the speakers’ presentations
00:07:04 — Dialogue, virtual reality, and the human dimensions behind terror and school shootings
00:08:40 — Bildung in times of crisis, fragmentation, and unstable shared meaning
00:09:01 — The role of Bildung in a pluralistic and culturally divided world
00:11:18 — Universal values, criticism, and the tension between universality and cultural embeddedness
00:13:16 — Responses to the challenges of relativism, democracy, and media literacy
00:16:26 — “Standing in the open” as a new Bildung ideal
00:16:38 — Bildung as existential risk, openness, and self-transformation
00:18:53 — What Bildung can do in the face of militarization, technology, and societal crisis
00:21:07 — The crisis of education, student disengagement, and digital culture
- Hattie, J. & Larsen, S. N. (2020): The Purposes of Education: A Conversation between John Hattie and Steen Nepper Larsen. New York, NY: Routledge.
- Larsen, S. N. (2026). Tankekraft: Om væren, tænkning, dannelse – og den uhyre anstrengelse det er at blive gjort dum. Samfundslitteratur.
- Larsen, S. N. (2022): Evalueringsfeber og evidensjagt. Copenhagen: Samfundslitteratur
- Larsen, S. N. (2019): Blindness in Seeing: A Philosophical Critique of the Visible Learning Paradigm in Education. Educational Science 9(1) 47. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci9010047
- Larsen, S.N (2016). At ville noget med nogen – filosofiske og samtidskritiske fragmenter om dannelse og pædagogik. Turbine akademisk.
- Løvlie, L. (2022) Hvis teknokratene ikke fantes. I: Schaanning, E., & Aagre, W. (2022). Skolens mening : femti år etter Nils Christies Hvis skolen ikke fantes. Universitetsforlaget.
- Løvlie, L. (2022). Akademisk dygd og politikkens fravær. Nordisk tidsskrift for pedagogikk og kritikk, 8. https://doi.org/10.23865/ntpk.v8.3755
- Løvlie, L., & Løvlie, L. (2021). Politisering og pedagogisk motstand : veien til en barneorientert praksis (1. utgave.). Fagbokforlaget.
- Løvlie, L. (2017). The Test of Practice–An Essay. Education Sciences, 7(1), 31. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci7010031
- Løvlie, L. (2015). John Dewey, phenomenology, and the reconstruction of democracy. Nordisk tidsskrift for pedagogikk og kritikk, 1. https://doi.org/10.17585/ntpk.v1.104
- Østerud, S. (2013): 22. Juli. Forstå - forklare - forebygge. Abstrakt.
- Østerud, S. (2008): Å være på nett: kommunikasjon, identitets- og kompetanseutvikling med digitale medier. Cappelen akademisk.
