Ole Torp, Eli Nessa, Hilmar Mjelde, Janne Stigen Drangsholt, and Jacob Lee Tom will discuss the dramatic election campaign in the USA.
Trump has been shot, Biden has withdrawn, and Kamala Harris might become the first female president of the USA. This is the election where apparently anything can happen, and much is at stake. Therefore, we have invited a top-tier USA panel to the University Library in Stavanger.
Long-time journalist and foreign affairs enthusiast Ole Torp owns over twenty pairs of cowboy boots and has a passionate relationship with the USA. He has lived in the country twice, first as a foreign correspondent for Dagbladet from 1987-1990, and for NRK from 1998-2002. Torp keeps himself updated on American culture and politics and will come fully loaded with questions when he takes the moderator's seat.
At a Party with Trump
Eli Nessa is one of the few Norwegians who has partied with Donald Trump. The year was 1991 when 17-year-old Eli from Madla went to New York to participate in the modeling competition "Look of the Year." Trump was the host and sat on the judging panel that evaluated the appearance of models, some as young as 14.
The program also included a party on Trump's luxury yacht. It was a disappointment for Nessa, who described the party to NRK as: "You saw older men drooling over young girls." Nessa has shelved her modeling career and now works as a university lecturer in journalism at UiS. She will talk about her encounter with Trump and share her thoughts on why such a controversial man has become so popular among Americans.
Sought-After USA Expert
Hilmar Mjelde's phone doesn't stop ringing during the US election campaign. He is one of our most sought-after USA experts and a professor of political science at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences. Mjelde has researched the Trump movement and the undemocratic development of The Grand Old Party – the Republican Party. The question we hope he can answer is: Can American democracy withstand the stress test that Donald Trump represents?
Celebrity Culture
American politics and celebrity culture go hand in hand. When model and influencer Amber Rose stood at the podium at the Republican National Convention and said she no longer believes the lies the media tells about Trump and declared her full support for him as a presidential candidate, she cast valuable glamour on Trump. Kamala Harris, on the other hand, has allied herself with pop artist Charli XCX, who confirms that “Kamala is brat,” something Gen Z likes a lot. For those belonging to earlier generations, it can be hard to keep up. Fortunately, Professor of Literature, Janne Stigen Drangsholt, who also knows a lot about celebrity culture, will try to make sense of everything that happened this brat-summer and explain what it is with Americans and celebrities.
Report From the Homeland
Jacob Lee Tom was born and raised in Wisconsin. He moved to Stavanger to study in 2017 and is working on a PhD in history at UiS. This summer, he has been home visiting friends and family and promised to give us a report from the homeland. Are Americans as divided as the news suggests? And does he know who he will vote for on November 5?
Mini-Concert and Bar
After the panel discussion, there will be a mini-concert with A Band – the region's best and hardest-working country trio. They play the sad but comforting American music you need when the world is falling apart.
Tappetårnet (the student bar at UiS) is a partner and will provide a bar from 6:30 PM. The discussion starts at 7:00 PM. The concert begins at 8:30 PM. Tappetårnet will serve until 10:00 PM.
Language: Norwegian.
