Recognizing and Honoring Women in Public Space
The debate about women’s visibility in public spaces takes centre stage across Denmark, where conversations are emerging on how women’s contributions are commemorated, including discussions about monuments and statues that reflect a broader and more representative history.
This discussion lies at the heart of INSPIRE’S mission and commitment to fostering a deeper understanding of women’s contributions to the history of philosophy.
A recent expert committee has proposed a list of 100 Danish women to be honoured with public statues, drawing attention to the need for a more inclusive public memory. For further reading, see the DR article.
Among the women highlighted, Birgitte Gøye (1511–1574), Birgitte Thott (1610–1662), and Leonora Christina Ulfeldt (1621-1698) stand out as pivotal figures in Danish intellectual and cultural history.
Birgitte Gøye, a noblewoman and patron of education, played a crucial role in supporting institutions and initiatives that broadened access to learning, particularly for girls. Through her cultural and philanthropic work, she helped shape an intellectual climate that valued knowledge and empowerment across social boundaries.
Birgitte Thott, a pioneering philosopher and translator, actively contributed to the dissemination of knowledge during the early modern period. She was considered the most prominent Danish female philosopher of the Early Modern Period and was featured in catalogues of learned women (lærde fruentimmer) popular in the 1700s. A translator of Seneca, Thott also authored an unpublished treatise on Stoic moral philosophy, Om vejen til et lyksaligt liv. She dedicated her Seneca translation to women and included a chapter in her treatise arguing for women’s right to education. Thott was deeply rooted in the intellectual contexts of Denmark-Norway, receiving praise not only from learned men of her time but also teaching, learning from, and collaborating with other women.
Leonora Christina Ulfeldt, a noblewoman, daughter of Christian IV, is best known as the author of Jammersminde, an autobiography and one of the earliest works of Danish literature written by a female author. The work, which is by many considered to be the finest piece of prose written in 17th-century Denmark, has recently been added to the official Danish cultural canon. In her work Hæltinners Pryd, Ulfeldt presents portraits of women from history and mythology, highlighting their virtues, achievements and intellectual capacities. Throughout her works, Ulfeldt argues for the equality between men and women, making her a central figure in early Danish feminist thought.
By foregrounding figures such as Gøye, Thott and Ulfeldt, Denmark can foster a more inclusive understanding of its history, while stimulating public conversations about representation, gender, and the legacies we choose to commemorate in our shared spaces. Their inclusion signals that women’s intellectual and cultural contributions are not only of historical significance but remain vital to ongoing debates about equality, memory, and civic identity.