Hans Bonde

Hans Bonde is a Professor at the Institute for Sports, University of Copenhagen, specializing in the intersection of sports history, gender, and national identity. His work explores how physical culture and collective bodily practices shaped Danish and Scandinavian societal structures, particularly through gymnastics and its ideological implications.

• Doctoral thesis on Niels Bukh's gymnastics and political ideology
• Ongoing project: Cultural history of the body in sports
• Completed project: Gymnastics and Politics (monograph with DVD)

Research Focus: Bonde analyzes how sports, music, and collective rituals construct national identity. His studies emphasize the role of Danish rural gymnastics in democratizing physical culture, contrasting it with Swedish gymnastics traditions. He investigates bodily metaphors (e.g., 'straight back' as a symbol of class mobility) and the political dimensions of synchronized movement.

Publication Trends: His work spans from early 20th-century rural gymnastics in Denmark to mid-century gender dynamics and transnational cultural exchange. Key themes include the militarization of physical education, the aestheticization of movement, and the contested legacy of figures like Niels Bukh in shaping national narratives.