Scandinavian Course Offerings
Fall 2013
Discover your inner Viking!
SCAN 101 – Beginning Scandinavian I (Swedish)
M T W Th 9:00-9:50 AM
4 credit hours
Dr. Mark Safstrom
This is the FIRST course in the Swedish language sequence. Instruction is by immersion, emphasis is on basic skills: reading, writing, speaking, and aural comprehension.
SCAN 103 – Intermediate Scandinavian I (Swedish)
M T W Th 10:00-10:50 AM
4 credit hours
Dr. Mark Safstrom
This is the THIRD course in the Swedish language sequence. Instruction is by immersion, emphasis is on grammar, reading, discussion skills and writing through the study of authentic texts.
SCAN 199 – Freshman Seminar – Arctic Discovery: Images and Narratives of the Far North
T Th 11:00 AM – 12:20 PM
3 credit hours
Dr. Anna Westerståhl Stenport
This course will focus on how humans have represented their interactions with the Arctic throughout history with an emphasis on the last 150 years, as imagined through mythology, literature, film, visual arts, and photography. The course will discuss such tropes as the explorer and expedition journeys in service of nationalism and colonialism; cultural figurations of coldness, stillness, and passivity; representations of the environment and cultural practices by indigenous populations; pop culture renditions of changing geopolitical circumstances; and sustainability perspectives. Involves a research component.
SCAN 225 – Vikings & Volvos: Scandinavian Culture
M W F 2:00-2:50 PM
3 credit hours
Dr. Theo Malekin
This course will explore the last 1,000 years of Nordic history and culture, beginning with the age of the Vikings all the way down to the present era, in which the Nordic countries have emerged as industrial nations. (This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for a Literature and the Arts, and Western Comparative Culture course.)
SCAN 252 – Viking Sagas in Translation
M W F 11:00-11:50 AM
3 credit hours
Dr. Theo Malekin
This course will explore Old Norse/Icelandic literature in translation, including the various “kings’ sagas,” family sagas, mythical-heroic sagas, and romances.
(This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for a Literature and the Arts, and Western Comparative Culture course.) Same as CWL 252 / MDVL 252.
SCAN 463 – Ibsen in Translation
T Th 12:30-1:50 PM
3 or 4 credit hours
Dr. Theo Malekin
This course is dedicated to the major works of Henrik Ibsen, one of the most important playwrights in the history of modern drama. Adapting an international and comparative perspective, the course situates Ibsen’s plays within the modern European and American drama tradition. Same as CWL 463, THEA 483, ENGL 455
SCAN 496 – Special Topics: Arctic Narratives, Images and Cultures
T Th 2:00-3:20 PM
3 or 4 credit hours
Dr. Mark Safstrom
This course will investigate how humans have narrated their interactions with the Arctic over the past 1,000 years, and explore how this environment has been imagined through oral tradition, mythology, sagas, literature, and film. Students in this course will be equipped to discuss environmental and societal changes in the Arctic in a long-term, historical perspective, and understand current cultural and political assumptions about the Arctic. This course will feature authors from the Nordic region (all readings in English translation).