WGSS 200
Nordic Lights: Literary and Cultural Diversity in Modern Scandinavia
Last Offered Spring 2014
Division II Exploring Diversity Initiative
Cross-listed COMP 212
This course is not offered in the current catalog

Class Details

Mythologized as the land of the aurora borealis and the midnight sun, Scandinavia’s five distinct nations–Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland–are often mistakenly associated with blond-haired and blue-eyed uniformity. Modern Scandinavia, however, is a place of great social and cultural diversity. From medieval Viking sagas to contemporary Nordic rap, the Scandinavian literary tradition is rich in tales of global exploration, childhood imagination, sexual revolution, and multicultural confrontation. Through readings of nineteenth-century drama, twentieth-century novels, and twenty-first century cinema, we will investigate a wide range of issues on class, ethnicity, and identity, including the indigenous reindeer-herding Sami people, Danish colonialism and the Greenlandic Inuit, Norwegian collaboration and resistance during World War II, and Nordic emigration (to North America) and immigration (from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East). Discussion will also focus on Scandinavia’s leadership in gender equality and sexual liberation, Scandinavian political isolation and integration (into both the UN and the EU), and the global effects of Nordic pop (ABBA to Bjork), glamour (Greta Garbo to Helena Christensen), technology (Volvo to Nokia), and design (IKEA to H&M). Readings to include works by Henrik Ibsen, August Strindberg, Hans Christian Andersen, Karen Blixen, Astrid Lindgren, Halldór Laxness, Reidar Jönsson, and Peter Hoeg. Films to include works by Ingmar Bergman, Lasse Hallström, Bille August, Colin Nutley, Lukas Moodysson, Josef Fares, Tomas Alfredson and Tomas Vinterberg. All readings and discussions in English.
The Class: Format: seminar
Limit: 15
Expected: 15
Class#: 3648
Grading: yes pass/fail option, yes fifth course option
Requirements/Evaluation: active participation, two short papers, an oral presentation, and a final paper
Prerequisites: none
Enrollment Preferences: Comparative Literature and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies majors and those with compelling justification for admission
Distributions: Division II Exploring Diversity Initiative
Notes: meets Division 1 requirement if registration is under COMP; meets Division 2 requirement if registration is under WGSS
This course is cross-listed and the prefixes carry the following divisional credit:
COMP 212 Division I WGSS 200 Division II
Attributes: WGSS Racial Sexual + Cultural Diversity Courses

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Updated 10:19 am
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  • WGSS 200 - SEM Nordic Lights
    WGSS 200 SEM Nordic Lights
    Division II Exploring Diversity Initiative
    Not offered

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