Description

What are the ways in which the notion of “northernness” can be understood? How do cultural forces determine societal response to Winter?

In this three-credit course which satisfies one intercultural requirement, we will attempt to understand the links between place and people through a close examination of how two northern cultures, that of Norway and that of Sweden, interact with and represent their respective environments. We will then compare and contrast these two cultures according to a number of common factors including: representation of northerners in art, literature and film, as well as the practice of winter sports.

An initial, on-campus exploration of northern landscapes will be followed by another, hands-on discovery which will take the student to Norway and Sweden. In the spirit of a classroom without walls philosophy, the travel component of this course will allow the student to observe first-hand what s/he has studied during the course of the semester and will allow him/her to complete a final cultural analysis.

Readings

Cora Sandel, Alberta and Jacob (Elizabeth Rokkan, translator). Athens (OH): Ohio University Press, 1962.

Reimund Kvideland and Henning K. Sehmsdorf, Scandinavian Folk Belief and Legend (Nordic Series, Vol. 15). Minneapolis (MN): University of Minnesota Press, 1992.

A selection of cultural and historical readings.

Course schedule

January 2 Film screening - The Other Side of Sunday

January 3 Norway: history and culture, film screening - The Heroes of Telemark

January 4 Sweden: history and culture, film screening - The Heroes of Telemark

January 7 Discussion of the novel Alberta and Jacob by Cora Sandel 

January 8 Scandinavian mythology - Class presentations

January 9 Quiz based on cultural readings

January 10-21 Travel to Norway and Sweden

January 24 Work on web page design

January 25 Work on web page design 

Evaluation

Participation - 15%
(in class and during trip - includes work on web page)

20-minute class presentation (legends and folktales) - 20%
(in class, January 8, 2002)

Journal - 25%
(to be kept while away)

Quiz (based on historical and cultural readings) - 10%
(in class, January 9, 2002)

Cultural analysis - 30%
(essay, due January 25)