Time Schedule:
Marianne T Stecher Hansen
SCAND 312
Seattle Campus
Major works of Scandinavian literature by selected authors.
Class description
This course offers the opportunity to study some of the great works of Scandinavian literature. The reading consists of literary texts by Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish writers in English translation. In the Fall quarter 2011, the course will focus on "Gift and Sacrifice in Scandinavian Literature." The reading list includes tales by Hans Christian Andersen, Karen Blixen (Isak Dinesen) and Aino Kallas, plays by Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg, as well as a novel by Knut Hamsun. The lectures will offer the literary, historical and cultural context for the selected works. Students will be encouraged to develop their own readings of texts based on class discussions and short writing assignments.
Student learning goals
1. To gain an understanding of Nordic literature in a broad context, including a knowledge of writers, literary movements, historical and national contexts.
2. To exercise tools for literary analysis and to improve interpretative skills for discussing and writing about literature and society.
3. To acquire the ability to identify the structure and some of the narrative techniques of specific literary genres, such as the literary tale, the drama, and the novel.
General method of instruction
Lecture and small group discussion. Some films.
Recommended preparation
Open to all students. Advanced undergraduates and graduate students with some background in History, Comparative Literature, English, History, Cultural Studies, European Studies, Scandinavian Studies or Women Studies are well prepared for this course. Some interest in the study of literature is most helpful.
Class assignments and grading
Grades will be based on a midterm and final exam, class participation, as well as a term paper. The principle assignment is the development of an interpretative essay which relates in an original way to the overriding concerns of the course.
10% participation/discussions 10% midterm essay exam 20% final essay exam 10% short response papers 10% paper proposal 40% term paper
