Denmark

This course introduces and challenges the ways in which contemporary gender, sexuality, and heteronormativity are interpreted through ethnographic case studies. While many modern Western societies debate openly the concepts of gender, sexuality, and LGBTQIA, a range of non-Western anthropological studies from around the world demonstrate the knowledge and concepts that reshape the notion of queerness and gender fluidity in global societies. With a comparative outlook towards Western societies, the course explores and discusses the change of gender roles in the 21st century, transgenderism and vulnerabilities, post-colonial queer cultures and discrimination, masculinity and femininity, power of beauty and aesthetics, and other critical topics such as LGBTQ sex work, non-conformity, and transgender inmates in prisons, as well as their connection to gender identity formation in contemporary society.

This course explores the multitude of ways in which human development and the environment are connected. It provides an understanding of key theoretical, conceptual, and practical debates and issues within the agriculture/environment-development field and allows students to practice interdisciplinarity through active participation in discussions and group work. The course explores the intersections of economic growth, social development, and environmental conservation. It considers important development questions such as the reason for hunger and famine, how globalization affects access to resources and social dynamics, and how gender inequality intersects with development. Sessions are devoted to epistemological reflections for each of these themes. This course places particular focus on countries in the Global South. 

This course provides international students with an overview of Danish architecture and urban planning over the last 100 years with an emphasis on the human perspective of architecture. Examples of architecture with a Nordic approach to the planning and design of the physical environment are demonstrated. The course discusses the key elements of culture, climate, and scale in relations to the way the profession and the Nordic welfare states have been dealing with the international trends and styles as they have been translated into the local settings. Field trips to explore examples of the architecture and planning are important elements of this lecture based course.

The course focuses on the different factors underlying consumers’ food behaviors. Centrally in the course are theories on determinants of food consumption, strategies to change behavior, and social significance and meaning of food. Social, cultural, cognitive, developmental, psychophysiological and neuroeconomic approaches as well as theory of human action and of decision making processes are discussed.

This course provides an intensive study of some of the main philosophical ideas and achievements of the Enlightenment era. It combines the reading of classical texts with works written by non-canonical figures, such as women philosophers, philosophers of color, and non-Christian philosophers. With a critical perspective, it reassesses the ambivalent nature of the concept of science and scientific method as well as reflects on the political ideas of the state, religious tolerance, freedom of speech, gender, and race.

This course introduces theoretical, analytical, and critical-reflexive approaches to cultural and creative industries (CCI) in an international perspective, emphasizing the field’s global implications on cultural, commercial, and media-specific transformations. The course covers various manifestations of CCIs from across the world, how they are structured and function within particular (trans)national contexts, and the production and circulation of cultural artifacts at varying geographic scales. The course examines the characteristics and components of several ‘models’ of CCI practices and interrogates topical issues in CCI research, such as structural challenges in the international division of cultural labor, and national and transnational CCI strategies. This course includes an excursion to a (European) metropolis with visits to relevant CCI organizations as well as related academic and research institutions to gain insights on how CCI practice and research are conducted in a different cultural and socio-political setting.

This course prepares future managers for the cross-cultural challenges and opportunities awaiting them in an increasingly globalized business environment. The course examines pertinent theories and practices of high performing teams to gain a greater understanding about how culture influences an organization’s internal and external relationships, decision making, and operations. It explores strategies to bridge cultural gaps and to preempt or resolve conflict in teams. It provides insight into best dealing with culturally diverse customer, employee, supplier, and other stakeholder groups. Management communication techniques that heighten awareness of differences across cultures are a key aspect within the curriculum. Theories cover a range of brand management, leadership, organizational behavior effectiveness, work-life balance, and intercultural conflict styles, as well as team collaboration across cultures. Discussions focus on team performance and the experiences of numerous companies including Bang and Olufsen, Coloplast, Ecco, Novo Nordisk, Microsoft, Sony, and Huawei. The course also includes experiential learning by observing businesses with a focus on culture and team collaboration.