University of Oslo

The course introduces the Norwegian education system within its Nordic context. It provides a thorough understanding of all relevant components of the Norwegian education system. In addition, it introduces the notion of "the Nordic model," how it affects Norwegian education, as well as how it relates to the European idea and other educational models. The course covers both formal and informal institutional practices in education, and address questions about the ideas of democracy, inclusion and exclusion, the role of knowledge and expertise, the public and private dimension, lifelong learning, and access.

The end of communist rule in former Eastern Europe was widely seen as the culmination of the third wave of democratization. However, the ‘revolutions’ of 1989 were not uniform processes: the starting points were different, the trajectories were different, and so were the outcomes. Some countries never progressed beyond hybrid regimes, while others became liberal democracies and joined the European Union – and some of these are now backsliding on democracy. This course combines insights into specific cases (Ukraine, Georgia, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, and Slovakia) with a comparative take on some key issues in contemporary Central and Eastern Europe. Some of the questions raised in this course are: How do support for democracy, satisfaction with democracy, and political trust vary across the region? Why did some countries successfully complete the transition from communism to democracy, while others got stuck in a half-way house? What is democratic backsliding in theory and practice, and how can it be reversed? How do oligarchs and grand corruption affect politics and democracy in the post-communist region? What roles do Russia and the European Union play? How does populism in general and radical right populism in particular play out in the region?

The Enlightenment marks for many the birth of the Modern Age and evokes ideals of religious tolerance, political emancipation, and human betterment. But how were such ideals expressed and what were their limits? This is a course about European thought from the end of the seventeenth century up until the time of the French Revolution. The course reads a number of primary texts from different parts of eighteenth-century Europe, texts that articulate different conceptions of humanity, society, and the state, about religion and the church, commerce, and the economy. This course also discusses the impact history of the Enlightenment and its uses in contemporary debates.

This course examines the main political and cultural features of early modern Islamic empires from the Balkans to Bengal, and acknowledges that they represent much more than a region waiting to be expanded upon by Europeans. The secondary perspective of the course is to explore a historical depth that can be used to contextualize contemporary legitimacy claims and the use of imperial history in political discussions. The course does this by providing students with in-depth knowledge of a rich Islamic tradition that shaped and brought together a wide geographic area – one that is markedly different from what is typically emphasized in courses on political Islam.

Gender and kinship are key issues in anthropology. Drawing on a cross-cultural perspective, and with a view to critical reflection, the course explores the kinds of contemporary phenomena that kinship and gender help to elucidate and how these two core modes of relatedness come together. As this course demonstrates, both kinship and gender are central to our understandings of contemporary societies.

The content, form of teaching, and form of assessment for the Current Topics in Art History course vary from semester to semester. The spring 2022 course discusses the following topics.

Why would Duke Phillip the Good of Burgundy want to eat the face of Christ? This seemingly bizarre question becomes answerable during this course, which explores the fascinating world of medieval religious objects and images (ca. 1050-1500 CE). In this period a broad array of items - ranging from unsightly pieces of bone and rock as well as simple images in woodprint, to outstandingly fine paintings, sculpture and architecture - offered those interested a means of connecting higher powers and practicing religious devotion. Why and how could these holy items play such an instrumental role? Which ideas formed the ideological basis for their production and consumption? This course considers the broader religious culture at the time to answer these questions.