University of Oslo

This is a beginner`s Norwegian language course for international students. Students develop basic communicative skills in Norwegian. Students learn to make themselves understood both orally and in writing using basic vocabulary and basic grammatical structures. Examples of topics covered are talking about oneself and one’s family, studies, hobbies, and work life. After completing the course, the students are able to communicate about topics covered in the course. Students are able to express themselves coherently both orally and in writing. They are able to express thoughts and opinions about everyday topics. Their pronunciation is good enough to not disrupt communication. They are able to use and understand basic grammar covered in the course.

The course is organized around three major themes: values, voting, and trust. The first theme concerns citizens’ belief systems, notably their political attitudes and values: how are these structured, what explains them, how are they changing? The second theme concerns electoral behavior: why do people vote (or not) at all, and if they do, how do they choose among the parties? Finally, the course covers generalized “political trust” in democratic institutions and processes. Is political trust on the decline, and if so where and why? What are the broader consequences of political trust for politics and society? In all three parts, the course emphasizes the interplay between citizens and political parties: how do  these affect and react to each other? In each part, moreover, the course considers a variety of explanatory factors, including deep-seated explanations connected to social background (e.g. class, education, gender) as well as more short-term explanations (e.g. election campaigns, fluctuating economic interests, and the performance of the incumbent government).

The course discusses common concepts in economics to learn why we harm the environment and overuse natural resources, and what we can do about it. The course discusses different types of environmental policy, how they work, and for what problems they are suitable. The course discusses whether and how we can put a dollar value on nature and ecosystem services. The course studies cost benefit analysis, international treaties, pollution in general, and climate change. The course takes an economic approach to global sustainability, and studies the relationship between the environment and economic growth and trade. This course takes a tour of the fields of environmental economics.

Students analyze and discuss works and texts that reflect different trends in Norwegian literature in the period from approximately 1850 to about 1980. Particular emphasis is placed on the relationship between literature and the social and cultural context. Students orientate themselves in literary history and literary debate. The teaching is adapted for students with a foreign language background. That is, emphasis is placed on clarifying the linguistic and cultural aspects of the syllabus literature. The student also receives written and oral feedback on their Norwegian language skills. Students give presentations in the seminar group on literary works or texts and write a compulsory assignment on a literary topic.