Scandinavian Studies

This course surveys the history and culture of Norway during the Viking Era (ca. 750-1030) and the Medieval Era (ca. 1030-1536), including mutual influences and interactions with neighboring regions and peoples. The course includes a focus on Norse mythology and covers the social and political contexts of Viking expeditions, national unification, and conversion to Christianity. It covers the medieval Kingdom of Norway’s period of relative peace and prosperity in the 1200s, and then the Black Death and Kalmar Union. Reading focuses on skaldic and saga literature (especially Icelandic and Norwegian) and other historical primary sources. Also included in this course is consideration of how the memory of the Vikings and Medieval Norway have influenced political and cultural trends in Norway over the past few centuries.

This course presents the historical background, development, and present-day challenges of the Norwegian welfare state. It examines the role of values and norms in shaping the services offered by the welfare state, as well as how the structure of the state in turn shapes societal norms and values. The course follows how political debates concerning the country's welfare programs have shifted in response to accelerated immigration, changing gender roles, and shifting employment patterns. It pays special attention to universal welfare services, work-family balance, and the Introduction Programme (Norway’s integration package), as these are some of the distinctive features of the Norwegian welfare state. Additional modules on education, healthcare, childcare, corrections, and labor market policy demonstrate values and norms in practice, as well as highlight the challenges that increased globalization presents to a state welfare system. The course puts emphasis on classroom discussion and student participation with the aim of enabling students to make a comparative analysis of social structures and institutions in their own and other countries.

Students work with texts and exercises relating to daily life (family, home, work, shopping, food). The course includes extensive practice in communicative speech functions, such as greetings, asking for and providing information, and expressing opinions and feelings. Work with the main features of Norwegian phonetics and grammar is also central to this course. By the end of the course students are able to understand clearly spoken Norwegian; read textbooks and similar texts; and talk about subjects relating to everyday life; pronounce Norwegian in a way that does not interfere with communication; write about topics dealt with in the course; express thoughts and opinions, albeit simply; and know the basic rules of Norwegian grammar.

The course gives an introduction to the Nordic context and an overview of how the concept and implementation of gender equality has developed and is currently practiced in the Nordic countries. The main focus is on the period after the 1970s, and themes that are taught relate gender equality to: gender equality as a concept; the women's movement and state feminism; work-life balance and gender equality ideals; access to work and politics; Nordic gender equality in an intersectional perspective; men and masculinities: change and continuity; gender equality and LGBTQ+ rights; gender-based violence; gender, climate, and indigenous rights. Moreover, dilemmas and paradoxes concerning gender equality in the Nordic countries are a central theme, as well as the attempt to answer questions as: How can we understand changing gender norms in the Nordic countries, and to what extent is it possible to identify a Nordic model of gender equality?

New perspectives in Ibsen Studies selectively focuses on the latest topics and methods in the field of Ibsen Studies. This course builds upon the foundational understanding of Ibsen’s works and the methodologies in studying his works both as text and in performances. The course consists of the contemporary trends in the field of Ibsen Studies and applying these new perspectives in one’s own research.

This advanced introductory course in Norwegian language for international students at UiO takes place both online and in class. This is the second introductory Norwegian language course for international students taught in English in a series; though both Norwegian and English language is used in class. The students follow a MOOC online course (Introduction to Norwegian 2) for four weeks, and then four meetings are held on campus. In addition to getting an introduction to Norwegian language, the students become familiar with the student life and everyday life at UiO. After taking this course students are able to express themselves comprehensively on familiar topics, both written and oral; understand oral Norwegian about familiar topics when the interlocutor speaks clearly and slowly; understand written Norwegian about familiar topics; master Norwegian morphology and syntax reviewed during the course; and master basic Norwegian pronunciation reviewed on the course. The course requires students to have completed NORINT0105M - Introduction to Norwegian at UiO as a prerequisite.

The course examines the historical, economic, and political characteristics of Nordic countries. Specific attention is paid to the uniqueness of the Nordic countries compared to the rest of Europe. Course contents include Nordic history, politics, economics, and business, labor market, and culture. Specific lecture topics include Nordic literature, Ibsen on page and on stage; Norwegian gender equality in politics and society; a historical and generational perspective of Norwegian gender equality in everyday life; the myths and realities of Finnish education; the petroleum-based welfare state; systems of government and the Nordic model; public reforms and the Nordic model; Finnish constitutional and criminal law; and public health in a Nordic perspective. 

In the course, some key social institutions that together have come to be called the "Swedish" or "Scandinavian" Model, are presented. The course covers the historical development of the Swedish welfare state, both in relation to institutional changes and to the political project of the welfare state. It departs from an analytical and historical perspective where the internal contradictions and impetus for change of the Swedish Model are central. Therefore, the course includes recent developments such as the possible dismantling of the Swedish welfare state and emergence of a new welfare model. The emergence of social rights and social citizenship are included in this section. The course discusses welfare state policies directed towards the family, which includes a gender perspective in which feminist critique of the welfare state is introduced. The course also discusses the particularities and the development of the Swedish Model on labor market and labor relations, reviewing different theoretical perspectives on the triad state, capital, and labor.

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 course gives a broad overview of the archaeology, history, and art history of the material culture and of the written sources from the eighth to the twelfth centuries. The course covers different aspects of the political, social, cultural, and religious developments, as well as changes within Scandinavia. This includes such aspects as the transition from paganism to Christianity, Viking Age burials, gender and social segregation, trade and plundering, rural and urban landscapes, and economic development.