Scandinavian Studies

This course examines Scandinavian design from the 20th century to the present, in light of the international development of design during this period. The growth of modern design in Scandinavia is discussed in relation to early modernist and contemporary design. Upon completion of the course, students should be able to give an overview (from an international perspective) of key events in the history of design in Scandinavia from the past century, describe and characterize objects of Scandinavian design from the past century, and give a global comparative overview of the current place Scandinavian design has in society with regard to the balance of power, gender, ethnicity, and diversity.

This course provides insight into three interconnected fields of inquiry: the study of Scandinavia and the larger Nordic region; the analysis of film and audiovisual media; and an understanding of how film reflects past and present transnational and transcultural relations in a globally interconnected world. The interdisciplinary course relates close readings of films to discussions of the larger socio-political and media-aesthetic context. This context is marked, among others, by the global circulation of ideas and cultural products, by the Scandinavian welfare state and issues of gender equality, migration and diversity, environmental concerns, and decolonization processes. The course responds to contemporary shifts in Nordic self-imagining and closely examine the ways in which film mediates notions of imagined communities at local, national, and regional levels. Students are presented to a variety of audiovisual material, including documentaries, feature films, TV series, web-based series and short films. Apart from internationally renowned Scandinavian film directors, the Nordic screen milieu has in recent years been very successful in producing transnational TV and web-based series that have travelled globally. Another recent development reflected by the course is the strengthened voice of contemporary film from Greenland and Sápmi (the traditional lands of the indigenous Sámi people on the northern Scandinavian peninsula) that has so far not necessarily been marketed or seen as “Nordic” but circulates as “Indigenous cinema.” This diverse internationally circulating body of contemporary film helps to explore and expand the notion of “Norden” to understand better the region’s ethnic and cultural diversity and its transnational connectedness as reflected by contemporary audiovisual media.

This pre-semester course offers an exciting and comprehensive introduction to the history of Copenhagen and to the Danish language. This course is a perfect introduction for students who wish to gain a solid understanding of the cultural, political, economic, and social history of the Danish capital. The course consists of a series of lectures supplemented with excursions out in the streets of Copenhagen. Over three weeks, students learn about the city’s history from its foundation in the early Middle Ages, when Copenhagen was just a fishing village, through a millennium of history up to modern Copenhagen, often ranked as one of the best cities in the world when measured by the quality of life. As well as covering the rich history of Copenhagen, the course also includes several lessons in Danish for beginners to introduce the basics of the Danish language including conversation, grammar, and pronunciation. Students learn to present themselves, describe where they live, and learn how to order coffee in Danish. It also covers some of the Danish terminology related to the cultural content of the course. This intensive three-week course is open to all international students and assumes no prior knowledge of Danish history or language. 

The course covers issues such as citizenship and representation in political institutions, changes in women’s participation in the labor force, sexuality and the social welfare state, masculinity studies as well as gender and social change. Integral to the course is learning to use critical theoretical understandings in analyzing how models of gender equality are affected by social relations such as race/ethnicity, sexual identity, and class. The course is directed towards international exchange students who wish to acquire knowledge of the Swedish/Scandinavian societies from a gender perspective, and it is also open for regular students at Lund University.

This course provides an overview of Swedish and Nordic history from the Viking Age to the present. To allow a critical approach to an otherwise Swedish interpretation of history, the course is taught from a Nordic perspective. Selected issues from Swedish and Nordic history are discussed in order to orient students in relevant discussions and arguments in historical theory. Students are also trained in historical argumentation based on scholarly foundations.