GNS+ Summer 2021 Courses

(3 credits)

• ONLINE            June 14th – July 25th

Course Description: Surveys folklore in the United States and around the world, with a comparative emphasis on ways in which individuals and groups use beliefs, songs, stories, sayings, dances, festivals, and artifacts to address issues of identity, authenticity, and authority, in complex societies.

Prerequisites: None

(4 credits)

• MTWRF 9:00 am -10:50 am (ONLINE)            June 14th – August 8th

Course Description: For beginners; emphasis on proficiency in German through speaking, listening, reading, and writing, and on communication in cultural context. Five class hours per week.

Prerequisites: None

(3 credits)

• ONLINE          July 12th – August 8th

Course Description: This course examines the fantastic, marvelous and uncanny literary works from a comparative perspective, especially by connecting them to Slavic mythological and religious beliefs. Students will read texts from Russian (Puškin, Gogol, Bulgakov, Zamyatin), Polish (Potocki, Schultz, Lem), Czech (Čapek) and South Slavic literatures (Pavić, Kiš, Živković). Theoretical readings will include works by the naturalized Bulgarian theoretician of the fantastic, Tzvetan Todorov, as well as his critics. We will discuss the development of the fantastic genre through the epochs of Romanticism, Modernism and Postmodernism, placing emphasis on the close reading of literary texts and their relationship to the broader cultural heritage of diverse Slavic cultures.

Prerequisites: Sophomore status or higher.

(4 credits)

• ONLINE          June 14th – July 11th

Course Description: This course approaches the Vikings along historical lines, and its backbone is texts from medieval sources. The legendary history of early Scandinavia, the consolidation of the Scandinavian kingdoms, developments both at home and abroad during the great period of Viking expansion, finally the conversion of Scandinavia to Christianity (which wrote finis to the Viking adventure) –these are the historical subjects discussed. Within this historical framework, a good deal of attention is devoted to the pre-Christian religion of early medieval Scandinavia, to its system of writing (the celebrated runes) and its literature (including the mythological and heroic poetry of the Edda, the court poems of the skalds, and the Icelandic sagas), to Viking art and archaeology. As we learn about the medieval Scandinavians we gain a greater understanding of ourselves and the human condition.

Prerequisites: Junior status or higher or consent of instructor.

(4 credits/4 credits)

• SLAVIC 101: MTWRF 8:50 am-10:45 am (ONLINE)          June 14th – August 8th
• SLAVIC 102: MTWRF 12:05 pm-2:10 pm (ONLINE)          June 14th – August 8th

Course Description: Offered online. Introduction to Russian language, focusing on speaking, listening, reading, and writing Russian, with an introduction to Russian culture. No previous knowledge of Russian expected. SLAVIC 101 and SLAVIC 102 must be taken simultaneously for the summer session. For more information contact Dr. Anna Tumarkin, atumarki@wisc.edu.

Prerequisites: None

(4 credits/4 credits)

• SLAVIC 117: MTWRF 8:50 am-10:45 am (ONLINE)          June 14th – August 8th
• SLAVIC 118: MTWRF 12:05 pm-2:10 pm (ONLINE)          June 14th – August 8th

Course Description: Offered online. Continue the study of the Russian language and culture, focusing on the development of intermediate level skills in speaking, listening, reading, and writing. SLAVIC 117 and SLAVIC 118 must be taken simultaneously for the summer session. For more information contact Dr. Anna Tumarkin, atumarki@wisc.edu.

Prerequisites: SLAVIC 102 or equivalent.