Scandinavian Studies Courses – Spring 2026

(4 credits)

• Lecture 001: MTWR 8:50 – 9:40 am
• Lecture 002: MTWR 1:20 – 2:10 pm

Instructor: Ida Moen Johnson

Course Description: This course continues to build basic skills in Norwegian language through speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Instruction will emphasize communication and understanding as well as cultural knowledge and awareness. Homework centers on reinforcing vocabulary, reading, grammar exercises, and writing. Thematic units covered in Norwegian 102 include climate and weather, family and celebrations, and hometowns and housing. We end the semester with a project on travel in Norway.

Prerequisites: First semester Norwegian or placement test with instructor

(4 credits)

• Lecture 001: MTWR 12:05 – 12:55

Instructor: Liina-Ly Roos

Course Description: Continuation of SCAND ST 111.

Prerequisites: SCAND ST 111 or appropriate score on placement exam. Open to first-year students.

(4 credits)

• Lecture 001: MTWRF 9:55 – 10:45 am

Instructor: Claus Andersen

Course Description: For beginning learners of Danish; emphasis on proficiency through speaking, listening, reading, and writing, and on communication in cultural context.

Prerequisites: Scand St 121 (or approval) 

(4 credits)

• Lecture 001: MTWR 2:25 – 3:15 pm

Instructor: Ida Moen Johnson

Course Description: SCAND ST 202 is an intermediate fourth semester language course that requires the completion of Norwegian 201 or equivalent. The course explores various aspects of Norwegian culture through texts, video, internet sources, and classroom discussion. Topics include Norwegian history, Norwegian language and dialects, the modern welfare state, and diversity in contemporary Norwegian society. We will also study advanced vocabulary and grammar.

Prerequisites: Three semesters of Norwegian or placement test with instructor

(4 credits)

• Lecture 001: MTWR 11:00 – 11:50 am

Instructor: Liina-Ly Roos

Course Description: Continuation of SCAND ST 111.

Prerequisites: SCAND ST 111 or appropriate score on placement exam. Open to first-year students.

(3 credits)

• Section 001: TR 11:00 am – 12:15 pm

Instructor: Ida Moen Johnson

Course Description: In Henrik Ibsen’s famous play, The Wild Duck (1884), the animal is often understood as a symbol for the drama’s damaged characters. But is the duck just a metaphor, or is the duck a duck, too? As for the humans in the story: are they people, animals, or both? In this course, we will study Nordic texts that center the animal, from ugly ducklings and charismatic reindeer to Moomintrolls and hobbyhorses. We will also learn from the fields of animal studies and posthumanism, whose lessons are critical at a time when human-made climate change threatens all forms of life on Earth. Through fiction, film, and theory, this course tackles questions such as: Can art created by humans ever be “true to the animal?” How might literature and film help us challenge humanist hierarchies? And, what can Nordic texts teach us about the possibilities and limits of being an animal—including the human kind?

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing

(Counts as LAS credit (L&S))

(3 credits)

• Lecture 001: TR 2:30 – 3:45 pm

Instructor: Dean Krouk

Course Description: How have the wartime issues of occupation, resistance, collaboration, neutrality, and the Holocaust been addressed in Nordic culture? During the Second World War, Norway and Denmark were invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany, while Sweden remained neutral and Finland fought against the Soviet Union. Resistance movements developed in the occupied countries, but some Norwegians and Danes collaborated with the occupying power and were tried for treason after the war. Become familiar with the basic history of the period by reading texts of various sorts (essays, novels, diaries, poetry, memoir) that were written during the war years and since. Through analyzing films and works of fiction, in addition to historical writing, learn how the Second World War and the Holocaust have been represented and remembered in the Nordic countries.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing

(Breadth: Humanities. Counts as LAS credit (L&S). 50% Graduate Coursework Requirement.)

(3 credits)

• Lecture 001: MWF 12:05 – 12:55 pm

Instructors: Claus Andersen, Dean Krouk, Scott Mellor

Course Description: Intensive work in spoken and written Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish, based on contemporary readings, for undergraduate and graduate students with a basic command of a Scandinavian language. Required of graduate students.

Prerequisites: 3 years of Norwegian, Danish or Swedish or consent of instructor.

(4 credits)

• Lecture 001: MTWRF 8:50 – 9:40 am
• Lecture 002: MTWRF 1:20 -2:10 pm

Instructor: Ida Moen Johnson

Course Description: This course continues to build basic skills in Norwegian language through speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Instruction will emphasize communication and understanding as well as cultural knowledge and awareness. Homework centers on reinforcing vocabulary, reading, grammar exercises, and writing. Thematic units covered in Norwegian 102 include climate and weather, family and celebrations, and hometowns and housing. We end the semester with a project on travel in Norway.

Prerequisites: First semester Norwegian or placement test with instructor. Graduate student standing.

(4 credits)

• Lecture 003: MTWRF 9:55 – 10:45 am

Instructor: Claus Andersen

Course Description: For beginning learners of Danish; emphasis on proficiency through speaking, listening, reading, and writing, and on communication in cultural context.

Prerequisites: Scand St 121 (or approval). Graduate student standing. 

(1 credit)

• Lecture 001: T 4:00 – 5:00 pm

Instructor: Scott Mellor

Course Description: In this seminar, we will explore life challenges through the gentle, grounded lens of Moomin wisdom. Drawing from the rich emotional intelligence and resilience of Tove Jansson’s beloved characters, students will reflect on themes of uncertainty, belonging, and change and how imaginative empathy and quiet courage can offer meaningful responses to today’s complex world—without dwelling in fear.

(4 credits)

• Lecture 001: TR 1:00 – 2:15 pm

Instructor: Dean Krouk

Course Description: Often considered “the father of modern drama,” the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) is a major figure of world literature whose dramatic works remain fascinating and globally influential, both as texts and through performance and adaptation. Students read and discuss Ibsen in English translation, with a focus on Ibsen’s historical contexts, dramatic techniques, social and political thought, and the reception and adaptation of his work in modern culture. 

Prerequisites: None

Cross-Listed with Scand 422 / LitTrans 335 / Theatre 335.

(4 credits)

• Lecture 001: TR 1:00 – 2:15 pm

Instructor: Scott Mellor

Course Description: The Vikings begins with modern portrayals—from popular media to nationalist appropriations in the 19^th and 20^thcentury—and examines how these images have shaped and sometimes distorted our understanding of early medieval Scandinavia. From there, the course turns to historical sources and archaeological evidence to explore the legendary origins of the Scandinavian peoples, the consolidation of their kingdoms, and the far-reaching impact of Viking expansion. Students will study the conversion to Christianity, which marked the end of the Viking Age, alongside the rich cultural legacy of Norse mythology, runic writing, skaldic poetry, and Icelandic sagas. Viking art, warfare, and environmental interactions are also considered. Weekly reaction papers and group projects encourage critical thinking and collaborative inquiry, while two comprehensive essays assess students’ engagement with both historical and modern narratives. By tracing the evolution of Viking identity, students gain insight into the medieval world and the forces that continue to shape cultural memory today.

(3 credits)

• Lecture 001: TR 2:30 – 3:45 pm

Instructor: Liina-Ly Roos

There are many well-known and fascinating filmmakers from the Nordic region. Through unique styles and approaches to filmmaking, these directors depict and explore universal topics, such as love, authenticity, identity, guilt, and anxiety. In this course, we will watch and discuss a variety of films by Nordic film directors, such as Aki Kaurismäki, Mai Zetterling, Ingmar Bergman, Lars von Trier, Liselotte Wajstedt, Susani Mahadura, and Anna Hints. By discussing the work of these filmmakers, we will also talk about the changing meaning of and different approaches to film authorship in Nordic cinema. You will learn about the specific cultural and historical contexts of Nordic cinema, broader discussions in film studies, and develop basic skills of film analysis.

(3 credits)

• Seminar 001: M 2:25 – 5:25 pm

Instructor: Benjamin Mier-Cruz

Course Description: This graduate seminar engages foundational and contemporary scholarship on race, racialization, decoloniality, and critical race theory, with a particular focus on the Nordic countries. We will read key texts in critical race studies alongside emerging research on how colonialism, migration, indigeneity, and nation-building intersect in the Nordic context. Although “race” has largely been removed from official categories in the region, reflecting a self-image of egalitarian, antiracist exceptionalism, this avoidance coexists with the persistent racialization of migrants, Muslims, Afro-Nordic communities, Sámi, Roma, and other minorities. By bringing Nordic perspectives into conversation with global theoretical frameworks, the course examines how local understandings of national identity complicate and expand debates about racial difference, equality, and power. Topics include visual and cultural representation, migration and borders, and the intersections of race with gender, sexuality, class, and language. Taught in English, the seminar is open to graduate students across disciplines and encourages participants to apply theoretical insights to their own fields of study.

Prerequisites: None