Winter Session 2024/25 Courses
NORD 333: Nordic Literary Cultures | Sample Syllabus
Term 2 | in-person | M/W/F 13:00 – 14:00 | 3 credits
What gives Nordic and circumpolar literatures their feeling of uniqueness? How are major societal, political and cultural aspects of the circumpolar North reflected in Nordic literatures from various historical periods? Contemporary and historical Nordic literatures that reflect the major societal, political and cultural aspects of the circumpolar North.
NORD 334: Nordic Contemporary Fiction | SAmple Syllabus
Term 1 | in-person | M/W/F 11:00 – 12:00 | 3 credits
Nordic culture is everywhere from Ikea to Netflix, and part of the Nordic success lies in the stories they tell. In NORD 334 we are exploring some of the vast, contemporary literary output to figure out how humor and anxiety fit together, why death is such a common theme in Nordic literature, what ethics have to do with young adult fantasy and so much more.
NORD 337: Nordic Cinema | Sample Syllabus
Term 2 | in-person | M/W 14:00 – 15:30 | 3 credits
The aim of this course is to introduce students to (mostly) contemporary Scandinavian film and to discover the multifaceted aspects of Nordic cinematic cultures. Although the production from this region is often considered to rely on a very realistic (or even hyper-realistic) approach to film making and storytelling, it will become clear that there are some very unique directorial approaches which will broaden our expectations of what the Scandinavian cinematography has to offer. We will highlight such recognizable themes as social structures, gender equity, environmental concerns, and transnationalism as well as stylistic analyses of the individual works and the genres in general.
NORD 340: Sámi Histories and Cultures | Sample Syllabus
Term 2 | in-person | Tues/Thur 9:30 – 11:00 | 3 credits
This course explores the everyday life, artistic expressions, and the political realities of Sámi people—the Indigenous people in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Kola Peninsula of Russia—from Sámi perspectives. In particular, this course offers a counternarrative of settler colonial history that focuses on Nordic colonialisms and Sámi resilience, resistance, and revitalization. Further, the course integrates comparative Indigenous perspectives from the Pacific Northwest, in particular from the colonial entity currently known as British Columbia, in order to highlight comparative aspects of settler colonialism and Indigeneity in the Global North today. The course is constructed in such a way that it highlights aspects of Sámi and Indigenous folklife, the ways that colonization has worked to disrupt and dispossess Indigneous social, political, and cultural autonomy, and the ways Indigenous people have creatively rekindled traditional culture to take on new meanings in new contexts to advance a decolonial agenda. The first third of the course builds up a base knowledge of cultural literacy, surveying languages, subsistence economy, religious practices, and traditional arts. The middle part details the impacts, logics, and strategies for colonization of Sápmi. The final third looks at the innovative ways Sámi people have sustained, rekindled, and reconnected with their own cultural practices, from village to city, from Norden to North America.
NORD 332B: Supernatural Folklore | Sample Syllabus
Term 1 | in-person | M/W 12:30 – 14:00 | 3 credits
This course explores the supernatural as a quintessential element of our modern world. We devour media about ghosts and vampires. People express faith through belief in angels, demons, and miracles. We create emergent supernatural entities and mythologies, like aliens and Slender Man. We heal with faith healing, with New Age techniques, and with traditional practices like shamanism and Vodou. Why does the supernatural continue to exist in what is supposedly a more explained and explainable world? What does our continued fascination with the supernatural say about ourselves and the worlds we inhabit? This course examines the many forms of supernatural belief traditions that people express through traditional genres, through patterns of belief, and through religious practice, looking at how supernatural belief relates to other aspects of worldview, culture, and identity. This course will challenge us to engage critically and respectfully with vernacular and local cultural experiences, practices and beliefs, and to engage critically with issues of power, privilege and cultural identity to gain a nuanced appreciation for how the supernatural can be (mis)used to rationalize hegemonic power structures.
NORD 339: Norse Mythology | Sample Syllabus
Term 2 | in-person | Tues/Thur 9:30 – 11:00 | 3 credits
What is a dragon? What is a troll? Why can’t dead people stay in their graves? Under what conditions should you commit incest and turn into a wolf? How can you get to Valhalla? Does Odin care about you? (Hint: No.) Incidentally, how was the world created and how will it end? Norse Mythology has all the answers. NORD 339 covers the basic components and features of Old Norse Mythology, including its cosmology, its position in the larger Germanic and Indo-European mythologies, its problematic relationship with Christianity, and its role in 19th-century nationalism, 20th-century racism and 21st-century popular culture.
Student Spotlight Ashley Samsone
