SCAND 155: Danish Literary and Cultural History (5) A&H
Tu/Th 2:30 - 4:20 pm: course meets in 111 Johnson Hall
Instructors:
Marianne Stecher-Hansen, Professor: marianne@uw.edu
(office: 305Z Raitt Hall; office hours: Thu 11:30am – 1:30pm or by appointment)
Morten Bøje Stensgaard Larsen, Visiting Lecturer of Danish: mbsl@uw.edu
(office: 305 S Raitt Hall; office hours by appointment)
Course Description: Are you interested in Denmark and Danish culture? Want to learn more about a small country with a rich cultural and literary legacy that is globally recognized? This course takes a deep dive into major "figures and fictions" of Danish literature and culture over the centuries. Students will delve into Viking rune stones and Danish folklore and then travel forward into the 19th Century to meet up with great figures such as the fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen and the philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. After that, we will enter the modern era with the first human rights advocate, Georg Brandes, and the silent film diva, Asta Nielsen. In the mid-20th century we will study Cultural Radicalism and the freedom fight in occupied Denmark during World War II. In the postwar period, we will focus on recent Danish cinema, contemporary crime fiction and the latest trends in public art activism in Denmark. Come join us on this cultural journey!
Guiding course questions:
- What are some of Denmark’s major ‘figures’ and ‘fictions’? How do these contribute to national identity and global image or reputation?
- How is the evolving ‘national identity’ of Denmark shaped in media, literary texts, and historical representations? What’s included and what’s omitted from this identity construction?
- As a small nation state, kingdom and former colonial power, how is Denmark’s culture similar to, or distinct from that of other small states, other global north countries and/or other Nordic countries?
Course format: This is a lecture and discussion course taught in-person. The course is co-taught by two UW faculty members, Professor Marianne Stecher-Hansen and Visiting Lecturer Morten Larsen, and includes several invited guest speakers, sponsored by the ScanDesign Foundation. The guest speakers are professors and scholars in various aspects of Danish literary and cultural history.
Student Learning Objectives:
- To practice the skill of “deep reading”
- To exercise critical thinking regarding topics in the arts, cultural history and literature.
- To implement best practices for speaking and writing about literature and other media.
- To optimize inclusive learning and intellectual community building.
Evaluation: Two exams (including objective and short essay questions); one short essay; regular contributions to online "Discussions” as well as in-person class contributions.
30% Participation: six online 'Discussions' (150-word posts; 50-word responses to peers)
30% Short essay, peer-reviewed (ca. 750 words; 3 pages)
10% Midterm quiz (Nov. 5)
30% Final Test (Dec. 5)
Writing Assignments: SCAND 155A is not a W (Writing) course; nonetheless, Ad Hoc W (Writing) credit may be available to students who complete an additional essay with revisions! We recommend working with the Odegaard Writing and Research Center or another Writing Center on campus for help with the short essay assignment for the course, if needed https://depts.washington.edu/owrc
Please review the UW policy on plagiarism, which is posted in the Modules on Canvas. We strongly discourage the use of ChatGPT for any writing assignments or exams in this course.
Schedule of lectures and readings:
Thu Sept. 26: Course introduction/Denmark in the Media Today!
Note all assigned readings posted on Canvas in the weekly “Modules.” Assigned texts should be read in ADVANCE of each class.
Week #1: Origins: founding historical myths and figures
Tu Oct 1: Kingdom of Denmark, history and geography (Morten Larsen)
READ: Knud J. V. Jespersen, "Introduction: what is Denmark and who are the Danes?" (plus Optional: "The Danes - a Tribe or a Nation?") from A History of Denmark.
READ: Byron Nordstrom, "Scandinavia before the Modern Era."
Thu Oct. 3: Viking Runes and the Jelling Stone (guest-lecture: Dr. Tim Bourns)
READ: Else Roesdahl, "King Harald's Rune-Stone in Jelling"*
*See "recommended reading - extra materials" in bottom Module, if you want more scholarship!
Week #2: Folk culture, Enlightenment and Storytelling: peasants and non-humans
Tu Oct 8: Danish humor: Holberg’s comedies and the Enlightenment (ML)
READ: Ludvig Holberg, Jeppe on the Hill & Moral Thoughts (excerpts)
Th Oct. 10: Folk-tales and fairy tales of Denmark – Nordic and International tale types?(Ian Gwin, MSH)
READ: "Introduction" (to Danish Folktales & Legends) by Tim Tangherlini. Selection of Danish Folktales, collected by Mathias Winter: "The Pancake House," "The Eleven Swans," "The Two Princesses," "The Man and his Shadow," "Prince Whitebear," "The Enchanted [Bewitched] Farmhand," "The Merman," "The Elf Children."
Week #3: From Folk Tales to the Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
Oct. 15: Who was H.C.Andersen? Re-writing the folk-tale; Writing literary fairy tales.
READ: “The Princess on the Pea,” “The Tinderbox," "The Collar," “The Little Match Girl,” and “Clod Hans”
Oct. 17: Literary masterpiece tales; the existential Andersen; Andersen’s afterlife
READ: “The Little Mermaid,” “The Shadow,” and “The Story of a Mother,”
Week #4: The Individual, Modernity and the Long 19th Century.
Oct 22: Kierkegaard and “Existentialism 101” (ML)
READ: Kierkegaard, "Concluding Unscientific Postscrips" with Editorial Notes.
Oct. 24: Georg Brandes: Human Rights & the Public Intellectual (guest lecture: Dr. William Banks)
READ: Brandes, “To the Students of Germany” & “The Rights and Duties of the Weaker”
Week #5: The Modern Breakthrough and the New Century: Cinema and Literature
Oct. 29: Asta Nielsen, the New Woman, and Silent Film (guest lecture: Dr. Julie Allen)
Reading: Julie Allen, “The New Woman: Enacting Scandinavian Modernity on Screen.”
Oct. 31: Modern breakthrough in Scandinavian Literature: Short Stories (MSH & ML)
READ: Henrik Pontoppidan, “On the Parish" & "The Grim Reaper;" Amalie Skram, "Karen's Christmas"
Review questions for midterm quiz (on Nov. 5)
Week #6 Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen) Literary Tales and Love stories
Nov 5: Election Day. Lecture: Who was Isak Dinesen?
Midterm quiz (online, in class)
Nov. 7: Isak Dinesen/Karen Blixen: Danish landscapes and Winter's Tales (MSH)
READ: Isak Dinesen, “The Sailor Boy’s Tale” and "The Ring" (Optional: “Peter and Rosa”)
Week # 7. Occupied Denmark and Modern Adaptations of Nordic Folk Tales
Nov 12: Denmark under Occupation in WWII & Illegal Fairy Tales (MSH)
READ: Sofie Lene Bak, “Danish Historical Narratives of the Occupation: Promises and Lies of April 9th”
READ: "The Emperor's New Clothes" and "The Wicked Prince"
Nov. 14: "Nordic Folktales in Modern Adaptations" (Guest-lecture: AnnKathrine Havemose, UBC)
READ: Ann-Kathrine Havemose, "Reading as Play."
READ: Asbjornson & Moe, "The Three Billy Goats Gruff"
Week #8 Remembering the Colonial Past – Public commemoration and Art Activism
Nov. 19: Workshop: Denmark’s Colonial Archive (Dr. Temi Odumosu, UW I-School)
READ: Odumosu, Temi. 2019. “What Lies Unspoken: A Remedy for Colonial Silence(s) in Denmark.”
Nov 21 Art activism and Colonial history: “I am Queen Mary” and the Fireburn” (MSH)
READ: Stecher-Hansen, “Denmark’s Colonialist Legacy in the Age of Memory –The Fireburn and Queen Mary in historiography and remembrance”
Week #9 Contemporary Danish Film
Nov. 26: Film viewing online/in class discussion
Nov 28: Thanksgiving holiday
Sunday, Dec. 1: Short Essay DUE (midnight)
Week #10 Danish Modern, Cultural Radicalism and the Welfare State
Tu Dec. 3 Final Lecture: Morten Larsen
Read: Villy Sorensen, "What a Man Doesn't Need." (2 pages)
Read: Peter Seeberg, "The Dent." (7 pages)
Recommended reading: Mark Mussari, "Tradition and/or Modernism: Kaare Klint and Poul Henningsen." (11 pages).
Thu Dec 5: Final Test (online, in-class)
Religious Accommodations Policy: Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodations-policy/)
Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/) (Links to an external site.)