What's New in Norwegian & Scandinavian Studies?
News and Announcements
Winds of Change
2007 was the year of significant changes for Scandinavian Studies/ Norwegian. In spring we said good-bye to Professor Rune Engebretsen and Assistant Professor Sharon Berg and in fall greeted two new faculty members, currently the director of the Norwegian & Scandinavian Studies program, Lisa Sethre-Hofstad, and Assistant Professor of Scandinavian Studies, Milda Ostrauskaite.
Scandinavian May Seminar 2009 "Green+Peace=The Nordic Way"
The theme of seminar embraces two fields that have made the Nordic countries important global players in the 21st century. Firstly, the seminar explores the relationship of the Nordic people to nature and invites to tour famous natural sites in Scandinavia, such as the Thingvellir national park, geysers and thermal pools in Iceland, the UNESCO protected Lysefjord in Norway, and the islands archipelago nearby Stockholm, Sweden. Moreover, the seminar includes visits to the ecological school of agriculture in Bergen, Norway, ecological fruit and sheep farms, and the windmill power plant and ecological village in Denmark, and the recycled furniture plant in Finland. Secondly, the seminar participants will have an opportunity to get better acquainted with the Nordic government agencies that are involved in peacemaking policies in critical conflict areas in Middle East and Africa.
Three New Courses Fall 2008:
SCAN 201 Kebab, Volvo, Nokia: Scandinavia in the Global Age
Professor: Lisa Sethre Hofstad
The course introduces to the Nordic region by looking at a variety of topics: the political and welfare system, economy, migration, education, gender studies, film, art, theatre and literature. A particular attention is drawn to contributions and achievements in each of these fields, which made the Nordic countries famous and influential in the global arena today. The course also compares the American and the Scandinavian lifestyles and looks into what both regions can learn from each other.
SCAN 337, HIST 337 Reel Norden: Scandinavian History and Film
Professor: Joy Lintelman
In this course you will study selected topics in the history of Norden--the Nordic countries of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland--in the 19th and 20th centuries and into the new millennium. You will have opportunities to learn this history from viewing and discussing it as it has been rendered on film, as well as reading and discussing documentary sources
PS 367 Artic Nations, Arctic People
Professor: Peter Hovde
Nowhere in the world are people more aware of the looming environmental challenges which confront our world than in the nations of the Arctic. As concentrating pollution and global warming are already radically affecting the polar environments, the United Nations has declared 2007-2008 as the International Polar Year. 1 In our examination of Arctic issues ranging from the plight of the polar bear 2 to the potential opening of the fabled Northwest Passage to shipping 3 we will be crossing boundaries, boundaries both academic and national. We will be examining environmental policy making within the nations encircling the Arctic, as well as international regime formation as these nations both cooperate and conflict over their interests in the northpolar region.
Norwegian & Scandinavian Studies
