Overview
The languages, literature, and cultures of the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) are the focus of teaching and research in the department. The interdisciplinary curriculum ranges from topics in Viking and Medieval Scandinavian history and literature to the influential cultural contributions of the successful Nordic societies of more contemporary times. Instructors regularly teach beginning and intermediate classes in all five modern Nordic languages as well as reading and grammar classes in Old Norse at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Students in the undergraduate major choose a concentration in medieval studies or in one of the modern language areas while also working in comparative and interdisciplinary ways with other cultural materials from the region. Graduate students pursuing the Ph.D. train to become comparative Scandinavianists while also developing depth and expertise in a more specific scholarly field.
The faculty in the department pursue research in a variety of fields including literary studies, philology, folklore, media and film studies, theater history, art history, archaeology, and architectural history. The interdisciplinary curiosity of the faculty sets the tone for our students, who are encouraged to explore widely and creatively within the intellectual field of Scandinavian Studies.
Collections
Doe Library, the main research library on campus, has extensive holdings in the several areas of research that make up the field of Scandinavian Studies (literature, linguistics, history, folklore, film history, the social sciences, etc.). For more information about this collection, see the Doe Library website for the Berkeley Scandinavian Collection.
A smaller departmental collection, the Olof Lundberg Memorial Library, is located in 6337B Dwinelle Hall, adjacent to the current faculty offices. It is open to the public at certain times during the day that are determined at the beginning of each semester, but is not a lending library; its books must be used on-site. The Lundberg Library houses an extensive collection of over 13,000 volumes, ranging from medieval to modern history and literature. There is no online list of holdings, but there is a card catalog in the library itself. The department also receives a daily or weekly newspaper from all three of the mainland Scandinavian countries. The librarian can be reached at 510-643-2932, and the library schedule is posted on the library door (varies by semester).
The Barbro Osher Film and Video Collection is a research collection of over 250 Scandinavian film titles. The 35mm and 16mm films in the collection are housed at the Pacific Film Archive. Access to the PFA Library and Film Study Center is free for BAM/PFA members and to students and faculty of the University of California at Berkeley. There is a low usage fee for the general public. The films stored at PFA can be searched by title in the OSKICAT on-line library catalog. The remaining titles of the Osher Collection come in a variety of formats (DVD, laser disc, VHS and PAL video, 3/4″ video) and are stored in the Lundberg Library. These may only be used on-site. All holdings are listed by title in a departmental database available at the librarian’s desk.
Undergraduate Programs
Scandinavian: BA (with concentrations in Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Old Norse, and Swedish), Minor
Graduate Program
Courses
Literature and Culture:
Languages:
Scandinavian
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Fall 2023
Reading and composition in connection with the representation of Scandinavia by outsiders and insiders. Satisfies the first half of the Reading and Composition requirement.
Reading and Composition: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Satisfaction of the Entry Level Writing Requirement
Requirements this course satisfies: Satisfies the first half of the Reading and Composition requirement
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session
Reading and composition in connection with the representation of Scandinavia by outsiders and insiders. Satisfies the second half of the Reading and Composition requirement.
Reading and Composition: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Previously passed an R_A course with a letter grade of C- or better. Previously passed an articulated R_A course with a letter grade of C- or better. Score a 4 on the Advanced Placement Exam in English Literature. Score a 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement Exam in English Language and Composition. Score of 5, 6, or 7 on the International Baccalaureate Higher Level Examination in English
Requirements this course satisfies: Satisfies the second half of the Reading and Composition requirement
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Summer:
6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture per week
8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Fall 2016, Fall 2012, Spring 2011
The Berkeley Seminar Program has been designed to provide new students with the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member in a small-seminar setting. Berkeley Seminars are offered in all campus departments, and topics vary from department to department and semester to semester.
Freshman Seminars: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered. Final Exam To be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023
Exploration of the heroic narratives of the Northern Middle Ages with a focus on both the hero and the heroic ethos in a period or radical cultural, social and religious change and on a particular body of literature, the Scandinavian versions of Germanic heroic narrative. Required of majors.
Heroic Legends of the North: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022
This course explores the most important cultural contributions of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. It focuses on an interdisciplinary historical examination of the emergence of three central contemporary Nordic value systems: environmentalism, gender equality, and social solidarity/trust. The readings range in approach from social-science-inflected readings in political science, history of science, ethnography, and public policy, to those examining more humanistic forms of expression (literature, theater, film). Taught in English with readings in English.
Nordic Culture and Values: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Summer:
6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture per week
8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2019, Fall 2018, Fall 2017
Group study of selected topics not covered by regularly scheduled courses.
Directed Group Study: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Freshman or sophomore standing
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-4 hours of directed group study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022
In the context of inter-Scandinavian communication, students will further develop their communicative competence, their reading and writing proficiency and cultural understanding in their own target language (Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, or Swedish). Oral and written midterm and final exam.
Intermediate Nordic Languages: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Danish 1B, Finnish 1B, Norwegian 1B, or Swedish 1B or consent of instructor
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023
In the context of inter-Scandinavian communication, students will acquire the oral proficiency necessary to function in authentic situations of language use with respect to grammatical, functional, and sociolinguistic skills in their own target language (Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, or Swedish). Students will read and interpret literary and nonliterary texts from a cultural cross-cultural perspective. Oral and written midterm, a final project, and a final oral and written exam.
Intermediate Nordic Languages: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Scandinavian 100A or consent of instructor
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022
Introduces undergraduate students to the grammar of the vernacular written language of Iceland and Norway in the Middle Ages. Linguistic mastery is emphasized. By the end of the semester students should be able to read saga style Old Norse prose texts in normalized orthography with the help of a dictionary. To this end, lectures will lay out the morphology of the Old Norse language systematically and thoroughly. In addition to the lectures, much of the in-class time will be devoted to translating and close reading of extracts of Old Norse texts.
Introduction to Old Norse I: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023
Introduction to Old Norse literature through readings of Old Norse texts in their original language and translation. Critical essays on Old Norse literature and scholarship illuminating the historical context in which the texts were written, transmitted, and read will supplement the readings of primary texts. The class will also deepen the students’ understanding of Old Norse grammar and metrics, and introduce them to sub-fields of Old Norse studies such as paleography and runology.
Introduction to Old Norse II: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Scandinavian 101A
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022
Reading and discussion of Hans Christian Andersen's major works, including fairy tales, short stories, novels, autobiographies, and diaries. Reading and discussion in English.
The Works of Hans Christian Andersen: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Instructor: Sanders
Terms offered: Fall 2013, Fall 2012, Spring 2011
Reading and discussion of Ibsen's major plays. Readings and discussion in English.
Plays of Ibsen: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Instructor: Sandberg
Also listed as: THEATER C107
Terms offered: Spring 2014, Spring 2012, Spring 2009
Reading and discussion of Strindberg's major works; emphasis on his dramas and their significance. Readings and discussion in English.
Strindberg: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Also listed as: THEATER C108
Terms offered: Spring 2011, Spring 2007, Spring 2004
This course is designed to sharpen our skills in understanding what happens when the world of images and words meet. Starting with the work from the Western "classical" tradition we will proceed to investigate how word/image constellations operate in a variety of media, including sculpture and poetry, painting and prose, death masks, tableaux vivants, photography, and advertising.
Word and Image: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Instructor: Sanders
Also listed as: ISF C100C
Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2021
Variable subject matter. Sample topics: history of Scandinavian drama and films of such directors as Ingmar Bergman and Carl Dreyer. Readings and discussion in English.
Studies in Drama and Film: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of lecture and 0-3 hours of laboratory per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5-7.5 hours of lecture and 0-7.5 hours of laboratory per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2018, Spring 2014
Variable subject matter; see departmental announcement for description. Sample topics: Knut Hamsun, Kierkegaard, H. C. Andersen, Isak Dinesen, and other storytellers. Readings and discussion in English.
Studies in Prose: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit with instructor consent.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2022
Reading and discussion of the great Scandinavian novels; the development of the novel. Readings and discussion in English.
The Novel in Scandinavian: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
Internal and external history of Scandinavian culture and civilization from the late 8th century through the 15th century. Readings and discussion in English.
Viking and Medieval Scandinavia: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Instructor: Lindow
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Fall 2018
Reading and discussion of some of the Icelandic sagas and selections from the Eddas and skaldic verse. Readings and discussion in English.
Old Norse Literature: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Instructor: Lindow
Terms offered: Fall 2021, Fall 2006, Fall 2004
Application of social network analysis methods to the study of the Old Norse sagas, with a primary emphasis on Icelandic family sagas. Reading and discussion in English. No prior knowledge of computing required.
Social Network Analysis and the Icelandic Saga: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Instructor: Tangherlini
Social Network Analysis and the Icelandic Saga: Read Less [-]
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Fall 2021
Finnish culture, history, society, and arts. Readings and discussion in English.
Introduction to Finnish Culture and History: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Instructor: Lindow
Terms offered: Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017
Intensive study of a single topic, several reports, a longer paper.
Senior Seminar: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 140A-140B
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2018, Spring 2018
Additional work, for majors in Scandinavian and other qualified students with consent of instructor, in connection with one of the following: Scandinavian C107, C108, 115, 116, 117, 120,123, 125, C160,165. Students attend lectures and do all written work in the "main" course and also read assignments in the Scandinavian languages and write a short paper.
Major Studies: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Knowledge of a Scandinavian language
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Spring 2021
Variable subject matter; see departmental announcement for description. Sample topics: Scandinavian romanticism; the Modern Breakthrough; literature by and about women; the political tradition. Readings and discussion in English.
Studies in Scandinavian Literature: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023
Religious beliefs and practices during the Viking Age in Scandinavia and their manifestations in later recordings. Readings and discussion in English.
Scandinavian Myth and Religion: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5-8 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014
Religious beliefs and practices during the Viking Age in Scandinavia and their manifestations in later recordings. Readings and discussion in English.
Scandinavian Myth and Religion: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Also listed as: RELIGST C108
Terms offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
Scandinavian folklore, emphasizing oral narrative traditions (legends and folk belief, folktales, ballads) and their contexts. Such minor verbal forms as proverbs, riddles, and formulas will also be considered. Readings and discussion in English.
Scandinavian Folklore: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Instructor: Lindow
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2012, Fall 2010
Survey of the folklore and mythology of the principal non-Scandinavian peoples of the Nordic lands: Finns, Saami, Greenland, Inuit. Comparative evidence from other circumpolar traditions and from ancient and modern Scandinavian tradition. Readings and discussion in English.
Arctic Folklore and Mythology in Nordic Lands: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Instructor: Lindow
Arctic Folklore and Mythology in Nordic Lands: Read Less [-]
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2023, Spring 2022
Topics will vary from semester to semester. Additional screening time may be required for film topics. See departmental announcement for offerings.
Special Topics in Scandinavian: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit with instructor consent.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Not yet offered
The purpose of this course is to provide a fundamental understanding of the historic roots, key characteristics, and contemporary challenges of the Swedish model of welfare capitalism. This course will revolve around its core policies and principles as compared to those of other advanced economies, historical developments in national and international contexts, and current challenges. This course will also familiarize students with various actors involved in shaping and administering social and labor market policy in Sweden. The course will combine lectures and discussions with visits to relevant institutions and organizations. This course is restricted to Global Internship Program participants only.
The Swedish Model of Welfare Capitalism: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Summer: 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025
This course will explore how Scandinavian–American encounters have shaped racial formation and racialization in America, particularly focusing on how ‘the Nordic’ came to be perceived in popular discourse as an embodiment of whiteness. Which interpretations of national, colonial, and imperial histories and contemporary realities allowed for this? Who has been included and excluded? And how does the racial construct of Nordic whiteness function and inform current American understandings of whiteness, Scandinavian heritage and the Nordic region? To answer these questions, the course engages perspectives from Black, Indigenous, and White communities, as well as from people who identify across these categorizations, in America and Scandinavia.
Constructing and Contesting Nordic Whiteness in America: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Instructor: Hansen
Constructing and Contesting Nordic Whiteness in America: Read Less [-]
Terms offered: Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2022
Advanced readings and interpretation of Scandinavian texts.
Group Study for Advanced Undergraduates: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Two years study of one Scandinavian language
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2-4 hours of directed group study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Summer 2024 8 Week Session, Summer 2023 First 6 Week Session, Fall 2017
Courses in Scandinavian literature, culture, or history. Supervised study; restricted enrollment.
Independent Study and Research: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Two years study of one Scandinavian language
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Summer:
6 weeks - 5-10 hours of independent study per week
8 weeks - 3.5-7.5 hours of independent study per week
10 weeks - 3-6 hours of independent study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2014, Fall 2013
An introduction to the language of medieval Iceland and Norway. Grammar, historical phonology, and texts.
Old Norse: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Instructor: Lindow
Terms offered: Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013
Literary production of early Iceland and Norway. Reading of representative texts in the original.
Norse Literature: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 201A or equivalent
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Instructor: Lindow
Terms offered: Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2022
A compact seminar features a distinguished instructor, usually a visitor from Scandinavia, with expertise in topics related to Scandinavian Literature and Cultures. The seminar is intended to teach these topics in an intensive format and to complement regular departmental offerings. A series of short papers or a single, longer paper is required.
Compact Seminar in Scandinavian Cultural and Literary Studies: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes. Students may enroll in multiple sections of this course within the same semester.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 5 weeks - 2-3 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Compact Seminar in Scandinavian Cultural and Literary Studies: Read Less [-]
Terms offered: Spring 2017, Spring 2014, Spring 2011
Variable subject matter; see departmental announcement for description. Sample topics: runology; history of the Scandinavian languages; dialectology.
Studies in Philology and Linguistics: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2022, Spring 2022
Introduction to varieties of literary and cultural theory used in the analysis of literary texts and other cultural artefacts.
Literary and Cultural Theory: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Graduate standing or consent of instructor
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Terms offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2020, Spring 2020
Variable subject matter; see departmental announcement for description. Course normally focuses on one of two areas: Eddic and skaldic poetry; or sagas (royal family, legendary, courtly, episcopal).
Early Scandinavian Literature: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 201A or equivalent
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Instructor: Lindow
Terms offered: Fall 2016, Fall 2015, Fall 2011
Variable subject matter; see departmental announcement for description. Reading and analysis of representative works.
Studies in Romanticism and Realism: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Terms offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2018, Fall 2014
Reading and analysis of representative works. Topics vary from semester to semester; see departmental announcement for description.
Modern and Contemporary Scandinavian Literature: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Modern and Contemporary Scandinavian Literature: Read Less [-]
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024
Additional work in connection with one of the following courses: Scandinavian C107, C108, 115, 116, 117, 120, 123, 125, C160, 165. Students attend lectures and do all written work in the "main course," and also read assignments in the Scandinavian languages, and write a paper.
Graduate Studies: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Graduate standing in Scandinavian
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Fall 2023
Investigation of selected authors, topics, or problems. Variable subject matter; see departmental announcement for description.
Seminar in Scandinavian Literature: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Terms offered: Spring 2025
Introduction to varieties of literary and cultural theory used in the analysis of literary texts and other cultural artefacts pertaining to the Arctic. The course comprises critical discussions of ethnographic studies, historical and contemporary scholarship, and policy, aiming to provide students with a nuanced understanding of Arctic cultures in a rapidly globalizing world. All readings and discussions are in English.
Studies of Arctic and Indigenous Cultures: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Instructor: Monsted
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023
This course is designed to prepare graduate students for reading and translation in the three core Scandinavian languages: Danish, Norwegian and Swedish.
Reading Strategies for the Scandinavian Languages: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Students must have a B1 or Intermediate High level of reading proficiency in their main Scandinavian language; in either Danish, Norwegian and Swedish. The course is open to native-, near-native-, or heritage speakers of Nordic languages
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit with instructor consent.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1.5-2 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Graduate
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Reading Strategies for the Scandinavian Languages: Read Less [-]
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024
Designed to explore a restricted field involving the writing of a report. May not be substituted for available seminars.
Special Study: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2-12 hours of tutorial per week
Summer: 10 weeks - 3-18 hours of tutorial per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024
Dissertation Writing: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Summer:
3 weeks - 10-60 hours of independent study per week
6 weeks - 5-30 hours of independent study per week
8 weeks - 3.5-99 hours of independent study per week
10 weeks - 3-18 hours of independent study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Graduate
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Terms offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Fall 2020
The course consists of a two-hour session per week that will examine current theory and practice of foreign language teaching in connection with Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish.
Methods of Teaching Scandinavian Languages: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Professional course for teachers or prospective teachers
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024
Graduate Student Instructors must enroll in 300B each semester following the completion of 300A or the equivalent. The course consists of a one-hour weekly session devoted to the analysis and a discussion of pedagogical problems as they arise in the classroom.
Teaching Practicum: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Graduate Student Instructor in the Scandinavian department
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of session per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Professional course for teachers or prospective teachers
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024
Course on practical teaching methods, grading, testing, classroom activities, and design of course materials and syllabi. Required of all Scandinavian Department GSIs.
Scandinavian Teaching Methods: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit with instructor consent.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of independent study per week
Summer:
3 weeks - 10-60 hours of independent study per week
6 weeks - 5-30 hours of independent study per week
8 weeks - 3.5-99 hours of independent study per week
10 weeks - 3-18 hours of independent study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Professional course for teachers or prospective teachers
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023
Introductory pedagogy course for graduate students to examine current theory and practice of foreign language teaching in connection with Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish.
Seminar in Foreign Language Pedagogy: Teaching College Nordic Languages: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Graduate student standing and teaching appointment in the Department of Scandinavian
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Professional course for teachers or prospective teachers
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Seminar in Foreign Language Pedagogy: Teaching College Nordic Languages: Read Less [-]
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024
Individual study for the comprehensive or language requirements in consultation with the field adviser. Units may not be used to meet unit or residence requirements for the master's degree.
Individual Study for M.A. Candidates: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Graduate examination preparation
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024
Individual study in consultation with the major field adviser to prepare qualified students for various examinations required of candidates for the Ph.D. May not be used to meet unit or residence requirements for the doctoral degree.
Individual Study for Doctoral Candidates: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Scandinavian/Graduate examination preparation
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Danish
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| DANISH 1A | Beginning Danish | 4 |
| DANISH 1B | Beginning Danish | 4 |
| SCANDIN 100A | Intermediate Nordic Languages | 4 |
| SCANDIN 100B | Intermediate Nordic Languages | 4 |
Finnish
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
Students will develop the basic elements of communicative competence in both the spoken and written language within a cultural context.
Beginning Finnish: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring:
10 weeks - 4 hours of lecture per week
15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Finnish/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Formerly known as: Scandinavian 2A
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2023, Spring 2022
Students will develop the basic elements of communicative competence in both the spoken and written language within a cultural context.
Beginning Finnish: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: FINNISH 1A or consent of instructor
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Finnish/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Formerly known as: Scandinavian 2B
Terms offered: Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2019
Students will focus on acquiring communicative competence necessary to function in authentic situations of language use in terms of grammatical, functional, and sociolinguistic skills. Students will read and interpret literary and nonliterary texts from a cultural perspective. The course uses a flexible group-work and independent project approach to advanced language study.
Intermediate Finnish: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 102A: 2B or consent of instructor; 102B: 102A or consent of instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 4 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Finnish/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Formerly known as: Scandinavian 102A
Terms offered: Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019
Students will focus on acquiring communicative competence necessary to function in authentic situations of language use in terms of grammatical, functional, and sociolinguistic skills. Students will read and interpret literary and nonliterary texts from a cultural perspective. The course uses a flexible group-work and independent project approach to advanced language study.
Intermediate Finnish: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 102A or consent of instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 4 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Finnish/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Formerly known as: Scandinavian 102B
Icelandic
Terms offered: Fall 2019, Fall 2018, Fall 2016
An introduction to spoken and written modern Icelandic focusing on basic social situations, everyday needs, and simple social transactions. The first semester deals with a variety of topics and interests using primarily the present tense, with limited use of other tenses. Students also develop introductory writing skills in Icelandic on familiar topics.
Beginning Icelandic I: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Icelandic/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2017
A continuation of the introductory sequence of Beginning Icelandic, this course focuses on basic social situations and common needs, continuing to develop speaking and writing competency with an eye toward expressing more complex ideas in a range of tenses. Icelandic cultural life and history will inform our topics of discussion and vocabulary development.
Beginning Icelandic II: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Icelandic 1A
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Icelandic/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Old Norse
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| SCANDIN 101A | Introduction to Old Norse I | 4 |
| SCANDIN 101B | Introduction to Old Norse II | 4 |
Norwegian
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| NORWEGN 1A | Beginning Norwegian | 4 |
| NORWEGN 1B | Beginning Norwegian | 4 |
| SCANDIN 100A | Intermediate Nordic Languages | 4 |
| SCANDIN 100B | Intermediate Nordic Languages | 4 |
Swedish
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| SWEDISH 1A | Beginning Swedish | 4 |
| SWEDISH 1B | Beginning Swedish | 4 |
| SCANDIN 100A | Intermediate Nordic Languages | 4 |
| SCANDIN 100B | Intermediate Nordic Languages | 4 |
Contact Information
Department of Scandinavian
6303 Dwinelle Hall
Phone: 510-642-2979
Undergraduate Student Services Advisor
Amanda Minafo
6303A Dwinelle Hall
Phone: 510-642-4661