Scandinavian Literature - 19th Century - Scandinavian Area Studies

Undergraduate course

Course description

Objectives and Content

The course offers an introduction to Scandinavian 19th century literature and culture. It will provide a literary-historical survey along with discussions of works by central writers, for example H. C. Andersen, Henrik Ibsen, J. P. Jacobsen, Amalie Skram, Knut Hamsun and/or August Strindberg.

The course normally addresses one or more of the following three phases of 19th century Scandinavian literature and culture: 1) The strong national romantic currents that emerged in Scandinavia after the end of the Napoleonic wars. 2) The emergence of literary realism and naturalism during the so-called "modern breakthrough" of the 1870s and 1880s. 3) The experimental literary tendencies of the 1890s, which are often described as the initial emergence of literary modernism in Scandinavia.

The course addresses important intellectual influences on the authors we read - for example Charles Darwin, Georg Brandes and Friedrich Nietzsche - and also situates the works on the syllabus in light of the major technological and social changes the Scandinavian countries were going through at the time. In addition, we will also look at the most important issues the different authors typically addressed in their writings.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of the programme the candidate should have the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The candidate will have a thorough knowledge of 19th-century

Scandinavian cultural and intellectual trends, of Scandinavian literary history, as well as an understanding of important authorships and representative literary works.

Skills

The candidate will be able to discuss central literary developments and be able to analyze and to write about central works in 19th-century Scandinavian literature.

General competence

The candidate will have a broad knowledge of 19th-century Scandinavian cultural and literary history and of important writers and individual works.

ECTS Credits

15

Level of Study

Bachelor

Semester of Instruction

Autumn.

Place of Instruction

Bergen
Required Previous Knowledge
The course requires spoken and written proficiency in English.
Recommended Previous Knowledge
None
Credit Reduction due to Course Overlap
None
Access to the Course
The course is open to exchange students and other students with upper secondary education from outside Norway with admission to the University of Bergen.
Teaching and learning methods
Teaching is given as double or triple lectures. Total: 24-26 hours.
Compulsory Assignments and Attendance
None.
Forms of Assessment
Oral examination.
Grading Scale
A-F.
Assessment Semester
Fall
Reading List
The reading list will be available by 1 June for the Autumn semester.
Course Evaluation
Courses are evaluated regularly in accordance with the University of BergenĀ“s quality assurance system.
Examination Support Material
Ingen hjelpemiddel er tillatt ved eksamen.
Programme Committee
Programstyret for nordisk
Course Coordinator
Programstyret for nordisk
Course Administrator
Department of linguistic, literary and aesthetic studies