Course Syllabus

                          

Course Description

This course is an integrated language and culture course which serves as the ideal entry point for your studies abroad in Denmark. Offering an introduction to the Danish language while also exploring key themes in Danish culture and society, this course will help you navigate and make sense of your new environment. It also supports a growing sense of place and belonging during you time abroad.

Language learning focuses on spoken, everyday Danish, reading and listening comprehension as well as basic grammar, allowing you to interact in simple and practical ways in your local surroundings. This functional approach is reflected in classroom interactions, hands-on exercises, and experiential learning through field studies in Copenhagen and surrounding areas.

As an integrated language and culture course, we will examine how culture is embedded in language through common and distinctive expressions and concepts. We will also engage openly and critically with the values, symbols, and both dominant and marginalized narratives in Danish culture and history, exploring how these elements continue to shape identities today. An important part of this process will be your own observations of Danish culture and society during your study abroad experience. With Denmark as your case study, this course will enhance your ability to reflect on and engage with other cultures from an intercultural perspective.

The profile course  'Body and Mind' puts extra focus on movement, play, personal reflection, and interactive learning.  We encounter Danish culture through walks, visits, discussions, interactive language practices, and conversations with locals. We also engage in games, creative exercises, shared meals, and physical activities. Often outdoor, these activities will make use of the city. 

Learning Objectives  

• Acquire knowledge and understanding of Danish culture and society
• Ability to speak, read, and understand Danish on a basic level
• Gain an understanding of connections between language and culture
• Enhance intercultural awareness and critical reflection
• Develop a sense of belonging

 

Grading

Assignment	Percent
Engaged Participation	30%
Cultural Assignments (1+2)	35%
Online Worksheets*	10%
Oral Exam	25 %
Total	100 %

 

*Online Worksheets are part of the final grading and can be accessed in the "Danish at DIS" Canvas course.

Please note: Worksheets for Chapters 1–5 must be fully completed to receive credit; incomplete sheets will receive 0 points.

Final deadline: December 4 at 11:59 PM

Please see Guidelines and assessment criteria for worksheets.

 

Faculty

Jacob Cold

Jacob has 20 years of experience teaching at university, folk high school, and high school.  He writes travel pieces for the newspaper, Politiken. He has been with DIS since 2017. 

Jacob has an MA in English & Drama from King's College London & Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and a BA in Comparative Literature & Social Anthropology, University of Copenhagen. 

Please contact Jacob via canvas inbox. He appears under 'People' alongside students.  

 

Syllabus

Texts:    Extracts from the following works are assigned as homework

Alexander, Jessica J., & Iben Sandahl: "The Danish Way of Parenting: What the Happiest People in the World Know About Raising Confident, Capable Kids" New York: Tarcher Perigee, 2016.

Andersen, Hans Christian: "The Complete Fairy Tales and Stories". New York: First Anchor Books, 1983.

Carlsen, Jørgen: "The Folk High School". Århus: The Danish Cultural Institute, 1997.

Ditlevsen, Tove: "Childhood, Youth, Dependency". London: Penguin, 2020.

Haidt, Jonathan: "The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness". New York: Penguin Press, 2024.

Holten, Emma: "Deficit: The Hidden Value of Care". London: W.H. Allen, 2025.

Ibsen, Henrik: "A Doll's House and Other Plays". London: Penguin, 1965. Jensen, Carsten: Welfare. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2024.

Jensen, Carsten: "Welfare": Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press 2023

Jespersen, Knud J. V.: "A History of Denmark". Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.

Kierkegaard, Søren: "The Essential Søren Kierkegaard". Edited by Howard V. Hong and Edna H. Hong. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2023.

Knausgaard, Karl Ove: "A Death in the Family: My Struggle, Part 1". London: Penguin, 2019.

Leonhardt, David: "In an Age of Right-Wing Populism, Why Are Denmark's Liberals Winning?" The New York Times Magazine, February 24, 2025. 

Lewis, Benny: "Fluent in Three Months: How Anyone at Any Age Can Learn to Speak Any Language from Anywhere in the World". New York: Harper Collins, 2014.

Lidegaard, Bo: "A Short History of Denmark in the 20th Century". Copenhagen: Gyldendal, 2009.

Lindgreen, Astrid: "Ronja the Robber's Daughter". Oxford: Oxford University Press 2010

Løgstrup, K. E.: "The Ethical Demand". Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1997.

Steensgaard, Pernille: "Copenhagen: People and Places". Copenhagen: Gyldendal, 2015.

Svendsen, Gert Tinggaard: "Trust."  Aarhus: Aarhus University Press 2018

 

Talks, Videoes, Podcasts 

Astrup, Jonas: "New Nordic Cuisine: How Can Denmark Have the Best Restaurants in the World?" What The Denmark, hosted by Sam. Available at: https://podcasts.apple.com/dk/podcast/new-nordic-cuisine-how-can-denmark-have-the-best/id1561444188?i=1000543019406

Haidt, Jonathan: "How Screens Stole Childhood — and How to Get It Back." TED2026, Vancouver, April 2026. Available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/jonathan_haidt_how_screens_stole_childhood_and_how_to_get_it_back

The School of Life: "Philosophy - Søren Kierkegaard." YouTube, 2015. 8 min. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9JCwkx558o

VICE News: "The Scandinavian Hygge Lifestyle Taking the World by Storm." VICE News, Copenhagen, 2017. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl74ybpyNLk

Field Studies  

Field Studies are experiential encounters with Danish culture and chances to get out of the classroom. Two values should guide your approach to field studies: courage and curiosity. They may involve excursions to important cultural highlights, visits to Danish institutions, practical tasks employing the Danish language and much more.  Field studies typically involve high school visits, historical walks  & practical interactions with Danes.

Course Resources

Audio Files and Online Worksheets

In the Canvas course Danish Language Resources, you will find audio files and online worksheets that you can use to practice vocabulary, phrases, pronunciation, and grammar throughout the semester. In your textbook DIS DANSK I, the texts with complementary audio files are marked with a headphone symbol. 

Online Dictionary: Ordbogen.com

DIS has a subscription to Ordbogen, a Danish-English/English-Danish online dictionary. Go to http://www.ordbogen.com/ and follow the instructions that you have received directly from Ordbogen.com.

Approach to Teaching and Expectations of the Students

The teaching style of this class is interactive. You are expected to actively participate in class discussions, to have done the readings and other homework, and come to class with notes, questions and relevant observations.

Learning a language is hard work and requires commitment. It is also a lot of fun. The ambition is to create a classroom culture in which everyone feels at ease and to make you use Danish outside the classroom daily.

Engaged participation is an integrated part of class and will be a large part of the course evaluation. Participating in class discussion requires a high level of preparation and a voluntary contribution of knowledge and ideas.

 

Grading is based on the rubrics found in the Canvas course Danish Language Resources.