Course Syllabus
Danish Language and Culture I section 114 |
 |
| Semester & Location: |
Spring 2020, DIS Copenhagen |
| Type & Credits: |
Elective Course - 3 credits |
| Faculty Member: |
Birgitte Duelund Pallesen |
|
Program Director: |
Andreas Brøgger |
|
Assistant Program Director: |
Sanne Rasmussen, sra@dis.dk |
| Time & Place: |
Monday & Thursday, 13:15-14:35, F24-206 |
Description of Course
This course is an integrated language and culture course. We study various aspects of Danish culture and operate with a complex view on culture through a range of representations. The focus will be on dominant national narratives, values, and symbolism, which we will approach from both a historical and contemporary perspective.
When studying the Danish language, we will employ a functional approach. The course will focus on spoken everyday Danish, reading comprehension, and basic grammar.
The course will explore how culture is reflected in language. By analyzing keywords and concepts and applying appropriate etiquette, you learn how to navigate in a foreign culture.
An important component of the course is your own observations of the Danish society as well as critical analysis of the presented materials.
Learning Objectives
- Acquire a higher level of cultural awareness
- Acquire knowledge and overall understanding of Danish history, culture, and society
- Ability to speak, read, and understand Danish on a basic level
- Gain an understanding of the connection between language and culture
Faculty
Birgitte Duelund Pallesen, Cand.mag. (Comparative Literature, University of Copenhagen, 2013)
Contact: birgitte.pallesen@dis.dk, Tel: (+45) 26673322
Office Hours will be scheduled with students individually.
Readings
Required language learning material
Textbook: DIS DANSK I
Required texts (to be found on Canvas/in compendium)
Adriasen, Inge: “Summary Volume II”, Nationale Symboler i Det Danske Rige, Museum Tusculanums Press 2003
Adriasen, Inge: ”The Isted lion”, Power Memory, People – Memorials of Today, KØS Museum of Art in Public Spaces 2014-2015
Andersen, Astrid Nonbo: "We have reconquered the Islands. Figurations in Public Memories of Slavery and Colonialism In Denmark 1948-2012", Int J Polit Cult Soc 2013
Anderson, Benedict: “Introduction”, Imagined Communities, Verso 1991
Andersen, Benny: “Verdensborger i Danmark”
Andersen, H.C.: ”I Danmark er jeg født”, Samlede Digte, Gyldendal 2011
Billig, Michael: “National Identities in the World of Nations”, Banal Nationalism, Sage Publications 1995
Carlsen, Jørgen: “The Folk High School – Freedom and the Living Conversation”, Learning in Denmark
Danbolt, Mathias: "Retro Racism - Colonial Ignorance and Racialized Affective Consumption in Danish Public Culture", Nordic Journal of Migration, volume 2 issue 7, 2017
Fukuyama, francis: “Nation building and state building”, Building the nation, (red.) Hall & Korsgaard, McGill-Queen’s University Press 2015
Grundtvig, N.F.S.: “Langt Højere Bjerge”, Salmer og Aandelige Sange, Karl Schønbergs Forlag 1981
Hassan, Yahya: “Barndom”, YAHYA HASSAN, Gyldendal 2013
Hvenegård-Lassen, Kirsten & Maurer, Serena: “Bodies and Bounderies”, Whiteness and Postcolonialism in the Nordic Region, Routledge 2016
Jaffe-Walter, Reva: "Imagining the Nation", Cohersive Concerns, Stanford University Press 2016
Jenkins, Richard: ”Everyday social democracy”, Being Danish: Paradoxes of Identity in Everyday Life, Museum Tusculanum Press 2012
Jenkins, Richard: “Where the Crows turn: Darkest Jutland”, Being Danish: Paradoxes of Identity in Everyday Life, Museum Tusculanum Press 2012
Jensen, Lars: "Postcolonial Denmark: Beyond the Rot of Colonialism", Postcolonial Studies 18:4, 2016
Korsgaard, Ove: "The Struggle for the People", Danish School of Education Press, 2008
Korsgaard, Ove: "Grundtvig's Philosophy of Enlightenment and Education", Broadbridge, Edward, Jonas, Uffe and Warren, Clay: The School for Life: N.F.S. Grundtvig on Education for the People. Aarhus University Press, 2011
Langvad, Maja Lee: “Danskerloven”, Find Holger Danske, Gladiator 2014
Leine, Kim: The Prophets of Eternal Fjord, Atlantic Books 2016
Lidegaard, Bo: “Prologue”, A short history of Denmark in the 20th century, Gyldendal 2009
Loftsdóttir, Kristín & Jensen, Lars: ”Danishness and whiteness in crisis”, Whiteness and Postcolonialism in the Nordic Region, Routledge 2016
Lykke, Ninna: "How is the Myth of Swedish Gender Equality upheld outside Sweden?", Challenging the Myth of Gender Equality in Sweden, Policy Press 2015
Nordbrandt, Henrik: “Modersmål”, Vi danskere, Forlaget Brøndum 2010
Nordbrandt, Henrik: “Danskhed”, Vi danskere, Forlaget Brøndum 2010
Kjældgaard, Lasse Horne: ”An Open System with an Objective External to Itself: The Reproachment between Danish Politics and Literatur in the Golden Age of the Welfare State”, Literature, Welfare and Well-being, Scandinavica vol 50, No 1 2011
Kramsch, Claire: ”The relationship of language and culture”, Language and culture, Oxford University Press, 1998
Oehlensläger, Adam: ”Der er et Yndigt Land”, Samlede Digte, Nabu Press 2010
Pisket, Halfdan: Dansker, Fahrenheit 2016
Sandemose, Aksel: ”Zoologi”, A Fugitive crosses his Tracks, Alfred A. Knopf 1936
Sandemose, Aksel: ”The Law of Jante”, A Fugitive crosses his Tracks, Alfred A. Knopf 1936
Schöpflin, George: ”The functions of myths and a taxonomy og myths”, Myths and Nationhood, Routledge 1997
Stangerup, Henrik: The Man who wanted to be guilty, Marion 1982
Taylor, Charles: ”What is a social imaginary?”, Social imaginaries, Duke University Press 2003
Yilmaz, Ferruh: “The Irony of Danishness”, Paper presented at the ICA-Conference, San Diego, May 2015
Required texts (to be found online)
Odumosu, Temi: "Open Images or Open Wounds_ Colonial past and present in the city of Copenhagen", Medea:
Field Studies
We will have two Field Studies throughout this semester to get hands-on experience with theory and material covered in class. For time and details, see the calendar.
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 a lot of commitment. The ambition is to create a classroom culture in which everyone feels at ease trying to pronounce the unfamiliar Danish sounds and words.
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. In addition, when speaking Danish or discussing the connection between language and culture it is important to meet the level of preparation required to be an active participant.
Grading
Formal Guidelines for Cultural Assignments
You should use minimum two texts read in class and additionally, you need to use two relevant texts that you have not read in class. Each assignment should be 1500 words (300 words per page = 5 pages).
Remember to include your name and section number.
Formatting:
- Font: Arial
- Font size: 12
- Line spacing: 1,5 lines
| Assignment |
Percent |
| Engaged Participation |
20% |
|
Oral Exam |
20% |
|
Cultural Assignments |
40% |
|
Written Exam |
20% |
Grading is based on the rubrics found in the Canvas course Danish Language Resources.
Academic Regulations
Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on:
DIS - Study Abroad in Scandinavia - www.DISabroad.org
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|