Course Syllabus
Danish Language and Culture for Full-Year Students |
 |
| Semester & Location: |
Fall 2021 - DIS Copenhagen |
| Type & Credits: |
Elective Course - 3 credits |
| Prerequisite: |
None |
| Major Disciplines: |
Anthropology, Language |
| Faculty Member: |
Mette Jungersen, mju@dis.dk |
|
Program Director: |
Andreas Brøgger, abr@dis.dk |
|
Assistant Program Director |
Anna Sommer, anna.sommer@dis.dk |
| Time & Place: |
|
Description of Course
This section of Danish Language and Culture is designed specifically for full-year students at DIS. The course allows you to delve deeper into Danish language and culture as you take Level I in the fall semester and Level II in the spring semester. Studying with a dedicated faculty and student group in both semesters will provide you with an enhanced perspective and consistency in your learning throughout your year in Copenhagen.
In this class we focus on Danish language and culture as integrated components and the study of the language is used as an opener for studying the culture, and vice versa. We will approach both the language and the culture from multiple perspectives.
Over the fall and spring semesters we will lay a solid foundation for your language comprehension (speaking, listening, reading, and writing abilities). We will be studying Danish grammar, implementing it in your active spoken language as well as practice grammatical analysis of various texts in Danish, including newspaper articles, excerpts of literature, and Danish poetry.
The two semesters allow us to study identities and cultural representations of Copenhagen and Denmark in depth. Through modern art, tv, theater, contemporary exhibitions, and poetic responses we will delve into the current debates on the refugee situation in Denmark, immigration, gender equality, #meetoo, etc. We will analyze the New Year’s speeches by the Queen and the Prime Minister of Denmark and we will study and discuss recent cultural canons and contemporary approaches to cultural heritage. An important component of the course will be your own observations and critical analysis.
Learning Objectives
- Develop a nuanced understanding of Danish culture and society with an emphasis on contemporary issues
- Ability to speak, read and understand Danish on a basic level
- Study selected works of Danish literature, poetry, art, and performance
- Gain a general understanding of language structure and grammatical analysis
Faculty
Mette Jungersen Cand.mag. (Russian Studies and Literature, University of Copenhagen, 2012).
Contact: mju@dis.dk, tel: (+45) 25174916.
Office hours will be scheduled with students individually.
Readings
Required language learning material
Textbook: DIS DANSK I
Course texts (to be found in Files on Canvas)
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, 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
Ehlers, Jeanette: Say It Loud!, 2016
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
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: "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
Lidegaard, Bo: “Prologue”, A short history of Denmark in the 20th century, Gyldendal 2009
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
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
Course texts (to be found online)
Odumosu, Temi: "Open Images or Open Wounds_ Colonial past and present in the city of Copenhagen", Medea:
Trolle Linnet, Jeppe: ”Money can’t buy me hygge”, Academia.edu: http://www.academia.edu/714349/Money_cant_buy_me_hygge_Danish_middle-class_consumption_egalitarianism_and_the_sanctity_of_inner_space
Field Studies
We will have several Field Studies throughout the two semesters to explore Copenhagen and Denmark, offering 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
| 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 |
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