John Hoberman

Description:

Globalization, the greatest project in human history, is an historical process that encompasses worldwide cultural and economic integration. This new global order is characterized by multinational corporations and an increasingly free flow of capital and labor across the world, internationalizing the products, services, careers, travel opportunities, and mass media programming that are now available to people everywhere. All countries must now adapt to changing economies and the cultural trends transnational markets carry around the world. Cultural globalization has been driven largely by American influences -- popular music, television programming, and Hollywood films -- along with the sheer power of the English language to insinuate itself into virtually all aspects of modern experience. 

Scandinavia consists of five small countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland) which, like nations everywhere, must adapt to the merciless competition of globalization by innovating and drawing upon their own social, cultural, and natural resources. In fact, Scandinavia is a conspicuously prosperous and peaceful region that has developed the most effective welfare state models in the world. This is one reason why Scandinavian societies have met the challenges of globalization and labor competition from low-wage countries so effectively. At the same time, these very small countries are vulnerable to various globalization pressures such as military threats, world economic instability, European Union policies, the charismatic influence of American popular culture, U.S.- based social media platforms, and the power of the English language to infiltrate small languages and even threaten their eventual extinction.

Yet these small Scandinavian countries also have ways of asserting themselves, via diplomatic initiatives, displays of moral leadership, the exporting of cultural products (especially films), and the production of medal-winning athletes and chess champions (Magnus Carlsen of Norway). In summary, this course examines how the small Scandinavian countries have coped with political and cultural vulnerability while cultivating the components of national identity that sustain small populations through traumatic national experiences as severe as military occupation and as intractable as peacetime economic competition with much more powerful economies and cultural products. 

Selected Texts:

Manfred Steger: Globalization: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford, 2009)

"Can the Scandinavian Model Adapt to Globalization?" (Scandinavian Studies, 2004)

Christine Ingebritsen, "Ecological Institutionalism: Scandinavia and the Greening of Global Capitalism" (Scandinavian Studies, 2012)

Hans Hognestad, "Transglobal Scandinavian? Globalization and the contestation of identities in football" (Soccer & Society, 2009)

Grading/Requirements:

Examination #1      20%

Examination #2      20%

4-page Paper         20%

Term Paper             40%

Description:

This course offers a detailed introduction to Ibsen's social dramas (1877-1899), emphasizing their unity as a prolonged commentary on the society of his era and the variety of its human problems. Eight of the twelve plays are read in chronological order so as to show how each play stands in relation to those which precede or follow. Particular attention is paid to how Ibsen interprets basic human situations in different ways in different plays. Ibsen's patterned use of certain Norwegian words to create thematic ties between specific plays and characters is explored. The course pays special attention to the following topics: (1) the family, the home, the sphere of private life and their relationship to the public world of reputation, work, and citizenship; (2) the predicaments and choices of men and women in a male-dominated society; (3) Ibsen's interest in biological themes such as health, sickness, and heredity; (4) the origins and risks of various kinds of human creativity; and (5) the motives of interventions into the lives of others

Prerequisites: Upper-division standing.

Texts:

Haugen, Einar.  Ibsen's Drama: Author to Audience, University of Minnesota Press; Ibsen (Rolf Fjelde,trans.); The Complete Major Prose Plays, NAL; Additional critical essays will be distributed in photocopied form.

Requirements & Grading:

Students will write three papers between six and eight pages in length, one of which may be substantially revised (60%). There will also be a final examination and occasional quizzes (40%).

INTRODUCTION

During the nineteenth century, important scientific developments promoted a popular theory of “race.” Perhaps the most famous are Darwin’s theories, which paved the way for the development of physical anthropology, Social Darwinism and scientific speculations about biological traits that supposedly characterized the various “races.” Biological typing of human beings became a standard procedure for establishing physical and psychological “differences” between human populations – the precursor to today’s racial profiling. The history of these ideas provides us with a way to understand how pseudo-scientific “racial” representations of vulnerable minorities in popular literature and mass media, during the nineteenth century and up to the present day. have influenced the lives of millions of people and shaped our own thinking about “racial” difference.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

This course is designed to meet four objectives:

      1) to introduce you to biological typing in the nineteenth century with particular attention given to German-speaking countries;

      2) to build skills in critical cultural literacy by analyzing how developments in science influenced other domains; such as criminology (Lombroso), film (“M”), mental illness (Nordau), and gender and racial repression;

      3) to encourage you to consider the legacy of biological typing and its implications for contemporary society; and

      4) to assist you in refining your writing skills. 

REQUIRED TEXTS:

1. Course Packet available at Jenn’s Copy (approx. $45),2200 Guadalupe St (Lower Level), 473-8669.

2. Films on reserve at the Flawn Academic Center (FAC, formerly UGL)

ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING (See Guidelines and Grading for Assignments section)

40%    Homework Assignments and Quizzes (in-class quizzes on homework assignments; worksheets to accompany assigned readings and prepare for class discussions)

20%    In-class examinations.

40 %    Critical Review Papers (5 papers, each 2-3 pp). 

Final grades will be assigned based on the traditional scale:A = 90-100%; B = 80-89%; C = 70-79%; D = 60-69%; F = 0-59%

Course Description:

Third and fourth semester Norwegian in which the students read copiously from a variety of texts, solidify their knowledge of Norwegian grammar and discuss the readings in Norwegian. The reading materials present a broad cross-section of Norwegian culture both past and present. Writing in Norwegian is also stressed.

Grading Policy:

Exams 50%.

Homework 30%.

Class Participation 20%.

Texts:

O'Leary and Shackelford. Norsk i sammenheng: Intrmediate Norwegian. (textbook). O’Leary and Shackelford. Norsk i sammenheng: Intermediate Norwegian (arbeidsbok).

Description:
This course offers a detailed introduction to Ibsen's social dramas (1877-1899), emphasizing their unity as a prolonged commentary on the society of his era and the variety of its human problems. Eight of the twelve plays are read in chronological order so as to show how each play stands in relation to those which precede or follow. Particular attention is paid to how Ibsen interprets basic human situations in different ways in different plays. Ibsen's patterned use of certain Norwegian words to create thematic ties between specific plays and characters is explored. The course pays special attention to the following topics: (1) the family, the home, the sphere of private life and their relationship to the public world of reputation, work, and citizenship; (2) the predicaments and choices of men and women in a male-dominated society; (3) Ibsen's interest in biological themes such as health, sickness, and heredity; (4) the origins and risks of various kinds of human creativity; and (5) the motives of interventions into the lives of others.

Possible Texts/Readings:
Haugen, Einar. Ibsen's Drama: Author to Audience, Univ. of Minnesota Press
Ibsen (Rolf Fjelde,trans.) The Complete Major Prose Plays, NAL
Additional critical essays will be distributed in photocopied form.