Reading and discussion of the great Scandinavian novels; the development of the novel. Readings and discussion in English.

In this course we will read and discuss contemporary works of fiction in order to explore the Scandinavian novel of the 21st century. We will investigate how Scandinavian novelists employ genres such as autofiction, exofiction and speculative fiction to engage with politics of their time, with questions of gender, motherhood and family relations, capitalism and working life, nature and climate, mental health and illness, globalization, migration and colonial pasts and presents. Drawing on concepts from literary, cultural, and anthropological studies, the course explores how Scandinavia’s new novels differ and coincide in the themes they explore, the questions they raise, and the style of writing they use; and how these novels reflect, inspire, and relate to contemporary social and cultural realities. We will read four critically acclaimed novels all published in the 21st century. Danish Olga Ravn’s sci-fi workplace novel, The Employees (2018), set in a near-distant future on a spaceship far away from Earth, explores the logic of productivity and what it means to be human. Icelandic Sjón’s Moonstone – The Boy Who Never Was (2013) is a pandemic tale of the Spanish Flu in Reykjavík, but also of growing up as a young queer man in a society in which homosexuality is not accepted. In Welcome to America (2016), Swedish Linda Broström Knausgård probes into love and trauma with her portrait of a young girl who stops talking after the death of her father. Finally, we will read Norwegian Tomas Espedal’s Against Art (2009), a personal account of being a writer and writing as a profession. In addition to these, we will read excerpts from other Scandinavian works of fiction as well as theoretical texts. Throughout the course we will try to trace common paths and directions in the Scandinavian literary landscape, while also adopting a critical stance toward notions of national literatures and literary canon. In recent years, such notions have been challenged by different critical perspectives, including postcolonial studies and gender studies. We will work with the theoretical concept of ‘entangled literatures’, developed in the book Rethinking National Literatures and the Literary Canon in Scandinavia (2015). The ‘entanglement reading strategy’ to literature will allow us to look for connections and relations, but without confining our readings to methodologically nationalist approaches. The aim is to leave the question What does the contemporary Scandinavian novel look like – and does such a novel even exist? open for discussion. The final examination will be a collective, creative exhibition of the novels discussed throughout the course. Students will be asked to exhibit and present the novels in a communicative, visual and engaging manner. Prerequisites: None. The course and readings are in English. Please note the first part of the course will be taught remotely/online, but students will have to be physically present in class at UC Berkeley for the remainder of the course and for the final examination.

Prerequisites: None. The course and readings are in English.

Please note the first part of the course will be taught remotely/online, but students will have to be physically present in class at UC Berkeley for the remainder of the course and for the final examination.

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Requirements class fulfills