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

Have you ever pondered on the future of CAPITALISM, why someone would join a NEO-NAZI movement, how it feels to lose your MEMORY, what life is like growing up YOUNG & QUEER in the far North, what it means to be HUMANOID, or HUMAN? Then you’re not alone... In this course you will meet award-winning novelists from across the Nordic region who have grappled with the questions above and captured audiences with original depictions of the human condition in the 21st century. We will read three critically acclaimed novels (all in English): Danish Olga Ravn’s sci-fi workplace novel, The Employees (2018), set in a near-distant capitalist future on a spaceship far away from Earth; Icelandic Sjón’s Red Milk (2019), a mystery about an Icelandic neo-Nazi and the enduring global allure of fascism; and Swedish Linda Broström Knausgård’s October Child (2019), an autofictional portrait of the author’s subjection to electroconvulsive therapy in a psychiatric ward. In addition to these, we will read excerpts from other novels as well as theoretical texts. Throughout the course we work with the theoretical concept of ‘entangled literatures’, which allows us to look for common paths and directions in the Scandinavian literary landscape, while also adopting a critical stance towards the notion of national literatures. This class emphasizes group discussions and creative expression. The final exam project is a creative exhibition of the novels read through the semester. The class has no prerequisites – all are welcome. Blurb from a previous student: “I've learned so much in this small class environment, and it's such a nice break away from the typically large classes I take. I also really love the exhibition we came together to create at the end; I've never had a final deliverable that was hands–on and could be displayed in that way.” (Fall 2021).

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Requirements class fulfills