Scandinavian Studies (BA)

Current Catalog Year
2024-2025
Degree
Bachelor of Arts
Major / Total Credits
32 / 120
Locations
Mankato

Program Requirements

Major Common Core

Individual project demonstrating ability to synthesize experience in interdisciplinary major, drawing together different areas of study focusing on specific topic, problem or concern and demonstrating ability to use a Scandinavian language. Approval of Scandinavian Studies program director required. Prereq: Admission to college as Scandinavian Studies Major.

Prerequisites: Admission to college as Scandinavian Studies Major.

CHOOSE 1 CLUSTER:

Norwegian Language (16 credits)

An introduction to the basic skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing coupled with culture.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-08

An introduction to the basic skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing coupled with culture.

Prerequisites: SCAN 101

Goal Areas: GE-08

Development of reading and listening skills, oral and writing practice within a cultural context. To be arranged with instructor prior to registration. Prereq: SCAN 102 or equivalent

Prerequisites: SCAN 102 or equivalent.

Development of reading and listening skills, oral and writing practice within a cultural context. To be arranged with instructor prior to registration. Prereq: SCAN 102 or equivalent

Prerequisites: SCAN 102 or equivalent

Swedish Language (10-16 credits)

An introduction to the basic skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing, coupled with cultural notes.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-08

An introduction to the basic skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing, coupled with cultural notes.

Prerequisites: SCAN 111

Goal Areas: GE-08

Development of reading and listening skills, oral and writing practice within a cultural context. To be arranged with instructor prior to registration. Prereq: SCAN 112 or equivalent

Prerequisites: SCAN 112 or equivalent

Development of reading and listening skills, oral and writing practice within a cultural context. To be arranged with instructor prior to registration. Prereq: SCAN 112 or equivalent

Prerequisites: SCAN 112 or equivalent

Major Unrestricted Electives

Total for the Cluster and Electives must add to 29 credits.

Choose 13 - 19 Credit(s). You need to receive approval by the director of Scandinavian Studies before the beginning of the semester to ensure that you will be able to apply credit achieved in courses from affiliated programs (courses with a prefix other than "SCAN") toward a major or minor in Scandinavian Studies. If you wish to take any course not listed below at Gustavus Adolphus, please see their catalogue and consult the director of Scandinavian Studies.

A cross-cultural examination of the aging process, status, and treatment of elders around the world.

Prerequisites: ANTH 101, ANTH 230, or ANTH 220, or consent

Diverse Cultures: Purple

Specific problems in art emphasizing both individual research and contributions to the seminar group on advanced, in-depth topics.

Prerequisites: Consent

Lecture/discussion/studio course on a selected area of discourse relating to the study of Art History, Art Criticism, Art Education or Art Studio. May focus on a specific artist, style period, cultural group or technical or methodological problem.

Prerequisites: none

Advanced level pursuit of special projects of research on an independent basis. Requires contractual agreement in art office for registration.

Prerequisites: Consent

A comparison of criminal justice philosophies, structures, and procedures found in various countries around the world.

Prerequisites: none

This course will answer the question Why should I care about getting old when I am young? through an exploration of the life course perspective, service learning opportunities, and written reflection and exploration.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-02, GE-07

Diverse Cultures: Gold

Topics vary as announced in class schedule. May be retaken for credit if topic is different.

Prerequisites: none

The school and community health programs prepare health professionals with expertise in health promotion and disease prevention for employment in public health and community health agencies, health care facilities, business, and industry and schools.

Prerequisites: none

This course offers a cross-national perspective on the politics of social policy and the welfare state in industrialized parts of the world, including North and South America and different regions of Europe. It also explores distinct national patterns of public policy solutions to the common contemporary problems of social security, poverty, and health care by paying close attention to both domestic factors and the forces of globalization that work to constrain government decisions. This multidimensional approach is designed to enable students to better understand how politics work in different ways to produce collective or social choices.

Prerequisites: POL 241

This course discusses government institutions, political developments, and policymaking structures of contemporary Europe, including the former communist countries of East/Central Europe and the Balkans. It will also cover the ongoing process of European integration (European Union) and democratization of the former Soviet bloc countries. Some of the topics covered will include: elections, party systems, federalism and devolution, ethnic and minority policy, social policy, economic reforms, gender and politics, and cross-Atlantic relations with the US.

Prerequisites: POL 241

This course offers an interdisciplinary introduction to the Nordic countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Greenland, Faroe Islands); it will provide an overview of their geography, history, culture, society, and current political situation in comparison to the U.S.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-06, GE-08

Diverse Cultures: Purple

Special topics courses in Scandinavian Studies will deal with a variety of topics regarding the history, literature, art, and culture of the Nordic countries. SCAN 250 courses are planned with the interests and needs of beginning students in mind; they offer broad introductions to the most important artefacts and/discourses in the respective field. Writing assignments offer opportunities to learn to discuss adequately and critically central issues and theories. The course may be repeated for credit.

Prerequisites: none

In this course, students will learn about the indigenous population of Scandinavia, the Sami. Students will investigate Sami traditions and cultural production along with the historical and contemporary sociopolitical standing of the Sami within the majority cultures of Scandinavia.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-06, GE-08

Diverse Cultures: Purple

This course explores a wide range of cultural topics such as race, gender, human rights, social conflict, mythology, imaginary worlds, etc. Topics vary every semester and will be explored from a global perspective involving at least 4 cultures (e.g. Dakota, German, Francophone, Scandinavian, Hispanic, Lusophone, etc.). The course is taught in English through the lens of literary and cultural criticism with a focus on Scandinavian studies and exposes students to international and diverse points of view that prepare them to be global citizens.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-06, GE-08

Diverse Cultures: Purple

This course is designed to provide an overview of the Viking Age and Norse mythology. Students will begin by learning about the sources that provide scholars with information about the Vikings, such as archeological finds, Icelandic sagas, place names, historical annals, and other written texts. Students will then explore the daily lives of the Vikings in their homelands, their religious beliefs, their expansion to other lands, and what led to the end of the Viking Age.

Prerequisites: none

Special topics courses in Scandinavian Studies will deal with a variety of topics regarding the history, literature, art, and culture of the Nordic countries. SCAN 450 courses are planned with the interests and needs of more advanced students in mind; they build on and expand upon clearly defined methods and critical approaches which the students will explore both in class discussions and writing assignments. The course may be repeated for credit.

Prerequisites: none

In this course, students will read about crime and deviance in Scandinavia and will develop an understanding of how a culture conceptualizes its ethico-political struggles through literature.

Prerequisites: none

Diverse Cultures: Purple

This course focuses on narratives by and about explorers from the Nordic countries. Scandinavian explorers attempted to navigate the Northwest and Northeast Passages, reach the North and South Poles, traverse the Greenland icecap and the North American Arctic, and cross the South Pacific Ocean. They traveled by ship, by dogsled, by balloon, by airship, by airplane, by foot and on skis. Their narratives describing cross-cultural encounters, the natural environment, and innovation are valuable historical primary sources. A variety of texts, including memoirs, travelogues, and biographies address themes of perseverance, teamwork, isolation, silence, extreme cold, and the struggle for survival.

Prerequisites: none

Revolving topics in Scandinavian Film. Students will explore issues of cultural and historical importance as presented through the medium of film. Written assignments and exams allow students to practice and display analytical and interpretive techniques. May be repeated for credit.

Prerequisites: none

Advanced study of works by selected Swedish or Norwegian authors. Prereq: SCAN 299-03 or 299-05

Prerequisites: SCAN 299 or SCAN 299

This course exposes students to some of the major realities of life among the poor and socially deprived in all parts of the world, primarily developing countries. Students will confront conditions that impede development and keep people locked into poverty and despair, and will discuss how a person who sees her/himself as a global citizen can act in tangible ways to make that citizenship more meaningful.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-05, GE-08

Diverse Cultures: Purple

Other Graduation Requirements

Required Minor: Yes. Any.