Cancelled Cross-Cultural Aspects and Contexts of Danish Society (F23)

Aspects and Contexts of Danish Society is a course in English designed to introduce international students to many of the ideas and concepts, past and present, that have influenced the formation of Danish society (and Scandinavia) and its cultural life. The course explores different aspects of Danish culture and society from a variety of angles, combining approaches from history, anthropology, cultural studies and urban studies.

The topics include the Scandinavia as a nation in the contact zone; the colonial legacies and educational systems in Denmark; the welfare state and its ‘old’ and ‘new’ minorities; multiculturalism and Danish model(s) of religion as well as Danish international influence in contemporary design, cinema and architecture.

At the same time as learning about the history and current aspects of Danish society, students will be encouraged to consider the phenomena they are presented with from a comparative and cross-cultural angle and to reflect upon how different ideas and belief systems can shape basic social and political institutions. We will pay particular attention to the ways in which Danish assumptions may differ from those of the students’ home cultures and the methods by means of which we can study and analyse them.

Students will learn how to discuss and analyse social and cultural phenomena in well-informed, critical, and responsibly engaged ways. To this end, lectures and seminars will be combined with group work and group assignments.