This section of Danish Language and Culture is designed specifically for full-year students at DIS. The course allows you to delve deeper into Danish language and culture as you take Level I in the fall semester and Level II in the spring semester with the same dedicated faculty member and fellow students in both semesters will provide you with an enhanced perspective and consistency in your learning throughout your year in Copenhagen.
In this class we focus on Danish language and culture as integrated components and the study of the language is used as an opener for studying the culture, and vice versa. We will approach both the language and the culture from multiple perspectives.
Over the fall and spring semesters, we lay a solid foundation for your language comprehension (speaking, listening, reading, and writing abilities). We study Danish grammar, implementing it in your active spoken language as well as practice grammatical analysis of various texts in Danish, including newspaper articles, excerpts of literature, and Danish poetry.
The two semesters allow us to study identities and cultural representations of Copenhagen and Denmark in depth. Through modern art, tv, theater, contemporary exhibitions, and poetic responses we will delve into the current debates on the refugee situation in Denmark, immigration, gender equality, #meetoo, etc. We analyze the New Year’s speeches by the Queen and the Prime Minister of Denmark and we study and discuss recent cultural canons and contemporary approaches to cultural heritage. An important component of the course is your own observations and critical analysis.
