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Danish Language and Culture Through the Arts

Danish Language and Culture Through the Arts


Danish Language and Culture Through the Arts

About this course

This course is an integrated language and culture course where we explore the Danish language and life in Denmark through the special lenses of art, literature, and theatre. Serving as the ideal entry point for your studies abroad in Denmark, the course offers an introduction to the Danish language while also discussing important themes in Danish culture, the arts, and society. The course will help you navigate and understand your new environment, strengthening your sense of place and sense of belonging while studying abroad.

Our engagement with the arts in and outside the classroom will open up for discussions and provide insights into both the Danish language and Danish cultures, history, and politics more broadly. What can we learn about Danish traditions, values, beliefs, and conflicts through our exploration of literary, visual and dramatic works of art? Are there themes or stylistic traits that make Danish artists and authors distinct from others?

The language learning in the course will emphasize spoken everyday Danish, reading comprehension, and simple grammar, which will allow you to interact in basic ways with your local surroundings. The functional approach is evident both in classroom interactions, hands-on exercises, and experiential learning through field studies around Copenhagen and environs.

An important component of the course is your own observations of Danish society as you are studying abroad. As this is an integrated language and culture course, we explore how culture is reflected in language through expressions, concepts, and keywords. By openly and critically studying values, symbols, and dominant and marginalized narratives in Danish culture and history we will begin to understand how these continue to shape identities today. With Denmark as your case study, you will also develop your general ability to understand and study other cultures from an intercultural perspective.

Syllabus

Syllabus – Fall 2024

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This is the most recent syllabus for this course

Faculty

Anita Maškova

Faculty

M.A. (Dansk og Performance Design, Roskilde University, 2020). Ph.d.-fellow, Roskilde University, 2020-present. Art Educator, Statens Museum for Kunst, 2016-2020. Mediator of literature, Karen Blixen Museet, 2016-2018. With DIS since 2024.

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