About this course

Why are the TV series, movies, and crime fiction of Scandinavia so appealing? Is it the terse language, the Nordic landscape? Is it that the protagonists are anti-heroes, feminists, or outsiders? In the novels and on the screen, secrets are exposed and the postcard perfection of the Scandinavian welfare state is revealed to have a dark side. We study novels and TV series to encircle the phenomenon of Nordic Noir and discuss how these mirror Scandinavian society today.

Syllabus

Spring 2026

This is the most recent syllabus for this course

Go to syllabus

Faculty

Janis Granger

Ph.D. (Scandinavian Studies, UC Berkeley, 1982). M.A. (Scandinavian Studies, UCLA, 1976). Lecturer in Danish, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1982-1984. With DIS Copenhagen since 1984.

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