About this course
The goal of this course is to ensure you do not feel linguistically isolated while studying in Sweden. You learn enough Swedish to understand what is going on around you in your daily life, while also becoming familiar with Swedish history and culture. The course includes topics on the burning issues of contemporary Sweden so that you can have interesting conversations with the locals and increase your ability to reflect on your cross-cultural experience living in Sweden.
Additional Swedish language courses available
Higher level language courses will be offered based on your previous academic background in the language.
Syllabus
Syllabus note
Several sections of this course run each semester. Above is a sample syllabus that offers a good example of what they are like. You will gain access to your final syllabus for your course section on the Tuesday before your semester.
Faculty
Djina Wilk
FacultyM.A. in Germanic Languages and Literature, Washington University of St. Louis, graduation year 2007. Also Swedish official teaching qualification (subject: languages) from Stockholm University and Stockholm Lärarhögskola, graduation year 2009. Current self-employed at Bee Swedish, a private language business, since February 2016. Former Education Manager and also teacher in English at Komvux, Folkuniversitetet, Stockholm. Also member of the board at Folkuniversitetet Stockholm. Has been teaching Swedish as a foreign language since 2004, for example at Internationella Skolorna Düsseldorf, Germany and also Folkuniversitetet, Stockholm. With DIS since 2016.
Kim Bergqvist
FacultyPhD Candidate in History, Department of History, Stockholm University. MA (2010) and BA (2008) Stockholm University. Teaches medieval history at Stockholm University since 2012. Visiting Scholar to Columbia University (2016), Cornell University (2014), and the University of Navarra, Pamplona (2012–13). Publications have appeared in The Medieval Chronicle and Collegium Medievale. Areas of specialization: medieval Scandinavia; medieval Iberia; comparative history; medieval literature, genre and fiction; political culture; gender history; the history of emotions. With DIS since 2018.
Staffan Bengtsson
FacultyPh.D. in Aesthetics, Department of Philosophy, Uppsala University, 2004. Postdoctoral fellow at the School of Culture and Education, Södertörn University. Researcher at Swedish Academy and Department of Literature, Uppsala university, since 2011. Research focus: Swedish, German and French literature, Critical Thinking, Enlightenment and Romanticism. With DIS since 2020.
Lena Norrman
FacultyPh.D., Older Germanic Languages and Literatures, Harvard University, 2006. Senior Lecturer in Swedish in the department of German, Scandinavian and Dutch at the University of Minnesota since 2005. The role of women in medieval Scandinavia is the focus of Dr. Norrman’s research, with special emphasis on the use of weaving as a means of communication. She is the author of Viking Women: Narrative Roles in Woven Tapestries (2008). She has also published articles on women, storytelling and weaving in Viking Age Scandinavia and Classical Greece. With DIS from 2018.
Andrea Simonelli
FacultyB.A. in Modern Languages and Literature (English, Russian and Scandinavian Languages, Milano University, 2009). M. Sc. in Pedagogy (Stockholm Univerity, 2020). Business Developer, ELVIRA Kunskapsutveckling, 2022-2024. Developer of “Ukraine Compentece Program” (funded by the European Social Fund). Goal: ensure the successful integration of Ukraine refugees into Swedish society. Language teacher, ABF Komvux, Stockholm, 2018-2022, teaching Swedish to adults. Language Teacher, Sigtuna Kommun, 2017-2018. With DIS since 2024.