General Information About the Department

Department Outcomes

Applicable to majors and minors:

Students will have a basic knowledge of the history of the Nordic countries and the distinctiveness of Nordic culture as reflected in literature and the arts.

  1. Students will be aware of important issues and concerns in the Nordic countries today.
  2. Students will learn to appreciate the Nordic area as a multicultural and multiethnic area and recognize its links with the rest of the world.
  3. Students, while acquiring good reading, writing and speaking skills in Swedish ( in exceptional cases another Nordic language), will learn to understand that foreign language study, per se, is a cornerstone of a liberal arts education.
  4. Students, through campus courses, internships and experiences in a Nordic country, will receive a base for comparative value judgements about social systems, the use of environment, public and private morality, and religious traditions.
  5. Students, in the department's many courses which focus on critical thinking and on improving writing and communication skills, will become prepared for a variety of occupational fields.

Applicable to the general student taking courses in the department

  1. Students will learn to appreciate the Nordic area as a multicultural and multi-ethnic area and recognize its links with the rest of the world.
  2. Students will be aware of important issues and concerns in the Nordic countries today.
  3. Students will receive a base for comparative value judgements about social systems, the use of environment, public and private morality, and religious traditions.
  4. Students, in the department's many courses which focus on critical thinking and on improving writing and communication skills, will become prepared for a variety of occupational fields.
  5. Students who are enrolled in the department's language courses will learn to understand that foreign language study, per se, is a cornerstone of a liberal arts education.

International Dimensions

Over the years, the department has established many contacts with the Nordic institutions and scholars. We have had particularly good connections with Swedish institutions--direct exchanges with the University of Uppsala and Mora Folk högskola--because of the College's ties with Sweden, but we have good contacts in the other Nordic countries as well, particularly Norway.

In the last ten years, well over 100 students have studied for one semester or a whole academic year in Scandinavia. Several students have taken summer or January term courses there.

More useful information about International Education:

Library Holdings

It is difficult to give an exact number of titles pertaining to Scandinavia because Scandinavian materials are represented throughout the entire library collection. Using only disciplines as a guideline, the following numbers can be arrived at for three major areas: History (DN)--1685 volumes; Fiction (PT)--3956; Scandinavian in the US (E)--169. There are 19 Scandinavian periodicals and 5 newspapers. Library also offer a wide range of video programs about Scandinavia.

Useful links to the library for more information:

Department Seminar Program

OUT OF SCANDINAVIA artist-in-residence program brings noted Scandinavian artists and writers to campus for a week-long residency. Since 1989, the following artists and writers have visited Gustavus under the auspices of this program: Nils-Aslak Valekeapaa (1989), Herbjorg Wassmo (1990), Ulla-Lena Lundberg (1991), Per Olov Enquist (1992), Lars Lofgren (1994), Max von Sydow (1995), Theodor Kallifatides (1996) and Einar Kárason (1997)

Student Groups & Activities

  • Swedish House
  • The Viking Society meets every Thursday evening at 9 p.m. in the Swedish House.
  • The Sauna Society (currently not active- waiting to be fired up)

Department Work Study

The department employs 4-7 work-study students every year. Generally, a few of them are native speakers of Swedish (exchange students); the other are upper-classmen majors and minors. Work assignments include small-group language instruction, tutoring, minor research and clerical jobs.

Department Assessment Plan

Course-imbedded Assessments.

All students taking courses in the department are assessed through projects and exams.

Self-assessment.

The syllabi for all courses taught in the department will include a list of the Department Outcomes as well as Course Outcomes. With this list as a guide, student self-assessment is carried out in the following way: All students, at the conclusion of a particular course, address, in writing, the points in the list of Department and Course Outcomes relevant to the course they have just completed. All students--majors and non-majors--who study for a semester or more in a Nordic country under the department's auspices are required to keep a journal. In this journal, in which the entries must be written at different times during the student's period abroad and not just at the very end, students must address points 2-5 in the list of Department Outcomes ( list applicable to majors and minors).

Majors are strongly encouraged to compile portfolios. These would include:

  • final examinations for courses in the department
  • papers written for the department's courses or courses taken at Nordic institutions
  • summaries of projects
  • journals written while abroad
  • statements, written after the completion of each course in the department, which address relevant points in the list of Department and Course Outcomes.

Each student is responsible for compiling and maintaining her/his portfolio; the portfolio is the student's property, but the department faculty may have access to it with the student's permission; although the portfolio will not be graded, a well organized and maintained portfolio will be very useful to each student in her/his attempts to integrate knowledge acquired in the department's different courses.

Colloquium and Final Assessment.

There will be a Scandinavian Studies Department Colloquium in April or May every year for the department's majors/minors, faculty and invited guests. This colloquium will primarily recognize senior majors and their academic accomplishments within the department, but it will also be a forum allowing first-year, sophomore and junior majors and minors to learn from graduating seniors and to prepare them for their final college year(s).

Graduating seniors have three options as to how they prepare themselves for and perform their part of the Colloquium:

  • they may read/discuss papers written for on-campus classes or while studying abroad or present research projects they have conducted;
  • they may present excerpts from a journal written while abroad and address both the value of study abroad, in general, and in Scandinavia, in particular. The presentation may incorporate cross- cultural comparisons and discussion of culture and reentry shock and address relevant points from the list of department outcomes;
  • they may present a comprehensive narrative summary statement which examines: knowledge gained, skills acquired, and beliefs and values encountered in campus courses, study abroad programs, and work experiences sponsored by the department. The Department Outcome list will serve as a guideline when preparing this statement.

It is strongly recommended that all majors write summary statements (as outlined under Cc) and distribute them to department faculty and all majors and minors. These statements would provide the department's first year students, sophomores and juniors with valuable information about the department and its programs. These summary statements would be intended to stimulate discussions about future course-work and help students in planning ways of using Scandinavian Studies as a stepping-stone toward future career choices.