Courses

Advanced introduction to medieval Icelandic saga with readings in the family, outlaw, skald, and legendary sagas as well as the main scholarly approaches to this unique literature. Topics include honor, blood feud, fate, sexuality/gender, oral composition, and legend. Taught in English. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: literature and the arts.

Introduces the rich tradition of Scandinavian oral narrative. Looks at relationships between the various genres of oral narrative and their historical, social, and cultural contexts. Genres studied may include ballad, fairy tale, rural legend, and urban legend. Explores various interpretive methodologies. Taught in English. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: literature and the arts.

Examines Nordic colonial enterprise and the relationship between the Scandinavian center and colonial peripheries from the Arctic to the Caribbean, Africa, and India. Studies colonial and postcolonial cultures, and postcolonial criticism and theory. Taught in English. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: human diversity.

Examines the role and status of women and marginalized social classes in the Nordic countries, whose societies have been heralded as egalitarian models since the twentieth century. Texts include a variety of media, from literature to sociological works to artifacts of political and popular culture. Taught in English. Same as WMST 3208. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: human diversity.

Advanced introduction to contemporary Nordic literature and film. Readings/screenings of recent translated Nordic texts and films, presenting a broad spectrum of contemporary issues, along with current critique and theoretical approaches. Topics: history, culture, translation, gender/sexuality, nationalidentity, minority issues, etc. Taught in English.

Surveys Russian cinema in historical and cultural context from early 20th century to the present. Taught in English. Prereq., RUSS 2221 or FILM 1502. Same as FILM 3211. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: literature and the arts.

Examines forms, genres and social functions of laughter in Slavic cultures (Russian, Polish, Czech, Serbian, and others). Analysis of the carnivalesque, grotesque, and irony in the works of Gogol, Chapek, Hashek, Lem, Kundera, Gombrowicz, Kharms, Zoshchenko, Ilf and Petrov, Kusturica, Kieslewsky, and other authors; also provides an introduction to literature and film of Eastern Europe. Taught in English.

Examines the relationship between politics, economics, aesthetics, and the way moral and social issues are treated in noteworthy Russian films of the last 20 years. Taught in English. Same as FILM 3301.

Surveys the major works of 20th century central and central east European film and literature. Examines cultural production in the non-imperial countries and non-national languages of the region including Yiddish, Belarusian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish and Romanian, among others. Traces the rise of nationalism over the course of the century from the age of empires through the "Cold War." Taught in English. Same as JWST 3401.

Provides insight into the German-Jewish identity through essays, autobiographies, fiction, and journalism from the Enlightenment to the post-Holocaust period. Examines the religious and social conflicts that typify the history of Jewish existence in German-speaking lands during the modern epoch. Taught in English. Same as JWST 3501. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: human diversity.

Features the writings of Germany's major literary figures from 1749 to 1832. Special attention is paid to the formation of literary periods, genres, aesthetic, and socio-historical developments contributing to the birth of modernism in German intellectual history and literature. Taught in English. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: literature and the arts.

History and theory of Weimar and Nazi film with sociocultural emphasis. Taught in English. Same as FILM 3503.

A comparative analysis of key issues in German culture as they are represented in film and other media, e.g., technology, architecture, women, and the Holocaust. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours when topic varies. Taught in English. Same as FILM 3504.

Examines Enlightenment notions of reason, humanity, and social progress. Topics include 18th century views on government, science, education, religion, slavery, and gender roles. Taught in English. Same as HUMN 3505. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: ideals and values.

Examines the many contributions of Scandinavian dramatists to world theater from the 18th century to the present. With emphasis on Holberg, Bjornson, Ibsen, Strindberg, and Bjorneboe, surveys Enlightenment comedy, national romanticism, realism, naturalism, symbolism, expressionism, and Brechtian epic theater. Taught in English. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: literature and the arts.

Introduces issues in German society through film during the Cold War. Focus on East and West Germany, though some other German language films may be included. Emphasis is on reading films in their social, historical, and political contexts. Taught in English. Same as FILM 3513.

Introduces post-1989 German culture through film. The course emphasizes films in their socio-historical contexts and explores developments in German culture during and after the unification. Taught in English. Same as FILM 3514.

Examines topics in the cultures of German-speaking central Europe. Contact the departmental office for specific course offerings. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours when topic varies. Prereq., GRMN 3020 or equivalent, or instructor consent.

Explores writing by German/Austrian women from 1945 to the present, with special attention to the representation of the Holocaust, the continuation of avant-garde traditions, innovations in literary form, and feminism. Visual arts, film, and feminist theory will also be considered in their relation to literature. Taught in English. Same as WMST 3601. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: human diversity.

Russian culture from the ninth century to the present. Focuses on interdisciplinary exploration of literature, folklore, art, architecture, and music through study in St. Petersburg. Offered abroad only. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: historical context.

Explores contemporary Slavic and American folk practices and investigates the possible origins and consequences of such practices. Focuses upon the value systems these practices represent, and ways that core values help to define identities and cultures. Topics include folk religion, magic, healing, life cycle and calendar rituals and folk music. Taught in English. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: ideals and values.

Surveys the major theoretical concepts and literary genres of the Dada and Surrealist movements. Topics include Dada performance and cabaret, the manifesto, montage, the ready made, the Surrealist novel, colonialism and the avant-garde, and literary and philosophical precursors to the avant-garde. Taught in English. Same as HUMN 3702. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: literature and the arts.

Examines early 20th century German culture, with emphasis on the Weimar Republic (1918-1933) in light of contemporaneous political discussions. The course presents modern art and literature (Expressionism, Dada, Brecht's epic theater) and architecture and design (Bauhaus, Werkbund) as well as political movements of women, sexual minorities, and Berlin's Jewish communities. Taught in English. GRMN 3802 and HUMN 3802 are the same course. Offered through CU Study Abroad Program. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: literature and the arts.

Prereqs., HEBR 1010, 1020, 2110, and 2120.

Prereqs., HEBR 1010, 1020, 2110, 2120, and 3840.