SCAND 100 A Wi 26: Introduction To Scandinavian Culture
Instructor
Andrew Nestingen (he/him)
Contact: Canvas Mail Preferred (but also akn@uw.edu) or (206)694-9100 (m). If you text me, please let me know who you are and that you're in SCAND 100, so I'm sure to see your message.
Office: Raitt Hall 305Z
Office Hrs: Wed. 1:30-2:30PM, Thurs., 11AM-12PM, or by appt.
Introduction
SCAND 100: Introduction to Scandinavian Culture provides an introductory survey of the Nordic-Baltic region through a sampling of important cultural texts. As a 100-level course, our pace is reasonable -- 30-50 pages of reading a week, more or less, some films, a play and a novel. (The play and the novel might include a few more pages, but you'll have more time to read). After the class, you'll be able to talk about key moments in the history of the Nordic-Baltic region (the Vikings!), some important authors and works, and some recurrent meaningful cultural loggerheads -- for example, the individual vs. the state.
Learning Goals
- Be able to identify the five Nordic and three Baltic countries and discuss with reference to literature, cinema, and scholarship selected key issues in their historical and contemporary culture;
- Be able to raise informed, critical questions about contemporary and historical Nordic and Baltic culture.
Assignments
Participation: You should come to class with the assigned reading completed. I strongly encourage you to take notes on the readings, which you can draw upon while discussing the assigned texts in small groups and with the whole class. Active participants and leaders in discussion will earn high grades for participation. But my experience is that students come to the class from many perspectives and participate in various, valuable ways. I take the variety of participation seriously and include it in evaluating your participation. That is why I ask for your self-evaluation as an important data point in determining your final participation grade. If you prefer to shop on Amazon during class, check your Instagram, or keep your airpods in and listen to your favorite podcast, don't bother. It's an insult to your peers and to me. Please do those things somewhere besides class. I will notice, make a note of it, and take it into consideration in assessing your participation grade. (15% of final grade)
In-Class Writing: There will be a weekly in-class writing assignment of approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Please bring paper and pen to class to be prepared to complete the writing assignment. The assignment will build on in-class discussion, to make discussion more meaningful and to key it to student work. These assignments are graded Credit / No-Credit. Your two lowest scores on the 8 possible in-class writings will be dropped. That means that if you miss class on the day of an assignment, you will not be affected negatively -- within reasonable limits. No exceptions. (30% of final grade)
Quizzes: There are four quizzes for the course -- two multiple-choice and two short-answer quizzes. The multiple-choice quizzes will ask factual and interpretive questions about the readings and our in-class discussions. The short-answer quizzes will ask you to respond to five short-answer interpretive questions. Each quiz is worth ten points. The quizzes are online, time limited, and open book. Lowest score of four is dropped. This also allows you to miss one quiz. No make-ups for any reason. (20% of final grade)
Final Exam: The final exam is scheduled by the UW for Thurs., December 12th, 4:30-6:20PM. It will include 20 multiple-choice questions (1 pt. each), 10 short-answer questions (2 pts. each), and and one essay question (30 pts) -- you'll be allowed to select one question from a menu of three possible questions. The essay question will be similar to the in-class writing assignments. (30 points). The final is worth 70 points. You must be present for the final exam. No notes, no devices. (35% of final grade)
Extra Credit:
Completing all assignments successfully, that is, all in-class writings and quizzes will result in an award of 2 points (1%) to your final grade. In addition, for 2 points (1%), you may complete a visit to the National Nordic Museum in Ballard (free admission of first Thursday of Month) and write up a 1-page critical response of the museum (What did you see? What did you think of it?).
Grade Scheme
- Participation 15%
- In-Class Writing 30%
- Quizzes 20%
- Final Exam 35%
Required Books
Ibsen, Henrik, The Wild Duck (1884).
Samuelsson, Marcus, Yes, Chef (2012)
Itäranta, Emmi, Memory of Water (2014)
Books are available at the University Bookstore -- a student co-op -- where you are encouraged to purchase them.
All readings that are not part of the books assigned for the course are available as linked readings or PDFs on the Canvas course webpage. If you have any challenges accessing the course materials, please email me at akn@uw.edu.
Course Policies
Access and Accommodation: Your personal learning experience in this class is very important to me. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please communicate your approved accommodations to me at your earliest convenience so I can accommodate your needs in this course. If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), you are welcome to contact DRS at 206-543-8924 or uwdrs@uw.edu or disability.uw.edu. Links to an external site.DRS offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities and/or temporary health conditions. Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you, me, and DRS. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law.
Academic Integrity: The University of Washington is a community dedicated to learning. Ethical expectations of students belonging to the community are defined in the student conduct code. Plagiarism, cheating, and disruptive behavior in class violate the code. Violation of the code in connection with the course will result in referral to the College of Arts & Sciences Academic Integrity Office for investigation. The university provides guidance about how to avoid plagiarism.
All work submitted for this course must be yours. If you wish to use others’ work in completing the assigned papers, you must cite that work in text and in your bibliography. That means, if you use words that you have not chosen yourself, you should indicate you are doing so by placing the borrowed material in quotation marks and providing the source of the borrowed words in the bibliography. You may use library or online sources, including generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, when working on assignments, but you must cite such usages in text and in your bibliography. Uncited use of generative AI will trigger an inquiry by me. If I am able to determine that you used AI without citation, I reserve the right to give you a failing grade for the assignment. I also reserve the right to forward your case on to the Student Conduct Office.
The assignments in this class have been designed to challenge you to develop creativity, critical-thinking, and problem-solving skills. Using AI technology will limit your capacity to develop these skills and to meet the learning goals of this course.
If you have any questions about what constitutes academic integrity in this course or at the University of Washington, please feel free to contact me to discuss your questions.
Religious Accommodation: Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy. Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form.
Land Acknowledgement: We recognize that the University of Washington stands on the lands and waters of the Coast Salish Peoples - the Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Suquamish, and Tulalip.
Inclusive Language: I use the pronouns he/him. In introducing themselves to the class, students may choose to indicate the pronouns they use. My expectation is that all class members will honor others in the class by referring to them with their preferred pronouns.
Final Exam: 8:30-10:20 a.m., Thursday, Mar 19, 2026, MGH 389
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|