PetraBroomans.net

Courses

2024

Connecting Cultures: Sustainability, Travel, Translation & Migration
(together with Jeanette den Toonder and the ENLIGHT colleagues at University of the Basque Country, University of Galway and the University of Tartu
See: Connecting Cultures: Sustainability, Travel, Translation & Migration (enlight-eu.org)

2020-2021

Theories of Gender and Intersectionality (university minor)
(together with Emily Davis)
This course offers an overview of the historical development of Gender and Diversity Studies as a discipline and introduces students to the key concepts and theories in this field. It begins with conceptualisations of a distinction between sex and gender and several constructivist theories about the categories of 'women' and 'men'. Particular emphasis is placed on the collapse of these binary categories as well as their intersection with other categories of difference such as, for example, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, religion and dis/ability. The
aim of the course is to introduce students to both historically significant theories that defined the field of gender studies and major contemporary developments in the form of intersectionality, trans* and Indigenous methodologies. Throughout the course, students read
major critical articles and chapters in gender studies and discuss them together. This course will provide students with the necessary theoretical foundation to help them conceptualize their thinking about gender and diversity.
Upon successful completion of the course unit, students are able to:
- explain key developments, theories, and concepts in the fields of gender and intersectionality studies;
- read, evaluate and discuss academic literature about theories in gender and diversity studies;
- critically reflect on their own position in the field of gender and diversity studies, particularly in relation to their own discipline;
- have constructive discussions with others while respecting gender and diversity;
- critically review the (dis)advantages of various theoretical approaches in gender studies, in particular in relation to their own field of study.

Supervision ETC/Swedish BA and MA Thesis

2019-2020

Cultural Transfer History. Theory, Method and Tools - Master Course (in Swedish)
Inzicht in de mechanismen van culturele transfer, inzicht in het schrijven van biografieën/literatuurhistorische teksten en de literatuur sociologie; training in zelfstandigonderzoek m.b.v. een zelf op te zetten casus; het leren verwoorden van reflectie op taal- en cultuurverschillen en gender; aanscherping van zowel mondelinge als schriftelijke presentatievaardigheden.
In deze module wordt onderzoek gedaan naar de geschiedenis van de cultuurbemiddeling. Na een introductie in cultural transfer studies en de bestudering van de meest relevante theorieën en methoden op het gebied van de geschiedschrijving van de cultuurbemiddeling, staan de volgende vragen centraal: hoe dient een geschiedenis van de cultuurbemiddeling samengesteld worden? Zijn de begrippen 'centrum' en 'periferie' van belang? Kan de Europese geschiedenis van de cultuurbemiddeling vergeleken worden met die van andere gebieden in de wereld? Verschillende benaderingswijzen zullen worden behandeld, zo zal tevens de rol van gender worden onderzocht. Verschillende instrumenten zoals (digitale) vertaalbibliografieën, digitale vertaalgeschiedenissen en digitale vertalers lexica worden getest en geëvalueerd. De rol van nieuwe media (literaire tijdschriften en blogs op het inernet etc) zal eveneens worden onderzocht.

Mannen en vrouwen van betekenis. Celebrity Studies - Master Course
The journal 'Mannen en vrouwen van betekenis in onze dagen' (1870-1912) includes articles on famous authors, kings, politicians and philosophers a.o. from the Netherlands and abroad. Concerning important foreign writers the journal played a mediating role. Some authors such as Henrik Ibsen and Selma Lagerlöf had a cult status already during their lifetime, others got famous posthumously (Edgar Allan Poe). In the twentieth first century writers such as Ove Knausgård, J.K. Rowling and John Williams, who after his death got rediscovered with the novel Stoner, became also celebrities. In literary studies celebrities became recently an important subject of study (see a.o. Marshall, Moran, Van Krieken, Forslid & Ohlsson). One could speak of a 'return of the author'. In this module we will analyze which role journals and biographies played around 1900 and in our time in mediating and the making of celebrities. The function of the new media (literary journals and blogs on the internet etc.) will be investigated as well.

(Post-)Migrant Writing, Minority Cultures and Cultural Transfer - Master Course (together with Jeanette den Toonder and Stella Linn)
This course unit focuses on the development of the following competences, as stated in the degree profile:

1. Apply knowledge and competences when critically evaluating information and when identifying and analysing complex research questions.
2. Show creativity and originality when formulating arguments based on secondary sources.
3. Communicate accurately the results of the research.
4. Knowledge and understanding of the history and canon of migrant literature and selected aspects of minority cultures.
5. Apply terminology with regard to literary research.
6. Knowledge and understanding of literary and historical perspectives, focusing on minority cultures and literatures.

Learning outcomes of the course unit:
The student will have acquired an understanding of the theoretical background of postcolonialism, transculturality, globalization, subalternity and hybridity, minority languages, migration studies and national identity. Students acquire research skills and competences in cultural history, and comparative text analysis.
The student is demonstrably able to hold an oral presentation comprising a clearly formulated question, an unambiguous argument and a relevant conclusion about a limited topic, based on the study and analysis of a variety of opinions found in secondary literature.

In this course we propose to examine the theory of cultural transfer in relation to migrant writing and the notion of minority cultures. We are interested in the role of migrant and minority writers as cultural transmitters and bridge builders between cultures. We will contextualize literature of migrant authors and 'guest workers' that for political and/or economical reasons have migrated to or within Europe or Canada. We will also investigate to what extent literature of historical minorities can be contextualized in the same way. In order to define the notion of migrant and minority cultures and to have a critical tool-set ready, we will discuss theoretical texts that focus on different methodological approaches and concepts such as post-colonialism, hybridity, transculturality, subalternity, orientalism, among others. Particular attention will be paid to the position of young post-migrant writers in the literary field, and to literary and media discourse regarding urban youths and street culture values. We will examine texts written by authors that pinpoint cultural minorities in the postcolonial era mainly focusing on Canadian, French and Scandinavian culture. As the theoretical categories partially overlap, the course will cover a variety of literary landscapes. It will be based on critical literature about cultural identity, taking into account migrant and minority writers who express themselves in mixed or multi-ethnic languages, especially in Canada (Quebec) as well as in Northern and Southern European areas such as France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and the United Kingdom.

Supervision ETC/Swedish MA Thesis

Literature and Culture 4a: Gendering Literature and Culture - Bachelor Course (together with Jeanette den Toonder).
This course introduces students to relevant theories and methods in the field of gender studies focusing on literature and literary history in the 20th and 21st centuries. After an introduction into the history and development of gender studies in general and within the field of literary theory, theoretical key texts will be discussed. The course addresses questions such as the following: Which factors and relations determine gender in humanities? How is gender reflected in literary texts? Is there a difference between highbrow literature and lowbrow literature? How are LGBT persons described in cultural-historical texts such as (auto)biographies, documentaries and (YouTube)blogs, vlogs/movies? Does gender matter in migrant and minority writing? In oral and written course assignments students will apply a gendered perspective on literary and cultural-historical texts and rewrite selected Wikipedia texts.
Upon completion of this course, students will have acquired knowledge and understanding of gender issues in literature, literary history and cultural-historical texts and their context. They will also have developed their analytical and critical skills within the domain of general gender theories and those related to literary studies.

Theories of Gender and Intersectionality (university minor)
(together with Jeanette den Toonder)
This course offers an overview of the historical development of Gender and Diversity Studies as a discipline and introduces students to the key concepts and theories in this field. It begins with conceptualisations of a distinction between sex and gender and several constructivist theories about the categories of 'women' and 'men'. Particular emphasis is placed on the collapse of these binary categories as well as their intersection with other categories of difference such as, for example, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, religion and dis/ability. The
aim of the course is to introduce students to both historically significant theories that defined the field of gender studies and major contemporary developments in the form of intersectionality, trans* and Indigenous methodologies. Throughout the course, students read
major critical articles and chapters in gender studies and discuss them together. This course will provide students with the necessary theoretical foundation to help them conceptualize their thinking about gender and diversity.
Upon successful completion of the course unit, students are able to:
- explain key developments, theories, and concepts in the fields of gender and intersectionality studies;
- read, evaluate and discuss academic literature about theories in gender and diversity studies;
- critically reflect on their own position in the field of gender and diversity studies, particularly in relation to their own discipline;
- have constructive discussions with others while respecting gender and diversity;
- critically review the (dis)advantages of various theoretical approaches in gender studies, in particular in relation to their own field of study.

L&C 3: Applied Sociology of Literature
(together with Konstantin Mierau and Judith Jansma)
Literature, and fictional imagination in particular, plays an important role in the shaping of social processes. By way of fictional imagination, social scripts for 'normal' and 'deviant' behavior are introduced into a shared consciousness. Notions such 'criminal', 'mentally ill' and 'immoral' are never fixed; they are constantly reiterated and renegotiated in literary representations of society. In fictional narrative 'possible worlds' are created in which alternative designs for shared values and individual life paths are simulated and valorized. This role of literature raises several research questions that will be discussed during this course: how do literature and fictional narrative affect societal debates on deviant behavior? How can literature and fictional narrative shape our plans for the place of the 'abnormal' and how does this construction relate to the notion of the 'foreign'? How can we study and measure these effects? Particular attention will be paid to the role of literature in shaping the debate on criminality and deviation in the European realm, for example in the criminalization of the immigrant. In the course, students will apply methodologies for the empirical study of the effects of literature in a variety of forms: debates, presentations and written assignments.
Upon completion of this course, students will have learned to apply the theoretical knowledge acquired in 'Introduction to Sociology of Literature I & II" in the development of research projects for the study of the relationship between literature and society; they will also acquire the critical skills to reflect on the choice of theoretical tools for their future research projects.

Scandinavian Literature in 20th Century - Bachelor Course
The aim of this course is providing students with an understanding of the (history of) the literature within the Scandinavian language area and the ability to place texts in their historical and cultural-historical context. This course will furthermore address the position of the Scandinavian literature in a European context and the development of the literary contacts between Scandinavia and other European countries, in particular the Dutch language area. Topics will furthermore be illustrated by means of research assignments relating to the Scandinavian cultural area.

Sverige i förvandling - Bachelor Course (tillsammans med Ester Jiresch och Anja Schüppert)
I denna kurs kommer vi att behandla språkliga, politiska och litterära milstolpar i Sverige under tiderna. Studenterna läser, diskuterar och beskriver texter ur fyra perioder: Från Forntiden till tidigmodern tid, Upplysningen och nationalismens tid, Folkhemmets tid och Vida världens tid. Viktiga händelser belysas utifrån de tre profilernas perspektiv: språk och samhälle, politik och samhälle, litteratur och kultur.

I litteraturdelen i 'Vida världens tid' kommer vi även att jobba med studenter vid andra universitet inom ramen av OIE-projekt.

Swedish Advanced Proficiency (C1) - bachelor course
Learning outcomes: Acquisition of knowledge and insight regarding recent linguistic, political and cultural developments in the Swedish-speaking area. The ability to collect, select and communicate relevant information, able to interpret relevant data in the target language.
Overview: The module aims to follow, improve and establish the academic development and language skills of students through assignments and Skype interviews. This makes this module a core component of the learning track in the field of language proficiency development and the target language related content and academic development.

Supervision Swedish BA Thesis

The thesis is a report of academic research into a defined topic with a defined research goal. The results of the research are presented in a well-structured and coherently argued thesis. The thesis must show that the student is able to refer to and assess other scholarly works. It must be written in the student's main subject language, with a summary in Dutch, and may comprise no more than 30 pages

2018-2019

Images of Minorities in Swedish Crime Fiction - Master Course (in Swedish)
This course introduces students to the field of imagology and to prominent theories and methods within the research on images of minorities in fiction. After an introduction to the political and social position of minorities in Sweden and the genre of crime fiction, we will address questions such as: How do writers depict minorities as the Sámi and the Meänkieli speaking Tornedalians in a popular genre such as crime fiction?
The success of the investigations is often linked to whether or not the investigator belongs to the community and if he/she has sufficient language skills of the minority language. In the crime novels play, besides language, also ethnicity and gender a role.

Supervision ETC/Swedish MA Thesis

Supervision Swedish BA Thesis

2017-2018

University of Groningen

European Artist's Colonies 1870-1910 - Master Course
This seminar examines how the international artists' colonies functioned as places of cultural exchange and mediation during Europe's Modern Breakthrough and Fin de Siècle periods. Different artistic expressions of European culture (literature, art, music, film, etc.) came into contact with each and were passed on in these colonies. Who met in these artists' colonies? What were their networks? How were artists from different disciplines inspired by each other's work? What relationships can be found between the various works of art produced during this period? How much attention has this international exchange of inspiration and artistic collaboration received (for example in exhibitions, biographies, etc.)? How, for example, was the literature of the period represented by painters and how was painting portrayed in the literary works? These are but a few of the questions discussed in this research course unit, whereby the starting point will always be a public meeting place of artists (cafes or artists' colonies such as Vesterbro/Westerbro, Skagen, The Hague, Louisiana, Berlin, Paris, Rome and Vienna). The triangles of Baxandall (Triangle of re-enactment)will be used as illustration.

Supervision ETC/Swedish MA Thesis

Literature and Culture 4a: Gendering Literature and Culture - Bachelor Course (together with Jeanette den Toonder).
This course introduces students to relevant theories and methods in the field of gender studies focusing on literature and literary history in the 20th and 21st centuries. After an introduction into the history and development of gender studies in general and within the field of literary theory, theoretical key texts will be discussed. The course addresses questions such as the following: Which factors and relations determine gender in humanities? How is gender reflected in literary texts? Is there a difference between highbrow literature and lowbrow literature? How are LGBT persons described in cultural-historical texts such as (auto)biographies, documentaries and (YouTube)blogs, vlogs/movies? Does gender matter in migrant and minority writing? In oral and written course assignments students will apply a gendered perspective on literary and cultural-historical texts and rewrite selected Wikipedia texts.
Upon completion of this course, students will have acquired knowledge and understanding of gender issues in literature, literary history and cultural-historical texts and their context. They will also have developed their analytical and critical skills within the domain of general gender theories and those related to literary studies.

Scandinavian Literature in 20th Century - Bachelor Course

The aim of this course is providing students with an understanding of the (history of) the literature within the Scandinavian language area and the ability to place texts in their historical and cultural-historical context. This course will furthermore address the position of the Scandinavian literature in a European context and the development of the literary contacts between Scandinavia and other European countries, in particular the Dutch language area. Topics will furthermore be illustrated by means of research assignments relating to the Scandinavian cultural area.

Drinking Song and Drama, Edda and Murder Story: Nordic Genres Conquer Europe / 'World Literature, Genres and Cultural Transfer'
The aim of this course is providing students with an understanding of a literary genre (e.g. literary travel writing, literary thrillers, drama or children's literature) of Scandinavian literature in a European and world literature context. Students will apply methods and techniques for analyzing literary texts. The importance of cultural transfer for the development of the literary contacts between Scandinavia and other countries, in particular the Dutch language area will be studied within the framework of the telecollaboration project 'World Literature, Genres and Cultural Transfer' together with students in China and Sweden. Topics will furthermore be illustrated by means of research assignments. These assignments are related to current research projects.
An understanding of the theory of the chosen genre in the field of Scandinavian literature within the context of European literature; the ability to write a research plan within the framework of the telecollaboration project 'World Literature, Genres and Cultural Transfer' together with students in China (Sichuan Univeristy) and Sweden (Uppsala University), conduct a small-scale research project and write a research report.

Supervision Swedish BA Thesis

2016-2017

University of Groningen

Homosexuality in Literature. Representation of Homosexuality in Literature from 1850 up to Now. Master Course (together with prof. Mary Kemperink and Jolanda van der Lee)
Dit college richt zich op de volgende leerdoelen:
1. het geven van inzicht in de moderne theorieën en methoden met betrekking tot het onderzoek naar de relatie tussen literatuur en wetenschap
2. het geven van inzicht in het tot stand komen van wetenschappelijke concepten zoals dat van homoseksualiteit 3. het leren deze theorieën toe te passen op een concreet onderzoek 4.
Het is staat zijn om actief deel te nemen aan een wetenschappelijk debat.
De relatie tussen literatuur en wetenschap is tweezijdig. Enerzijds representeert literatuur op haar eigen wijze wetenschappelijke theorieën en wetenschappelijke ontdekkingen. Anderzijds maken wetenschappers gebruik van culturele (wetenschappelijke) representaties en van (literaire) retorische middelen. Beide geldt meer in het bijzonder voor het concept van homoseksualiteit dat in de loop van de tweede helft van de negentiende eeuw werd ontwikkeld. Dit onderzoekcollege concentreert zich op de literaire representatie van homoseksualiteit in romans, toneelstukken en poëzie vanaf het midden van de negentiende eeuw tot heden. Relevante onderzoeksvragen in dit verband zijn die naar de literaire vertaling van medische concepten van homoseksualiteit, naar de daarmee verbonden ideologieën, naar de gehanteerde retorische middelen. Na een enkel inleidend colleges zal er theoretische en andere secundaire literatuur worden besproken en bediscussieerd. Studenten geven presentaties en formuleren hun individuele onderzoeksvragen en gaan dan aan de slag met hun eigen onderzoek. Dit laatste mondt uit in een geschreven werkstuk in de vorm van een wetenschappelijk artikel.

Supervision ETC/Swedish MA Thesis

Drinking Song and Drama, Edda and Murder Story: Nordic Genres Conquer Europe - Bachelor Course

The aim of this course is providing students with an understanding of a literary genre (e.g. literary travel writing, literary thrillers, drama or children's literature) of Scandinavian literature in a European context and also of the development of the literary contacts between Scandinavia and other European countries, in particular the Dutch language area. Students will apply methods and techniques for analyzing literary texts. Topics will furthermore be illustrated by means of research assignments relating to the Scandinavian cultural area.

Scandinavian Literature in 20th Century - Bachelor Course

Introduction Sociology of Literature I and II: Theory and Method - Bachelor Course (together with Vera Alexander and Ester Jiresch)
On completing this course students will have gained knowledge of the theories and methods in the field of sociology of literature and cultural mediation, literary translation, and literary criticism as well as insight into salient developments in these and related disciplines.
This course introduces students to prominent theories and methods in the interface between literary studies and sociology. Focusing on the study of the production and reception of European texts in the 20th and 21st centuries, the course addresses questions such as the following: Which factors and relations determine the place of literature in society and culture? Which players affect and direct the creation, dissemination and reception of a literary work (e.g. author, translator, reader)? Which institutions are involved in circulation and mediation of texts? In course assignments students will both analyse these interconnections and practically engage with being agents within a network of literary production.

Supervision Swedish BA Thesis

2015-2016

University of Groningen

Minority Literatures and Cultures - Master Course (together with Jeanette den Toonder)
This course unit focuses on the development of the following competences, as stated in the degree profile:

1. Apply knowledge and competences when critically evaluating information and when identifying and analysing complex research questions.
2. Show creativity and originality when formulating arguments based on secondary sources.
3. Communicate accurately the results of the research.
4. Knowledge and understanding of the history and canon of migrant literature and selected aspects of minority cultures.
5. Apply terminology with regard to literary research.
6. Knowledge and understanding of literary and historical perspectives, focusing on minority cultures and literatures.

Learning outcomes of the course unit:
The student will have acquired an understanding of the theoretical background of postcolonialism, transculturality, globalization, subalternity and hybridity, minority languages, migration studies and national identity. Students acquire research skills and competences in cultural history, and comparative text analysis.
The student is demonstrably able to hold an oral presentation comprising a clearly formulated question, an unambiguous argument and a relevant conclusion about a limited topic, based on the study and analysis of a variety of opinions found in secondary literature.

Supervision Swedish MA Thesis

Drinking Song and Drama, Edda and Murder Story: Nordic Genres Conquer Europe - Bachelor Course

Scandinavian Literature in 20th Century - Bachelor Course

Sociology of Literature: Production and Reception - Bachelor Course (together with Stella Linn)
This course unit revolves around the production and reception of literature. Who is involved in the creation of a literary work (author, printer, publisher) and which parties assign value to a literary transcript (mediator, literary critic, salons, libraries and scholarly institutes, readers)? Students are introduced to the main theories and terms from the history of books, as well as the reception theory.

Seminar: Living and Reading in Europe, 1200-Now - Bachelor Course
The central theme of this course unit is the relationship between 'European' literature and the national literary traditions that form the cultural-historical foundation of this literature. In a series of lectures, various European-wide themes will be discussed in chronological order on the basis of representative texts. During tutorials, the themes discussed in the lectures are related to European national and regional cultural and literary traditions, making use of primary and secondary sources and assignments on these. The theories discussed in the lectures are elaborated and applied during these tutorials.

Proficiency 4: Swedish - Bachelor Course

Students will attain near-native proficiency through self-study with the help of a reading list.

Translation Studies: Terminology and Documentation - Minor
This module trains students in various skills required for the translation of specialist texts. Insights from text studies and other fields will be used to explain the characteristics of specialist texts, working with terminology and specialist language and the collection and selection of relevant information. Students will learn search strategies and to evaluate the reliability of source material. Case studies will provide them with an understanding of selection strategies and the discriminatory use of tools such as specialist dictionaries, documentation, databases and software etc.

Supervision Swedish BA Thesis

University of Ghent

Guest lectures in master and bachelor courses.

2014-2015

University of Groningen

European Artist's Colonies 1870-1910 - Master Course
This seminar examines how the international artists' colonies functioned as places of cultural exchange and mediation during Europe's Modern Breakthrough and Fin de Siècle periods. Different artistic expressions of European culture (literature, art, music, film, etc.) came into contact with each and were passed on in these colonies. Who met in these artists' colonies? What were their networks? How were artists from different disciplines inspired by each other's work? What relationships can be found between the various works of art produced during this period? How much attention has this international exchange of inspiration and artistic collaboration received (for example in exhibitions, biographies, etc.)? How, for example, was the literature of the period represented by painters and how was painting portrayed in the literary works? These are but a few of the questions discussed in this research course unit, whereby the starting point will always be a public meeting place of artists (cafes or artists' colonies such as Vesterbro/Westerbro, Skagen, The Hague, Louisiana, Berlin, Paris, Rome and Vienna). The triangles of Baxandall (Triangle of re-enactment)will be used as illustration.

Mannen en vrouwen van betekenis. Celebrity Studies - Master Course

The journal 'Mannen en vrouwen van betekenis in onze dagen' (1870-1912) includes articles on famous authors, kings, politicians and philosophers a.o. from the Netherlands and abroad. Concerning important foreign writers the journal played a mediating role. Some authors such as Henrik Ibsen and Selma Lagerlöf had a cult status already during their lifetime, others got famous posthumously (Edgar Allan Poe). In the twentieth first century writers such as Ove Knausgård, J.K. Rowling and John Williams, who after his death got rediscovered with the novel Stoner, became also celebrities. In literary studies celebrities became recently an important subject of study (see a.o. Marshall, Moran, Van Krieken, Forslid & Ohlsson). One could speak of a 'return of the author'. In this module we will analyze which role journals and biographies played around 1900 and in our time in mediating and the making of celebrities. The function of the new media (literary journals and blogs on the internet etc.) will be investigated as well.

Shared literature. culture transfer in reading groups - Master Course (together with Jeanette den Toonder and Sandra van Voorst)
There are many reading groups in the Netherlands. These motivated readers have an active role in the transmission of culture through literature. This active role is the focus of this research seminar. The students will conduct research into the question of which literature readers are interested in reading groups, and why and how cultural transmission actually works in these groups.

After a brief familiarization with the general issues of reading culture and reading groups, the students will choose a specific topic within this field of research and formulate their own problem definition. They will conduct field research and talk to reading groups about their needs and motives, reading styles, the use of reading guides and many other aspects of cultural transmission and reading culture. They will work with Stichting Senia (400 reading group members), Groningen Library (100 reading circles) and Eemland Library (85 reading circles). These organizations will use the results from the research seminar when making new plans for reading circles and other literature-related activities.

Swedish BA Thesis

Drinking Song and Drama, Edda and Murder Story: Nordic Genres Conquer Europe - Bachelor Course

Scandinavian Literature in 20th Century - Bachelor Course

Sociology of Literature: Production and Reception - Bachelor Course
This course unit revolves around the production and reception of literature. Who is involved in the creation of a literary work (author, printer, publisher) and which parties assign value to a literary transcript (mediator, literary critic, salons, libraries and scholarly institutes, readers)? Students are introduced to the main theories and terms from the history of books, as well as the reception theory.

Proficiency 4: Swedish - Bachelor Course

Students will attain near-native proficiency through self-study with the help of a reading list.

University of Ghent

Guest lectures in master and bachelor courses.

2013-2014

University of Groningen:

Mailing and Social Networks in Europe before WWII - Master Course (together with Stella Linn)
This course unit focuses on the correspondence and networks of iconic figures in the art and literature of the first half of the twentieth century, a roaring age in which many political, social and artistic developments took place in Europe. Not only letters to friends, but also to publishers and other actors in the literary field, reveal how various authors acted as international cultural mediators, making the dynamics of the cultural transfer visible. Design: after several introductory lectures on cultural, socio-political and literary developments in this period, attention will be paid to several internationally influential authors. Editing and translating correspondence raise several interesting problems for the contemporary Dutch audience. Students will select, edit and translate several letters, give a presentation about this and discuss the interrelationships.

Sociology of Literature: Actors in the Center and Periphery - Master Course
This research workgroup will examine the positions and strategies of actors in the literary field. Actors may include groups of authors, publishing companies and institutions such as the Swedish Academy. Special attention will be paid to the position of small languages and minorities, as well as authors of less canonized genres, such as children's literature and popular literature. Which strategies do authors in these genres use to strengthen their position? Can writers' schools exert influence? Do small publishing companies operate differently from large ones in the literary field? Which means do authors in minority languages have?
How are the centre and the peripheral areas in the literary field determined? Other questions discussed include which role traditions and ideology play in exerting or increasing power in the literary field. The possible effects of literary awards and hypes will also be examined. The literature-sociological approach also includes research on the power of literary critics and readers - both individual readers and those organized in book clubs. Students will conduct independent research on a more or less independently chosen case study. The research results are presented in the final essay.

Scandinavian Research Seminar: Genres -Bachelor Course
In this module, students will gain an understanding of theory in the field of the chosen genre (e.g. literary travel writing, drama or poetry). Topics will be illustrated by means of research assignments relating to northern Europe. This tutorial will compile and analyse a corpus of a number of literary texts. Participating students will follow a research path individually or in a group and record the research process and results in a report. Nestor will be used in this module.

Scandinavian Proficiency 5: Swedish - Bachelor Course (together with Ester Jiresch)
Students will attain near-native proficiency through self-study with the help of a reading list.

2012/2013

University of Ghent:

Zweedse letterkunde IV - Bachelor Course

Seminarie Zweedse letterkunde -Bachelor Course

Scandinavian History and Culture - Bachelor Course

Scandinavische letterkunde: Bijzondere vraagstukken II - Master Course

University of Groningen:

Scandinavian Literature until 1950: Swedish - Bachelor Course (together with Ingeborg Kroon)
This module provides an understanding of the history of Swedish literature and teaches students to place texts in their historical and literary-historical context. The module covers the period from the Middle Ages to 1950 and is based on a history of Swedish literature and sample texts.
The module starts with an introduction on literary historiography in Scandinavia. In this course Nestor will be used.

Scandinavian Contemporary Literature - Bachelor Course
Gaining knowledge and understanding of the history of Scandinavian literature and acquiring skills in placing texts into their historical and literary-historical context. Gaining meta-level understanding of literary historiography as a genre and the Scandinavian tradition in this field. A number of literary-historical texts about Danish, Norwegian and Swedish literature and several sample texts will be used to cover the period from 1950 to the present day. In addition, students will analyse a number of literary texts and practice using different methodologies.

Cultural Transfer and Minority Languages: About Borders and Bridges - Master Course (together with Jeanette den Toonder)
How do minority languages survive? The preservation of language is very often accompanied by a lively culture and literature. There are many examples of minority languages that survive, even if they are surrounded by a majority language. The role and meaning of cultural transfer and the existence of a literary history of a particular minority language are elements of survival. Also, the representation of the minority culture in literature itself is an interesting phenomenon. Two interesting regions that will be considered as case studies in this course are Canada and Scandinavia. After an introduction offering a historical overview and a study of theory and terminology, the course will be contain of two parts: the first part will focus on the study of the literary text, presenting Canada as a case study; the second part will focus on the importance of institutions, cultural transfer and literary history. In this second part, Scandinavia will be presented as a case study, but parallels will be made with other minority languages.

Dynamic Women in Cultural Transmission: Scandinavia-Europe - Master Course - Master Course (together with Janke Klok)
The ability to place the texts and authors discussed within their tradition and the field of literary contacts and to connect them with sociocultural factors; in addition, the skill to subject the concept of canonicity to critical research and to analyse less well-known texts in that light; the ability when doing this to make use of secondary literature.
This module will conduct a study of dynamic women within the literary contacts between Scandinavia and Europe. Attention will also be paid to the various ways that (national) identity formation was of significance within these networks. With regard to the material, the emphasis lies on the transmission of culture between Scandinavia and Europe. Several reference periods will be chosen to work with, based among other things on the intensity of the exchange activities. From the middle of the eighteenth century, it is possible to observe a number of fluctuations in the field of literary contacts between Scandinavia and Europe. Periods of relatively little activity alternate with periods of more intensive cultural traffic. An interesting phenomenon within this field is formed by the so-called networks within which women were extremely active. Whereas in the early part of the period under examination the emphasis across Europe was on attending literary salons, in the second half of the nineteenth century the spectrum broadened with the arrival of the profession of literary translation. In both cases it is a question of examining the actual contacts that were established during journeys and literary contacts in the form of exchanges of letters, for example.

STRINDBERG 2012 - Special attention will be paid this year to Strindberg and women cultural transmitters.

European Artist's Colonies 1870-1910 - Master Course (together with Janke Klok)
This seminar examines how the international artists' colonies functioned as places of cultural exchange and mediation during Europe's Modern Breakthrough and Fin de Siècle periods. Different artistic expressions of European culture (literature, art, music, film, etc.) came into contact with each and were passed on in these colonies. Who met in these artists' colonies? What were their networks? How were artists from different disciplines inspired by each other's work? What relationships can be found between the various works of art produced during this period? How much attention has this international exchange of inspiration and artistic collaboration received (for example in exhibitions, biographies, etc.)? How, for example, was the literature of the period represented by painters and how was painting portrayed in the literary works? These are but a few of the questions discussed in this research course unit, whereby the starting point will always be a public meeting place of artists (cafes or artists' colonies such as Vesterbro/Westerbro, Skagen, The Hague, Louisiana, Berlin, Paris, Rome and Vienna). The triangles of Baxandall (Triangle of re-enactment)will be used as illustration.

2011/2012

University of Ghent:

Zweedse letterkunde IV - Bachelor Course

Scandinavische letterkunde: Bijzondere vraagstukken II - Master Course

Zweedse letterkunde III - Bachelor Course

Scandinavische letterkunde: Bijzondere vraagstukken I - Master Course

Seminarie Zweedse letterkunde -Bachelor Course

University of Groningen:

Scandinavian Proficiency 3: Swedish (B2/C1) - Bachelor Course (together with Ester Jiresch)
The module will pay attention to all skills: understanding, writing and speaking Swedish and conducting conversations in Swedish, learning fluently to read general and specialist text of a fairly high difficulty level, learning to use a nuanced vocabulary and idiom. These skills will be practised during the tutorials, where students will work individually, in pairs and in groups. Outside tutorial hours, students will work on assignments offered via Nestor. They must therefore have an active attitude in order to achieve the learning outcomes.
The study load is 2 ECTS for idiom and 3 ECTS for all the other components together.

Scandinavian Literature until 1950: Swedish - Bachelor Course (together with Ester Jiresch)
This module provides an understanding of the history of Swedish literature and teaches students to place texts in their historical and literary-historical context. The module covers the period from the Middle Ages to 1950 and is based on a history of Swedish literature and sample texts.
The module starts with an introduction on literary historiography in Scandinavia. In this course Nestor will be used.

Scandinavian Proficiency 5: Swedish - Bachelor Course (together with Ester Jiresch)
Students will attain near-native proficiency through self-study with the help of a reading list.

Scand.Lit.II: From Abba to Ås - Master Course
This module examines how various kinds of texts represent and hand down 'typically' Scandinavian phenomena.

Dismissed Ladies and Dynamic Mediators - Master Course (together with Erica van Boven)
In literary history and literary studies, female authors are often regarded as a 'problem', one to which a great deal of attention has been paid and a lot written. Why are they so invisible? Is it because there have only been few female authors? Did they write differently, or less well, were they less able to organize themselves, to stand their ground, to pioneer? Such questions have been thoroughly researched since the 1970s. Effort has also been made to chart the literary activities of women. Female literary histories have appeared in several language areas and a great deal of material has been collected on the roles that women have played through the centuries in the literary field: writers, translators, reviewers, mediators. Both of the approaches mentioned above will be covered in this course unit. Two blocks will follow an introductory historical overview

Dynamic Women in Cultural Transmission: Scandinavia-Europe - Master Course - Master Course (together with Janke Klok)
The ability to place the texts and authors discussed within their tradition and the field of literary contacts and to connect them with sociocultural factors; in addition, the skill to subject the concept of canonicity to critical research and to analyse less well-known texts in that light; the ability when doing this to make use of secondary literature.
This module will conduct a study of dynamic women within the literary contacts between Scandinavia and Europe. Attention will also be paid to the various ways that (national) identity formation was of significance within these networks. With regard to the material, the emphasis lies on the transmission of culture between Scandinavia and Europe. Several reference periods will be chosen to work with, based among other things on the intensity of the exchange activities. From the middle of the eighteenth century, it is possible to observe a number of fluctuations in the field of literary contacts between Scandinavia and Europe. Periods of relatively little activity alternate with periods of more intensive cultural traffic. An interesting phenomenon within this field is formed by the so-called networks within which women were extremely active. Whereas in the early part of the period under examination the emphasis across Europe was on attending literary salons, in the second half of the nineteenth century the spectrum broadened with the arrival of the profession of literary translation. In both cases it is a question of examining the actual contacts that were established during journeys and literary contacts in the form of exchanges of letters, for example.
STRINDBERG 2012 - Special attention will be paid this year to Strindberg and women cultural transmitters.

Modern Literature: A Comparative History of European Literature (part of the minor programme see: http://www.rug.nl/ocasys/rug/vak/show?code=LMIW10B10)

2010/2011

Scandinavian Proficiency 3: Swedish (B2/C1) - Bachelor Course
The module will pay attention to all skills: understanding, writing and speaking Swedish and conducting conversations in Swedish, learning fluently to read general and specialist text of a fairly high difficulty level, learning to use a nuanced vocabulary and idiom. These skills will be practised during the tutorials, where students will work individually, in pairs and in groups. Outside tutorial hours, students will work on assignments offered via Nestor. They must therefore have an active attitude in order to achieve the learning outcomes.
The study load is 2 ECTS for idiom and 3 ECTS for all the other components together.

Scandinavian Literature until 1950: Swedish - Bachelor Course
This module provides an understanding of the history of Swedish literature and teaches students to place texts in their historical and literary-historical context. The module covers the period from the Middle Ages to 1950 and is based on a history of Swedish literature and sample texts.
The module starts with an introduction on literary historiography in Scandinavia. In this course Nestor will be used.

Scandinavian Contemporary Literature - Bachelor Course
Gaining knowledge and understanding of the history of Scandinavian literature and acquiring skills in placing texts into their historical and literary-historical context. Gaining meta-level understanding of literary historiography as a genre and the Scandinavian tradition in this field. A number of literary-historical texts about Danish, Norwegian and Swedish literature and several sample texts will be used to cover the period from 1950 to the present day. In addition, students will analyse a number of literary texts and practice using different methodologies.

Scandinavian Proficiency 5: Swedish - Bachelor Course
Students will attain near-native proficiency through self-study with the help of a reading list.

Scandinavian Research Seminar: Genres -Bachelor Course
In this module, students will gain an understanding of theory in the field of the chosen genre (e.g. literary travel writing, drama or poetry). Topics will be illustrated by means of research assignments relating to northern Europe. This tutorial will compile and analyse a corpus of a number of literary texts. Participating students will follow a research path individually or in a group and record the research process and results in a report. Nestor will be used in this module.

Scand.Lit.II: From Abba to Ås - Master Course
This module examines how various kinds of texts represent and hand down 'typically' Scandinavian phenomena.

Dynamic Women in Cultural Transmission: Scandinavia-Europe - Master Course
The ability to place the texts and authors discussed within their tradition and the field of literary contacts and to connect them with sociocultural factors; in addition, the skill to subject the concept of canonicity to critical research and to analyse less well-known texts in that light; the ability when doing this to make use of secondary literature.
This module will conduct a study of dynamic women within the literary contacts between Scandinavia and Europe. Attention will also be paid to the various ways that (national) identity formation was of significance within these networks. With regard to the material, the emphasis lies on the transmission of culture between Scandinavia and Europe. Several reference periods will be chosen to work with, based among other things on the intensity of the exchange activities. From the middle of the eighteenth century, it is possible to observe a number of fluctuations in the field of literary contacts between Scandinavia and Europe. Periods of relatively little activity alternate with periods of more intensive cultural traffic. An interesting phenomenon within this field is formed by the so-called networks within which women were extremely active. Whereas in the early part of the period under examination the emphasis across Europe was on attending literary salons, in the second half of the nineteenth century the spectrum broadened with the arrival of the profession of literary translation. In both cases it is a question of examining the actual contacts that were established during journeys and literary contacts in the form of exchanges of letters, for example.

Women in European Literary History - Ma Interdisciplinairy Seminar
This course explores European women's participation in the literary field before the beginning of the 20th century, viewing this participation from a transnational perspective. What was these women's influence? Which active roles did they play as authors and readers in the broadest sense of the word, i.e. including their roles as transcribers, translators, mediators and educators? How can we theorize the transnational aspect of women's various contributions to the literary field in Europe ? What is the relation between dominant literatures and "smaller" ones within this larger cultural dynamic? How did female literary networks shape and respond to (national) identity formation? This course will draw on and contribute to the ongoing, international research programme / COST Action Women Writers in History. It will make use of an innovative database allowing students to stock and manipulate data concerning the contemporary reception of women's works and interventions. Case studies will focus specifically on French salon culture and its European-wide resonance (i.e. one "dominant" literature), and on literary contacts between Scandinavia and Europe (i.e. an example of a "smaller" literature).

Courses 2009/2010

Scandinavian Literature until 1950: Swedish - Bachelor Course
This module provides an understanding of the history of Swedish literature and teaches students to place texts in their historical and literary-historical context. The module covers the period from the Middle Ages to 1950 and is based on a history of Swedish literature and sample texts.
The module starts with an introduction on literary historiography in Scandinavia. In this course Nestor will be used.

Scand.Lit.II: From Abba to Ås - Master Course
This module examines how various kinds of texts represent and hand down 'typically' Scandinavian phenomena.

Children's Literature in Scandinavia - Master Course
Scandinavian children's literature is placed in its historical tradition and different perspectives on the approach of literature will be discussed including: children's literature and culture transmission, children's literature and national identity, children's literature and genre issues, children's literature as a vehicle of ideas.

Courses 2008/2009

Scandinavian Research Tutorial I: Travel Literature - Bachelor Course
This module provides an understanding of literary travel writing and imagology. Topics will be illustrated by means of research assignments relating to northern Europe. During the tutorials a literary text corpus will be analysed both individually and as a group. A portfolio in Nestor will be part of the assessment.

Scand.Lit.II: From Abba to Ås - Master Course
This module examines how various kinds of texts represent and hand down 'typically' Scandinavian phenomena.

Dynamic Women in Cultural Transmission: Scandinavia-Europe
The ability to place the texts and authors discussed within their tradition and the field of literary contacts and to connect them with sociocultural factors; in addition, the skill to subject the concept of canonicity to critical research and to analyse less well-known texts in that light; the ability when doing this to make use of secondary literature.
This module will conduct a study of dynamic women within the literary contacts between Scandinavia and Europe. Attention will also be paid to the various ways that (national) identity formation was of significance within these networks. With regard to the material, the emphasis lies on the transmission of culture between Scandinavia and Europe. Several reference periods will be chosen to work with, based among other things on the intensity of the exchange activities. From the middle of the eighteenth century, it is possible to observe a number of fluctuations in the field of literary contacts between Scandinavia and Europe. Periods of relatively little activity alternate with periods of more intensive cultural traffic. An interesting phenomenon within this field is formed by the so-called networks within which women were extremely active. Whereas in the early part of the period under examination the emphasis across Europe was on attending literary salons, in the second half of the nineteenth century the spectrum broadened with the arrival of the profession of literary translation. In both cases it is a question of examining the actual contacts that were established during journeys and literary contacts in the form of exchanges of letters, for example.