NEW COUNTRIES: PICTURING
GLOBALIZATION IN SCANDINAVIAN CULTURE
Prof. Andrew Nestingen
Spring 2002
T., Th. 3:30-5:20, Thomson 202
Film Screenings: F. 2:30-5:00 in
Educational Media Collection Screening Room, Basement Kane Hall
Office: Raitt
305Q
Phone: 543-0643
Email: akn@u.washington.edu
Office hours: Tue. 10:20-11:20,
Wed. 12:30-1:30
...all this
geography is just a dream, a fantasy, because such a country doesn’t exist. In
reality, all countries have become imaginary deserts of ruins where crowds of
nomads roam from one attraction to the other, sweeping over nations, skipping
like fleas from continent to continent.
--Tônu Õnnepalu, Border State
Globalization occurs through a dense
net of connection around the planet, economic, political, and cultural—or an
admixture of these, according to some. These networks facilitate physical and
virtual travel to diverse places. Some people move around the globe, in search
of better lives. Others jump into global networks to flee oppression. Some move
themselves, or money or goods, in pursuit of profit. Global networks facilitate
multiple sorts of movement. One thing is certain, relative changes in people’s
mobility, location, and community alter the way in which they imagine
themselves, their relations to others, and their connections to the groups to
which they belong. To what do mobile people, goods, and capital belong? How do
these figures on the move imagine themselves? How do the communities which
they’ve left, and in which they’ve arrived, imagine them? This course takes up
these questions in the context of the contemporary Nordic region.
The course is organized
thematically. The themes are not monolithic positions, however, but clusters of
contradictions. We will try to understand the changing relations that global
movement creates by looking at the contrasts that arise in global networks. I
have tried to create themes around contradictions by juxtaposing readings that
contrast markedly with each other: the mobility of capital in contrast with
cultural mobility; appeals to tradition as a source of identity juxtaposed with
the idea that tradition itself is always itself portable; the liberty of being
on the road versus the difficulties of displacement and dislocation; looking
cool against hiding desperation. These are just of the few contradictions. From
these contradictions will emerge a dialogue among the texts and essays, which
will serve as a framework for grasping better the manifold dynamics that
constitute the cultural dimensions of globalization. The dialogue will help
crack open each text for us.
More specifically, the themes are
organized around conjunctions and disjunctions. Which texts emphasize
identities, solidarities, and belonging? How? How are such ties shown to us? By
contrast, when and for what reasons do these texts emphasize disjunction, and
the uncertainty, yet sometimes liberating freedom, of not belonging, of being
mobile? Paying attention to these contrasts brings out themes in all of these
texts, which may not at first be visible. Our task in the course is to deal
with the themes that we see immediately, and those we have to tease out more
patiently. This, we might find, will tell us something about the way globalization
looks in Scandinavia.
ASSIGNMENTS
Student work will consist of
three major assignments: a) viewing and reading assigned material for in-class
participation; b) an oral presentation in class on a text to be chosen by the
student; c) a final written paper, to be submitted by 5 PM Monday, June. 10.
Participation: I expect students to prepare all readings for class by the
day that they’re listed on the syllabus and to be ready to discuss them.
The
required readings are listed on the syllabus. It may be useful during the first
several weeks to skim chapters 3-5 in Global Transformations. Reading
these chapters will provide you useful background to further discussion in the
class. However, the reading is optional.
Oral
Presentation: Each student should select a
text from the list of suggested readings or viewings for their oral
presentation. The presentation should last approximately 10 minutes. It should
consist of: (1) a summary of the text; (2) a comparative criticism of the text,
relying on references to texts and films we’ve discussed in class as grounds
for comparison—give us your critical take on what you’ve read; (3) a
presentation of two questions for further discussion, which bring together your
previous points and pave the way for class discussion.
If you would like to propose a text
or film that fits the themes of the class, but is not included on the list
below, please discuss your proposal with me.
I urge you to consider how you
might integrate your oral presentation and your final paper so that the first
helps develop the second. No late work
will be accepted. You are expected to present on the day for which you
register.
Final Paper: You may choose the topic for the final paper. It should
deal with texts from class. I expect an original research paper, so I encourage
you to bring in sources from outside the course. The paper should be
double-spaced, typed, and use MLA or Chicago Manual Style citation standards.
It should be 10-15 pages long. I urge you to discuss your topic with me ahead
of time.
Your final grade will be
calculated according to the following schedule:
PARTICIPATION 20%
ORAL PRESENTATION 30%
FINAL PAPER 50%
All texts are available at the University
of Washington Bookstore on University Way NE.
The COURSE READER is available at
The Ave. Copy Center, 4141 University Way NE (633-1837).
Soila, Tytti, Söderbergh Widding, Astrid, and
Iversen, Gunnar. Nordic National Cinemas New York, London: Routledge,
1998.
Film: Valgaften (Election Night, 1998) Dir. Anders Thomas
Jensen
Global Transformations 1-31
Modernity at Large 1-23
Poems from Verdensborger i
Danmark (Cosmopolitan in Denmark) Benny Andersen in CR
“Skabsvenskere”—“Closet Swedes”
“Verdensborger i Danmark”—“Cosmopolitan
in Denmark”
“Tilbage igen”—“Home Again”
Film: Ariel. Dir. Aki
Kaurismäki, 1990.
“The Kaurismäki Effect” Interview with Jonathan Romney in CR
“Europe’s Wood Basket Transformed”
Markku Kuisma in CR
Global Transformations 327-375
Néstor García Canclini “Remaking
Passports” CR
Film: Pathfinder. Dir. Nils
Gaup, 1988.
T. 4/16 “A Colonized Nordic
Perspective”
“Folklore, Boundaries, and Audience
in Pathfinder” Tom DuBois in CR
“Two Centuries of Progress” Shelly
Errington in CR
“Traveling Cultures” James Clifford
in CR
“The Night Between the Days” Ailo
Gaup in CR
“Palimpsest” Aagot Vinterbo-Hohr in
CR
Film: Det nya landet pts. 1
& 2
Even in Sweden 1-56
Global Transformations 283-326
Film: Det nya landet pts. 3
& 4
“Themes of Nation” Mette Hjort in
CR
“Conquering Your New Identity”
Theodor Kallifatides in CR
Modernity at Large 27-47
Th. 5/2 NO CLASS
Film: Sinans Bryllup
“Please: No More Danskhed” Steven
Sampson in CR
“Oslo’s Untold Story” in CR
“Dissemination” Homi Bhabha in CR
“A Dialogue Under the New Moon” He
Dong in CR
“The Gangster as Tragic Hero”
Robert Warshow in CR
Even in Sweden 96-142
“Danish Cinema and the Politics of
Recognition” Mette Hjort in CR
Film: Pizza King
Even in Sweden 142-185
“Which Mapping of the City? La
Haine (Kassovitz, 1995) and the cinéma de banlieue” Myrto Konstantarakos
in CR
“Community, City and Locality”
Linda McDowell in CR
“Introduction: The Necessary Nation” Gregory Jusdanis in CR
Week 10 IMAGINED GEOGRAPHIES
Border-State Tônu Õnnepalu
Andersen, Benny. Verdensborger i
Danmark og andre digte om danskere. København: Borgen, 1995.
Andersen, Benny. Cosmopolitan in
Denmark and Other Poems About Danes. Trans. Cynthia La Touche Andersen.
København: Borgen, 1995.
Kuisma,
Markku. “Europe’s Wood Basket Transformed: Finnish Economic History in a Long Perspective.” Europe’s Northern Frontier: Perspectives on Finland’s Western Identity.
Ed. Tuomas M.S. Lehtonen. Trans. Philip Landon. Jyväskylä: PS Kustannus, 1999. 50-85. Trans. of Suomi—Outo Pohjoinen Maa: Näkökulmia
Euroopan äären historian ja kulttuuriin. PS Kustannus: Jyväskylä, 1999.
50-85.
García Canclini, Néstor “Remaking
Passports: Visual Thought in the Debate on Multiculturalism.”
The Visual Culture Reader. Ed. Nicholas Mirzoeff. London, New York:
Routledge, 1998. 372-381.
DuBois, Thomas. “Folklore,
Boundaries and Audience in The Pathfinder.” Sami Folkloristics.
Ed. Juha Pentikäinen.
Turku : NNF, Abo
Akademi University, 2000. 255-274.
Errington, Shelly. The Death of Authentic
Primitive Art and Other Tales of Progress. Berkeley, London, LA: University
of California Press, 1998.
Clifford, James. Routes: Travel
and Translation in the Late Twentieth Century. Cambridge, MA, London:
Harvard, 1997.
Gaup, Ailo. “The
Night Between the Days.” In the Shadow of the Midnight Sun: Contemporary
Sami Prose and Poetry. Ed. Harald Gaski. Karasjok: Davvi Girji OS, 1997.
249-262
Vinterbo-Hohr, Aagot. “Palimpsest.”
In the Shadow of the Midnight Sun: Contemporary Sami Prose and Poetry.
Ed. Harald Gaski. Karasjok: Davvi Girji OS, 1997. 233-242.
Hjort, Mette. “Themes of Nation.” Cinema
& Nation. Eds. Mette Hjort and Scott Mackenzie. New York, London:
Routledge, 2000. 103-118.
Kallifatides, Theodor. “Conquering
Your Identity.” International Framtider (1997) 27-29.
WEEK 6
Sampson, Steve. “Please: No More
Danskhed.” Dansk Identitet? Ed. Uffe Østergaard. Aarhus: Aarhus
universitetsforlag, 1992. 225-237.
Sharma, Kalpana. “Oslo’s Untold
Story.” The Hindu On-Line 7/1/2001. <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2001/07/01/stories/13010464.htm>
Bhabha, Homi K. The Location of
Culture. New York, London: Routledge, 1995.
Dong, He. “Dialogue Under the New
Moon.” Trans. Katherine Hansen. Contemporary
Norwegian Women's Writing : An Anthology. Ed. Janet Garton. Norwich :
Norvik, 1995. 253-257.
Barthes, Roland. “Power and
‘Cool.’” The Eiffel Tower and Other Mythologies. Trans. Richard Howard.
New York: Hill and Wang, 1979. 43-46.
Warshow, Robert. The Immediate Experience:
Movies, Theatre, Comics, and Other Aspects of Popular Culture. Garden City,
New York: Doubleday, 1962.
Ristilammi, Per-Markku. “Fin de
Siècle in the Urban Periphery.” Ethnologia Europaea (1998) 28:
37-44.
Konstantarakos, Myrto. “Which
Mapping of the City? La Haine (Kassovitz, 1995) and the cinéma de
banlieue.” French Cinema in the 1990s. Continuity and Difference.Ed.
Phil Powrie. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. 160-171.
McDowell, Linda. Gender,
Identity and Place: Understanding Feminist Geographies. Minneapolis,
London: University of Minnesota Press, 1999.
Jusdanis, Gregory. The Necessary
Nation. Princeton, NJ, Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2001.
SEE ME FOR COPIES OF THE ARTICLES OR BIBLIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION
Cohan, Steve and Hark, Ina Rae.
“The Road Movie: Introduction”
Willis, Sharon. “Race on the Road:
Crossover Dreams”
hooks, bell. Representing
Whiteness, Seeing Wings of Desire”
Hall, Stuart.
“Old and New
Identities, Old and New Ethnicities.”
Hedetoft, Ulf. “Contemporary Cinema: Between Cultural
Globalization and National Interpretation.”
Mitchell, Edward. “Apes and Essences:
Some Sources of Significance in the American Gangster Film.”
Mean Streets (1972) Martin Scorcese
Pulkkinen, Tuija. “One Language,
One Mind”
Reid, Mark. “The Black Gangster
Film.”
Menace
II Society
(1991) Dir. Allen Hughes
Schroeder, Erin. “A Multicultural
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La
Haine (Hate)
(1995) Dir. Mathieu Kassovitz
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myte: Islam møter norsk hverdag. Oslo: Aventura Forlag, 1996.
Dansk identitet? Red. af Uffe Østegård. Aarhus: Aarhus universitetsforlag, 1992.
Eriksen, Thomas Hylland. Typisk
Norsk: Essays om kulturen in Norge. Oslo: C. Huitfeldt Forlag A.S., 1993.
Fucking Film: Den nya svenska
filmen. Red. Stig Björkman, Helena Lindblad, Fredrik
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flerkulture Danmark. Århus: Klim, 1995.
Jonsson, Stefan. De andra.
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Zaman Kadafi. Norge i svart,
hvitt og brunt: En multikulturell mosaikk. Oslo: Forum Aschehoug, 1999.