19th-century Scandinavian literature runs the gambit from romanticism to realism to decadence. Nordic romanticism produced such great as H.D. Andersen and Søren Kirkegaard. During the 1880s, an uncommonly large number of excellent novels, short stories, and plays appared in Scandinavia. Many of these works reflect what the Danish critic Georg Brandes termed "The Modern Breakthrough," who called for literature to discuss issues of current social interest. Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg were among those who answered the call. As the century drew to a close, writers such as Knut Hamsun and Selma Lagerlöf wondered whether the rapid advances of the modern world were leading culture in a positive direction. The course presents texts and writers representative of these major trends in 19th-century Scandinavian fiction.
This is a distance course, see the course website.

This is an interactive course, see the course website.