Course Objectives

The Master’s-degree programme has two aims, one theoretical, and the other theoretical-practical:

• Students should acquire insight into the cultural background of traditional arts. They should be able to evaluate the particular nature of traditional arts and to critically evaluate the ways in which they are cultivated, practiced, transmitted, renewed and interpreted in various environments.
• Students will gain insight into scientific methods, and through practicing traditional arts, experience how these arts serve as a source of understanding. They will also become familiar with various approaches to the concept of tradition and gain an understanding of the various aspects of present-day dissemination.

Course Description

The subject material of the Master’s degree programme falls into two parts: the general theoretical component and the individual practical-theoretical part, which includes the Master’s Degree Project and Preliminary Project.

The general theoretical component:

There will be a common theoretical introduction covering four topics. These will, to a degree, overlap with and influence each other; the common theoretical background will be built on four topics:

Art theory and traditional arts; culture and identity; communication and passing down traditions; and scientific theory.

Art theory and traditional arts: Students will gain a general understanding of the central aspects of the history of aesthetics and learn to discuss the concept of art and the basic problem-solving approaches to aesthetic research. Particular emphasis will be placed on folk art, and how it changed as popular art forms diverged from the more aristocratic art forms as a distinctive and “inferior” cultural tradition. Therefore, the growth of popular arts from the Renaissance to the present will be of interest. Students must also acquaint themselves with some of the more prominent stages of the developments of Norwegian folk music, and examine how Norwegian composers began to emphasise folk music in the 1800s and after this period.

Culture and identity: Students should be able to discuss the concept of culture, and how culture has developed in the Western world. They must also be familiar with today’s cultural scene. An important topic will be the discussion of the various perspectives that lie behind the divisions between folk culture, mass culture and popular culture. Students will receive an introduction to the theoretical frameworks upon which these cultural approaches are based. Other important topics are class-consciousness and nationalism, and questions about how Norwegian identity became associated with folk culture and rural Norway.

Traditions and communication: Students will gain insight into aspects of the concept of tradition, and be able to discuss this concept. One important aspect of this discussion will be considered in the context of concepts taken from the sphere of hermeneutics: Which elements are essential and which are more relative, and how do they affect the processes of passing down traditions?

Students will also learn about the principal ways in which traditional arts are passed down, and how the methods of mediation have changed, particularly during the last century.

Scientific theory: The theories of art and culture have emerged in the intersection of the theories of the humanities and the social sciences. In this context it is therefore important that students are given an introduction to central theoretical concepts such as the hypothetical-deductive method, hermeneutics and phenomenology, in order to provide them with a solid overview of traditional art. Emphasis will be placed on methodological problems which will prepare students for work on their preliminary and Master’s degree projects, where a combination of theoretical and practical aspects will be emphasised.

Learning Methods

The programme includes lectures and seminars with both regular teachers and guest lecturers. Some of the teaching sessions during each semester will be more intensive than others. Assignments and information will be given during the course of the programme. A good deal of the instruction will naturally be aimed at the Master’s Degree Project, which will always constitute a principle part of the Master’s degree programme.

Assessment Methods

The general theoretical part of the Master’s degree programme will count for 30 ECTS.

Work must be submitted mid-term during the first semester. This must be assessed as ‘passed’ before the student may be allowed to proceed; the theoretical part will be concluded with a 6-hour written examination, which will be assessed on a scale A-f, where E is the lowest passing grade, and F is a failing grade. The grade will count ¼ of the final grade for the Master’s degree programme.

Minor adjustments may occur during the academic year, subject to the decision of the Dean