Course Description

The course will focus on:
• Nordic history in the Viking Age and the Middle Ages: Social, economic and cultural conditions. Political history up to approx. 1340.
• Nordic history 1340-1520, with an emphasis on the Kalmar Union: Background, the founding of the Union, lines of conflict, dissolution.
• Politics, religion and economy, 1510-1610.
• Politics, economy and social conditions, 1610-1815.
• Great changes in the Nordic region: Social and economic development in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
• The struggle for independence and the emergence of bourgeois democracy.
• The Nordic countries in Europe: Differing interests and security policy needs.
• Political and economic development in the Nordic countries after 1945.
• The ‘Nordic’ concept: Should the Nordic region be viewed as an integrated whole? What does the term ‘Nordic’ mean?
• Comparison: How and why should one compare the Nordic countries? Basic introduction to comparative methods.

The course is research-based and the lecturers include active scholars who teach and draw on their own experience where relevant. During the excursion related to the course (see below), the students will also have direct contact with active researchers.

The course is part of the specialization study programme in history (please refer to separate document); it is expected that this course will be taken together with two specialization courses in Nordic history, each comprising 10 ECTS credits. This course, Overview of Nordic History (3508), provides background knowledge and the methodological foundation for studying these specialization courses and should therefore always be taken together with or prior to them.

Assessment Methods

The assessment comprises a six-hour written examination at the end of the autumn semester. The examination will assess the students' knowledge and understanding of historical development, and their skills in analytical and critical thinking, cf. the points mentioned above under ‘learning outcomes’.
The grade given will be on a letter scale from A to E, where F represents a failing grade.

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