... media, language, and living literature
Danish Studies encompasses Danish-language texts and media products of all types: we work on novels, short stories, poems, plays, rap-lyrics, journalism, political speeches, advertisements, TV series and films, which means pretty well all the many varieties of texts and discourses we encounter in everyday life, in the arts, and in the media.
For the core fields of Danish Studies are precisely language. literature and media. We emphasize the importance of acquiring competences in the analysis of texts and media products and their historical and cultural contextualisation, and from relevant linguistic perspectives.
The programme encompasses in the first instance Danish texts, the Danish language and Danish culture, but these core aspects are emphatically seen within international perspectives, and we are glad to have a specific commitment to the study of modern Norwegian and Swedish culture, literature and language. The programme accordingly includes visits to the Universities of Oslo and Lund.
In terms of teaching Danish Studies in Kolding encompasses class work (including lectures and discussion), supplemented by participation in study groups, plus of course independent individual study. At the beginning of their studies new students are offered help and advice by both staff and older students. During the degree programme it is possible to insert a period of work experience in a private company or a public institution, say a publishing house, a local government cultural office, a library or an educational institution, providing useful insights into potential employment opportunities.
To give specific examples, we work for example on the analysis of TV newscasts, life-style programmes, films by Lars von Trier, the Queen of Denmark’s New Year TV address to the nation, and the branding of commercial companies. We study fairytales by Hans Christian Andersen, tales by Karen Blixen, short stories by Helle Helle, children’s and adolescent’s literature. We explore Danish and Scandinavian literary and cultural history, with particular focus on Denmark in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Accordingly, the programme often includes visits to Norway, Sweden and Finland.
Most of the teaching is in Danish, and the same applies to exams and assignments.