University of Wisconsin-Green Bay

Syllabus: Social Change & Development in Denmark
SocCD 333
Fall 2008

 

Instructor: Dr. Lynn Walter     Course Schedule: TR 2-3:20
Office: MAC B308                  Class Room: IS 1020   
Phone: 465-2474                    Course Page: http://www.uwgb.edu/walterl/denmark/   
Office Hours: MW 10-12 and 2-3; R 10-12   
Email: walterl@uwgb.edu
Class email: mailto:c9967-fa08@uwgb.edu

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course examines several themes of international interest raised by studying social change and development in Denmark. These themes include the culture; the social welfare state; social democracy and economic democracy; multi-party, parliamentary politics; egalitarian values and programs; class and gender consciousness along the labor and women's movements; nationalism and national identity; and European integration and immigrants. We will explore these themes in a seminar format with some lectures.

TEXTS AND HANDOUTS:

Borish, Steven M. 1991. The Land of the Living.
Handout: Rasmussen, Halfdan "Something about Heroes"
Keillor, Garrison "The Tidy Secret of Danish Freedom"
Rifbjerg, Klaus "Oh, to be Danish,"

 

ARTICLES: (All the articles listed below are on course D2L page and many are also on e-reserve or available through one of Cofrin Library on-line databases or the web.)

Arendt, Hannah. "Denmark and the Jews"

Arnett, Jeffrey Jensen and Lene Arnett Jensen. 1994. "Socialization and Risk Behavior in Two Countries: Denmark and the United States" Youth & Society 26 (1): 3-22.

Balvig, Flemming. 2004. “When Law and Order Returned to Denmark” Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention, 5: 167-187.

Bjøl, Erling. 1986. "Denmark: between Scandinavia and Europe" International Affairs 62 (4): 601-617. (available on-line through Academic Search Premier)

Buckser, Andrew. 2001. "Rescue and Cultural Context During the Holocaust: Grundtvigian Nationalism and the Rescue of the Danish Jews" Shofar 19(2): 1-17

Christiansen, Niels Finn and Klaus Petersen 2001. "The Dynamics of Social Solidarity: The Danish Welfare State, 1900-2000. Scandinavian Journal of History 26(3): 177-197. (Full text available through Academic Search Premier.)

Einhorn, Eric & John Logue. 1986. "The Scandinavian Democratic Model" Industrial & Labor Relations Review, Vol. 39, no. 4, pp. 193-208.

Einhorn, Eric & John Logue. 1989. "Scandinavian Welfare States and their Critics" in Modern Welfare States, New York: Praeger.

Enoch, Yael. 1994. "The Intolerance of a Tolerant People: Ethnic Relations in Denmark" Ethnic and Racial Studies, 17 (2): 282-200. (Full text available through Academic Search Elite).

Goodman, Myrna. 1998. "Foundations of Resistance in German-Occupied Denmark" in Resisting the Holocaust, Ruby Rohrlich, ed., Berg: Oxford, NY, pp. 213-36.

Kampmark, Binoy. 2006. “The Cartoon Riots: A New Cultural Diplomacy” The Whitehead Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations, Summer/Fall 69-77.

Koefoed, Lasse and Kirsten Simonsen. 2007. “The Price of Goodness: Everyday Nationalist Narratives in Denmark” Antipode 310-330.

Levine, Daniel. 1978. "Conservatism and Tradition in Danish Social Welfare Legislation, 1890-1933: A Comparative View" Comparative Studies in Society and History 20 (1): 54-69. (Full text available on-line through JSTOR Arts and Sciences)

Matthiessen, Poul Christian. 1993. "Family Formation in Denmark" in Welfare Trends in Scandinavian Countries, Erik Jorgen Hansen, et. al, eds., Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, pp. 320-326.

Ministry of Social Affairs. 2002. Social Policy in Denmark

Polakow, Valerie. 1997. "Who Cares for the Children? Denmark's Unique Public Child-care Model" Kappan 78(7):604. 

Tham, Henrik. 1993. "Crime, Drugs, and Suicide in the Scandinavian Countries" in Welfare Trends in Scandinavian Countries, Erik Jorgen Hansen, et.al, eds., Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, pp. 320-326.

Walter, Lynn. 2003. "Denmark" In Women's Issues in Europe, Lynn Walter, ed., Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Walter, Lynn. 2004 "The Redstocking Movement: Sex, Love, and Politics in 1968

Yahil, Leni. 1991. "National Pride and Defeat: A Comparison of Danish and German Nationalism" Journal of Contemporary History 26 (3-4): 453-478. (Full text available on-line through JSTOR Arts and Sciences).

Østergård, Uffe  2000. "Danish National Identity: Between Multinational Heritage and Small State Nationalism. In  Denmark's Policy towards Europe after 1945. Hans Branner & Morten Kelstrup, eds. Odense: Odense University Press, pp. 139-84.

ALSO ON RESERVE:

Goldberger, Leo ed. 1987. The Rescue of the Danish Jews, New York: New York University Press.

Borish, Steven 1991. The Land of the Living, Nevada City: Blue Dolphin.

Jones, W. Glyn 1986. Denmark, A Modern History, London: Croom Helm.

REQUIREMENTS AND DUE DATES:

        Requirements

   Percent of Grade

                 Due Dates

Paper Topic

                         

 Paper Topic Sept. 18

Bibliography          

  5%

 Bibliography Oct. 9

Annotations          

 15%

 Annotations Oct. 16

Term paper           

 25%

 Research Paper Nov. 18

Presentations          

 10%

 To Be Arranged                      

Class participation 

 10%

                

Final exam            

 35%

 Final Exam Dec. 16, 1-3 p.m.

Quizzes The instructor may give unannounced quizzes on the reading for the day.

Web links

Find five web links that you think are especially interesting and useful on Denmark in general and/or your paper topic in particular. In an in-class session in the computer lab, pick one of these to demonstrate to the rest of the class. Do consider web sources with international data (e.g. from UN, EU, OECD) that may also have useful information on Denmark.

Term Paper

Choose a topic, in consultation with the instructor, and construct a bibliography on this topic of at least 10 items. Order all of those items on your bibliography through interlibrary loan and do an annotated bibliography. Develop a thesis, in consultation with the instructor and class and write a paper based upon these sources. Present the paper in written form via email to the rest of the class and lead a discussion of your paper in class.

Class Participation

Everyone is expected not only to have read the assignment on time but also to contribute to the discussion. In cases in which a student's grade is between two marks, good class discussion participation will raise her/his grade to the higher one.

THEMES

Danish Culture
The Nation State: Race, Ethnicity and National Identity
The Folk High Schools, Education, Cooperatives and Farmers
The Rescue of the Danish Jews
The Labor Movement and the Development of Social Democracy and the Welfare State
Welfare State Programs
Family, Gender and Welfare in Denmark
Denmark in Europe and the World
Immigrants to Denmark

SCHEDULE

Week 1 Sept. 2-4: Introduction to the Course: Why Study Denmark?

            Introduction to Denmark: Language, Geography, Demography.

            Reading: Borish, Parts I & II.

             Film: "Approaching Denmark"

Week 2 Sept. 9-11: From Feudal Peasants to Capitalist Farmers: The Role of Education and Religion

              Reading: Borish, Part III

              Film: "The Bell of Freedom"

Week 3 Sept. 16-18: Danish Culture

*****Sept. 18: Paper Topic Due in the course D2L Drop Box

    Film: "Babettes Gaestebud"

Week 4 Sept. 23-25:  Danish Culture

    Reading: Borish, Part IV & V.
                            Rifbjerg  

    Computer workshop on resources on Sept 25 in IS 1129J (General Access Computer Room) 

Week 5 Sept. 30-Oct. 2: The Rescue of the Danish Jews

             Reading: Arendt
                          Handout: Rasmussen
                          Goodman or Buckser
                          Yahil

            Film: “The Danish Resistance”

Week 6 Oct. 7-9: The Nation State: Race, Ethnicity and National Identity

            Reading: Østergård, pp. 159-184. (Note that the assignment is the second half of the article)
                          Enoch

***** Bibliography due on Oct. 9.

Week 7 Oct. 14-16 The Welfare State

            Reading: Ministry of Social Affairs, Social Policy in Denmark
                          Christiansen and Petersen  

"***** Weblinks due on Oct 16.

Week 8 Oct. 21-23 Family, Gender, and Welfare

            Reading: Walter 2003 or Walter 2004
                          Polakow  

*****Annotations due on Oct. 23 

Week 9 Oct. 28-30: Problems in the Social Welfare State

Reading: Einhorn & Logue, "The Scandinavian Welfare States and their Critics"
              Balvig
              Arnett and Jensen or Matthiessen

Week 10 Nov. 4-6: Europeanization

            Reading:    Bjøl, Erling 

Week 11 Nov. 11-13: Europeanization and Immigration

Reading:    Koefoed and Simonsen
                 Kampmark 

Week 12 Nov. 18-20:  Presentation of Research Papers

*****Term paper due on Nov. 18

Week 13 Nov. 25:       Presentation of Research Papers 

*****Thanksgiving Break Nov. 27-30

Week 14 Dec. 2-4-9:   Presentation of Research Papers 

Final Exam: Tuesday, Dec. 16, 1-3 p.m.

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