I teach both courses in Norwegian and in English. Courses in Norwegian I have taught at St. Olaf include:

Norwegian 111: Beginning Norwegian I, Norwegian 112: Beginning Norwegian II, Norwegian 231: Intermediate Norwegian I
Together, Norwegian 111, 112 and 231 are the introductory Norwegian sequence and emphasizes three main areas: 1) learning basic Norwegian vocabulary, structures and functions; 2) using the four skills of reading, writing, speaking, and listening; and 3) exploring Norwegian and American cultures as well as culture in general.

Our approach to language teaching is characterized by proficiency, thematic learning, and integration of language and culture topics. We will try to make the classroom as rich a learning environment as possible by using a variety of authentic spoken, written, and visual materials.

We expect students to be active participants in the learning process and to take responsibility for their own learning. In practical terms, this means preparing for and participating actively in class, but also helping to shape the course content and methods.

By the end of the three-semester sequence of Norwegian (to complete the FOL requirement), students will be able to demonstrate:

1. Language proficiency: Proficiency in reading and writing (all languages) as well as in listening and speaking (modern languages only) commensurate with the amount of study completed.
2. Cultural understanding: The ability to understand, through a target language, that language’s culture(s) and one’s own culture.
3. Metalinguistic awareness: Awareness of language as a system, and of the ways in which language organizes thought processes and information and reflects culture.

Norwegian 232:
Norwegian 232 is the continuation of the Intermediate Norwegian sequence. In this course, you will:

• develop the ability to speak in longer segments and with better fluency and clearer pronunciation by engaging in conversations, narrating and describing, plus supporting opinion and hypothesizing. You will make presentations to the class, record yourself speaking, have regular conversations with your teacher and other Norwegian speakers.
• improve your ability to understand the main ideas in Norwegian spoken at normal tempo by native speakers. You will listen to the audio book of the novel Naiv. Super and view Norwegian films.
• increase your reading speed and comprehension of authentic materials written in Norwegian. In addition to other readings, you will read the novel Naiv. Super by Erlend Loe as well as articles from Norwegian websites.
• expand your vocabulary and improve your writing about everyday topics from your own experience as well as about Norwegian historical and cultural issues. You will write and revise many short essays and blog posts.
• improve your grammatical accuracy in both speech and writing. You will do regular grammatical assignments that fit with the novel you are reading and the essays you are writing.

increase your knowledge of Norway’s culture, both past and present.

Upper level topics courses:

NORW 372:Topics (TV & Language)

NORW 372: Topics (The [Concept of] Norwegianness: Then and now)

NORW 372: Topics (Rituals and Turning points)

NORW 373: Topics (Norwegian Media Portrayals of Occupation, Exodus and War)

English Language Courses

Norwegian 244: The Sámi: Traditions in Transition (ORC, MSG, HSB)
In this interdisciplinary course we will read critically different kinds of writings about a distinct culture, the Sámi. We will spend a few days on conceptual and introductory matters, establishing who the Sámi are, and what is distinctive and unique about them and their culture. We will look at the Sámi as an indigenous minority people of northern Europe whose cultural identity has constantly been threatened by the majority cultures surrounding them; we will also see how this culture, today, presents instructive examples of how to view a people’s relationship to the state, how to live in some harmony with nature and how to assert one’s culture without first and foremost marketing it for profit and personal gain.

The texts chosen for this course represent different views of Sámi culture; there are (seemingly) objective scholarly treatments of the Sámi by “subject specialists”; there are blatantly racist descriptions of the Sámi by outsiders who have found them “quaint and mysterious” and their culture primitive or “inferior”; and there are articles written by the Sámi themselves, both defensive articles and assertive ones. It is up to us – the readers – to identify both objective data in our readings and try to discern bias, if any exists. In so doing, we will be introduced to questions of meaning and value. With respect to discernment of conflict between values, to give a few examples, we will see clashes between majority and minority cultures, between the nature worldview of the Sámi and Lutheran missionary activities in Sámiland, as well as conflict in values among the Sámi themselves, often conflicts between traditional and modern views.

In the beginning of the course, we will read a non-literary treatment of the Sámi, Lehtola’s The Sámi People. In the ensuing weeks we will explore how fiction, visual narratives, music, art, and manifestations of material culture reveal the Sámi view of (the) god(s), the humans and the universe.

The course will place the Sámi in a larger context by identifying the forces, which have influenced their history, and by examining the Sámi’s interrelationships with other people of the North during the last millennium. In so doing, it will teach us to recognize the organic nature of change and discern elements of the historical process.

Norwegian 130: Nordic Film Today (ALS-A)
This film course introduces students to contemporary Nordic film. Readings/screenings present a broad spectrum of contemporary issues, along with current critique and theoretical approaches. Topics include: history, culture and society, translation, gender/sexuality, national identity, urbanization, minority issues, etc. Students attain an understanding of these cultural trends and the technical terminology to watch, read, think, talk, and write critically and intelligently about films as text. Taught in English.

You will watch approx. 20 feature length, 20 short films and 20 commercial films in this course.  While the majority of films are predetermined, you will be branching out to explore themes that interest you.

Other courses I have taught include:
Linguistics 396: Quantitative Educational Technology Inquiry
Norwegian 130 FLAC: Nordic Film Today (ALS-A)
English 250: English Language and Linguistics
Media Studies 240: World Cinema (ALS-A, MSG) guest lecturer