Scandinavian Area Studies (SAS) is a special programme offered jointly by the Faculty of Humanities and the School of Business and Economics each autumn semester (September-December). The SAS-programme has been developed for foreign students who wish to achieve a greater knowledge and understanding of modern Denmark and Scandinavia.
The fifteen-week programme consists of three courses offered by the Faculty of Humanities and three courses offered by the School of Business and Economics.
One of the courses is in Danish Modern History, and the course has been offered the students for the last three years. The following intends to give information about the course.
Type of course: Lectures running in the autumn semester, 30 hours in total, approx. 2 per week.
Mode and timing of assessment: Written paper handed in at the end of the course.
Content of course:
The aim is to obtain a knowledge of the historical roots of present-day Denmark. This will be achieved through description and analysis of the development of Danish society during the past 200 years.
The changes in society, the people and the political system are the three main issues dealt with. The course will also discuss economic and social development. I.e.: How did this development come about? How did it affect the Danes and their lives? We will analyse the historical roots and development of the Danish political system as well as the development of "the welfare state".
The course will concentrate on the past 200 years of Danish history. The main theme is the change from an agricultural society into a moderne industrial state. The foreign policy of Denmark will also be discussed.
Litterature:
Text material is given to the students in class, consisting of excerpts from books and articles on the chosen subjects. It must be mentioned that books and articles, written in english, about the history of Denmark are few in numbers.
I have used excerpts from two books:
Palle Lauring: A history of Denmark (Copenhagen 1976)
W. Glyn Jones: Denmark (London 1970)
Syllabus:
The plan for the 30 hour course (15 lessons of 2 hours):
1. Introduction. A broad look at the history of Denmark from the vikings and onwards. 2.-3. The development from absolute monarchy to the democratic constitution of 1849. 4.-5. The birth of the political parties and the class-struggles at the end of the 19th. century. 6. The industrial revolution in Denmark. From rural to urban Denmark. The migration and the rise of the working class. 7. The danish foreign policy in the 19th. century. 8.-10. Denmark from 1900 to 1940. The introduction of the parliamentary system. The politcal parties. Denmark in the first world war. The political and social unrest in the twenties. The crisis in the thirties. The rise of the Social Democratic Party. The Danish foreign policy in the middle war-period. 11. Denmark in the second world war. 12.-15. Denmark after the war. A new foreign policy: The membership of NATO from 1949. The second industrial revolution. The development of the Danish welfare state. From political stability to the political (and economic) crisis of the 1970s. Denmark as part of the EEC.
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