A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

In this course, we will explore the various representations of women that appear in literature from earlier centuries, ranging from Norse mythology to folklore. We will examine women and female figures such as goddesses, Norns of fate, trolls (giantesses), Valkyries, shield-maidens, shape-shifting women, maiden kings, seeresses and sorceresses, learned women and nuns, holy virgins, courtly women and princesses, formidable women in the Sagas of Icelanders and legendary sagas, women in the Sturlunga saga, peasant women and female slaves, women writers, rebellious women, women in traditional ballads and sagnakvæði, women in Icelandic fairy tales, and hidden people (huldukonur). In all cases, we will examine the characteristics of these women, their roles in the narratives, their social status, and the societal framework created for them. We will read texts or excerpts where women play significant roles, as well as scholarly works and articles discussing women in Icelandic literature from earlier periods. This course aims to enhance students’ knowledge of women in Icelandic literary history and place them in a new and exciting comprehensive context.

The first night of Samuel’s Beckett Wating for Godot in Paris in 1953 is widely considered as a landmark in the history of Western play-writing and theatre. The origins of the so-called absurdism in theatre is most often related to that event. The influence of the constraint, continually repeated and systematically constructed use of words and actions in Beckett’s plays is easy to trace in works written for the theatre in the latter part of the twentieth century and to this date. In the course of the seminar this specific thread in Western theatre history will be carefully looked at, and analyzed how it can be seen in the bigger context of the development of theatre. Plays written by Pirandello, Tzara, Ionesco, Genet and Arrabal will be included, and shown how Beckett’s approach to drama and theatre is reawakened by Harold Pinter and Jon Fosse. Additionally plays by the American playwright, Edward Albee, and the Icelandic dramatists Oddur Björnsson, Guðmundur Steinsson and Hrafnhildur Hagalín will be read and analyzed.The seminar will be concluded by showing how Beckett in his last period of play-writing created works that are at least as much related to performance art as they are to traditional drama.

The course will explore a variety of films from the U.S. and other countries to highlight the evolution of the noir tradition. Students will engage with seven works of fiction, both domestic and international, that connect to this tradition in diverse ways.

In this seminar we will read the works of women ranging from Sappho and medieval women writers to later authors, such as Charlotte Brontë, Virginia Woolf, Karen Blixen and Zora Neale Hurston.  We will read some critical material alongside those works, but the main emphasis will be on working closely with the texts themselves and situating them in a historical and cultural context.  What do these writers have in common other than being women?  Can one discuss women writers as a specific group, or does such classification in fact confirm and maintain gender-biases that many of these authors fought against?  The emphasis will be on close reading and analysis of the texts as well as on comparative reading across temporal and cultural boundaries.  Students are expected to come prepared to class as we will be working closely with the texts in class.

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

This course explores the European Renaissance (1350–1600). By examining key texts from thinkers, writers, and artists such as Petrarch, Christine de Pizan, Thomas More, Machiavelli, Vasari, and Shakespeare, we will investigate the revival of classical culture, the rise of humanism, and the impact of geographical discoveries on the cultural world of the continent. We will engage with well-known works in literature, political philosophy, and art criticism, as well as a variety of lesser-known texts and artworks that provide a more comprehensive understanding of the Renaissance’s ideas about power, social structures, individual identity, and gender roles.

"The late-symbolist and modernist poems of Rainer Maria Rilke still have a wide readership. One of the reasons for this enduring popularity is undoubtedly Rilke’s ability to express existential experience with elevated imagery. Rilke’s works operate between two poles: on one hand, human existence is shown as intertwined with a 'higher order,' and on the other, he has a keen eye for the darker sides of existence. In this course, we will read the most important poetry collections of Rainer Maria Rilke: The Book of Hours, The Book of Images, New Poems, New Poems: The Other Part, Requiem for a Friend, Requiem for Count von Kalckreuth, The Duino Elegies, and The Sonnets to Orpheus.

Heritage cinema are costume drama, made in the last forty years, usually adapted from classical theatre and novels (Shakespeare, Austen, Balzac, E.M. Forster, Virginia Woolf). In the course students will read selection of classical novels from the 19th and the 20th century by Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, Virginia Woolf, E.M Forster, Evelyn Waugh og Jean Rhys, and these works will be analyzed in reference to heritage cinema and adaptations. Among themes and motifs investigated will be romance, nostalgia, relation between the sexes, masculinity, class division, psychosis and women‘s rank in the community.

The seminar deals with the history, role and complex meaning of the concept of world literature. Students will gain insight into earlier writings on world literature from the time of Goethe but the main emphasis is on the vivid scholarly debate in the last quarter of a century, as world literature has again come to play a central role in literary studies with the writings of scholars such as Franco Moretti, Pascale Casanova and David Damrosch. A further emphasis is on theories of literary systems and their role in scholarly debates on world literature. A special focus will be put on various smaller systems or subsystems which are often overlooked when scholars consider world literature as a unified system. One focus point is the Icelandic context of the early 20^th century, as the term heimsbókmenntir gained ground, as can be seen among others in the reception of the Bengali Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, red world literature and short story translations from esperanto.

Medical humanities is an interdisciplinary field of study that bridges medicine and the humanities, particularly literature, by focusing on narratives and the human body. This course explores key concepts and ideas in the medical humanities, examining the insights that literature and film offer into topics such as illness, pain, emotions, trauma, grief, and the relationships between patients and healthcare professionals. Central to the course is an exploration of the role of narrative in medicine, including an analysis of diverse narrative forms and the contrasting languages used by patients and doctors. Discussions will also cover the connections between storytelling and empathy, as well as how experiences of illness and trauma shape narratives. Emphasis will be placed on the phenomenology of illness, medical case studies, patient narratives, and the symbolic and cultural dimensions of illness as reflected in literature, film, and other art forms. Works analyzed in the course will include the novels Ból by Steinunn Sigurðardóttir, Stóri skjálfti by Auður Jónsdóttir, Lífsmörk by Ari Jóhannesson, Krabbaveislan by Hlynur Grímson; the films Still Alice, Wit, and Eiðurinn; as well as the autobiographies Ótuktin by Anna Pálína Árnadóttir and Ástin, dauðinn og drekinn by Vilborg Davíðsdóttir.

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

In this course, we will explore the various representations of women that appear in literature from earlier centuries, ranging from Norse mythology to folklore. We will examine women and female figures such as goddesses, Norns of fate, trolls (giantesses), Valkyries, shield-maidens, shape-shifting women, maiden kings, seeresses and sorceresses, learned women and nuns, holy virgins, courtly women and princesses, formidable women in the Sagas of Icelanders and legendary sagas, women in the Sturlunga saga, peasant women and female slaves, women writers, rebellious women, women in traditional ballads and sagnakvæði, women in Icelandic fairy tales, and hidden people (huldukonur). In all cases, we will examine the characteristics of these women, their roles in the narratives, their social status, and the societal framework created for them. We will read texts or excerpts where women play significant roles, as well as scholarly works and articles discussing women in Icelandic literature from earlier periods. This course aims to enhance students’ knowledge of women in Icelandic literary history and place them in a new and exciting comprehensive context.

The first night of Samuel’s Beckett Wating for Godot in Paris in 1953 is widely considered as a landmark in the history of Western play-writing and theatre. The origins of the so-called absurdism in theatre is most often related to that event. The influence of the constraint, continually repeated and systematically constructed use of words and actions in Beckett’s plays is easy to trace in works written for the theatre in the latter part of the twentieth century and to this date. In the course of the seminar this specific thread in Western theatre history will be carefully looked at, and analyzed how it can be seen in the bigger context of the development of theatre. Plays written by Pirandello, Tzara, Ionesco, Genet and Arrabal will be included, and shown how Beckett’s approach to drama and theatre is reawakened by Harold Pinter and Jon Fosse. Additionally plays by the American playwright, Edward Albee, and the Icelandic dramatists Oddur Björnsson, Guðmundur Steinsson and Hrafnhildur Hagalín will be read and analyzed.The seminar will be concluded by showing how Beckett in his last period of play-writing created works that are at least as much related to performance art as they are to traditional drama.

The course will explore a variety of films from the U.S. and other countries to highlight the evolution of the noir tradition. Students will engage with seven works of fiction, both domestic and international, that connect to this tradition in diverse ways.

In this seminar we will read the works of women ranging from Sappho and medieval women writers to later authors, such as Charlotte Brontë, Virginia Woolf, Karen Blixen and Zora Neale Hurston.  We will read some critical material alongside those works, but the main emphasis will be on working closely with the texts themselves and situating them in a historical and cultural context.  What do these writers have in common other than being women?  Can one discuss women writers as a specific group, or does such classification in fact confirm and maintain gender-biases that many of these authors fought against?  The emphasis will be on close reading and analysis of the texts as well as on comparative reading across temporal and cultural boundaries.  Students are expected to come prepared to class as we will be working closely with the texts in class.

MA-thesis in Comparative Literature

In this course, MA students in Comparative literature, Cultural studies and Film studies prepare for their final thesis. The group meets every two weeks during the semester. In the first half of the semester, the focus is on selecting a thesis topic, determining and searching primary sources, formulating a research question and other questions about getting started with a final thesis. Students then turn their attention to the theoretical background for their work and its theoretical basis. This work also involves critical reflection on search methods and approaches to texts. The third part of the course is dedicated to student presentations and discussion, where students and instructors come together to discuss research proposals, give feedback and get constructive criticism. The final product of the course is a report with a research proposal, partial bibliography and commentary on thesis aims, theory and methods. Students are also required to write a working diary describing their preparation process and readings and explaining the relation of different texts to their work. Course evaluation is based on this working diary (20%), class presentation (25%) and final paper (55%).

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

This course explores the European Renaissance (1350–1600). By examining key texts from thinkers, writers, and artists such as Petrarch, Christine de Pizan, Thomas More, Machiavelli, Vasari, and Shakespeare, we will investigate the revival of classical culture, the rise of humanism, and the impact of geographical discoveries on the cultural world of the continent. We will engage with well-known works in literature, political philosophy, and art criticism, as well as a variety of lesser-known texts and artworks that provide a more comprehensive understanding of the Renaissance’s ideas about power, social structures, individual identity, and gender roles.

"The late-symbolist and modernist poems of Rainer Maria Rilke still have a wide readership. One of the reasons for this enduring popularity is undoubtedly Rilke’s ability to express existential experience with elevated imagery. Rilke’s works operate between two poles: on one hand, human existence is shown as intertwined with a 'higher order,' and on the other, he has a keen eye for the darker sides of existence. In this course, we will read the most important poetry collections of Rainer Maria Rilke: The Book of Hours, The Book of Images, New Poems, New Poems: The Other Part, Requiem for a Friend, Requiem for Count von Kalckreuth, The Duino Elegies, and The Sonnets to Orpheus.

Heritage cinema are costume drama, made in the last forty years, usually adapted from classical theatre and novels (Shakespeare, Austen, Balzac, E.M. Forster, Virginia Woolf). In the course students will read selection of classical novels from the 19th and the 20th century by Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, Virginia Woolf, E.M Forster, Evelyn Waugh og Jean Rhys, and these works will be analyzed in reference to heritage cinema and adaptations. Among themes and motifs investigated will be romance, nostalgia, relation between the sexes, masculinity, class division, psychosis and women‘s rank in the community.

The seminar deals with the history, role and complex meaning of the concept of world literature. Students will gain insight into earlier writings on world literature from the time of Goethe but the main emphasis is on the vivid scholarly debate in the last quarter of a century, as world literature has again come to play a central role in literary studies with the writings of scholars such as Franco Moretti, Pascale Casanova and David Damrosch. A further emphasis is on theories of literary systems and their role in scholarly debates on world literature. A special focus will be put on various smaller systems or subsystems which are often overlooked when scholars consider world literature as a unified system. One focus point is the Icelandic context of the early 20^th century, as the term heimsbókmenntir gained ground, as can be seen among others in the reception of the Bengali Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, red world literature and short story translations from esperanto.

Medical humanities is an interdisciplinary field of study that bridges medicine and the humanities, particularly literature, by focusing on narratives and the human body. This course explores key concepts and ideas in the medical humanities, examining the insights that literature and film offer into topics such as illness, pain, emotions, trauma, grief, and the relationships between patients and healthcare professionals. Central to the course is an exploration of the role of narrative in medicine, including an analysis of diverse narrative forms and the contrasting languages used by patients and doctors. Discussions will also cover the connections between storytelling and empathy, as well as how experiences of illness and trauma shape narratives. Emphasis will be placed on the phenomenology of illness, medical case studies, patient narratives, and the symbolic and cultural dimensions of illness as reflected in literature, film, and other art forms. Works analyzed in the course will include the novels Ból by Steinunn Sigurðardóttir, Stóri skjálfti by Auður Jónsdóttir, Lífsmörk by Ari Jóhannesson, Krabbaveislan by Hlynur Grímson; the films Still Alice, Wit, and Eiðurinn; as well as the autobiographies Ótuktin by Anna Pálína Árnadóttir and Ástin, dauðinn og drekinn by Vilborg Davíðsdóttir.

MA-thesis in Comparative Literature

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

In this course, we will explore the various representations of women that appear in literature from earlier centuries, ranging from Norse mythology to folklore. We will examine women and female figures such as goddesses, Norns of fate, trolls (giantesses), Valkyries, shield-maidens, shape-shifting women, maiden kings, seeresses and sorceresses, learned women and nuns, holy virgins, courtly women and princesses, formidable women in the Sagas of Icelanders and legendary sagas, women in the Sturlunga saga, peasant women and female slaves, women writers, rebellious women, women in traditional ballads and sagnakvæði, women in Icelandic fairy tales, and hidden people (huldukonur). In all cases, we will examine the characteristics of these women, their roles in the narratives, their social status, and the societal framework created for them. We will read texts or excerpts where women play significant roles, as well as scholarly works and articles discussing women in Icelandic literature from earlier periods. This course aims to enhance students’ knowledge of women in Icelandic literary history and place them in a new and exciting comprehensive context.

The first night of Samuel’s Beckett Wating for Godot in Paris in 1953 is widely considered as a landmark in the history of Western play-writing and theatre. The origins of the so-called absurdism in theatre is most often related to that event. The influence of the constraint, continually repeated and systematically constructed use of words and actions in Beckett’s plays is easy to trace in works written for the theatre in the latter part of the twentieth century and to this date. In the course of the seminar this specific thread in Western theatre history will be carefully looked at, and analyzed how it can be seen in the bigger context of the development of theatre. Plays written by Pirandello, Tzara, Ionesco, Genet and Arrabal will be included, and shown how Beckett’s approach to drama and theatre is reawakened by Harold Pinter and Jon Fosse. Additionally plays by the American playwright, Edward Albee, and the Icelandic dramatists Oddur Björnsson, Guðmundur Steinsson and Hrafnhildur Hagalín will be read and analyzed.The seminar will be concluded by showing how Beckett in his last period of play-writing created works that are at least as much related to performance art as they are to traditional drama.

The course will explore a variety of films from the U.S. and other countries to highlight the evolution of the noir tradition. Students will engage with seven works of fiction, both domestic and international, that connect to this tradition in diverse ways.

In this seminar we will read the works of women ranging from Sappho and medieval women writers to later authors, such as Charlotte Brontë, Virginia Woolf, Karen Blixen and Zora Neale Hurston.  We will read some critical material alongside those works, but the main emphasis will be on working closely with the texts themselves and situating them in a historical and cultural context.  What do these writers have in common other than being women?  Can one discuss women writers as a specific group, or does such classification in fact confirm and maintain gender-biases that many of these authors fought against?  The emphasis will be on close reading and analysis of the texts as well as on comparative reading across temporal and cultural boundaries.  Students are expected to come prepared to class as we will be working closely with the texts in class.

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

This course explores the European Renaissance (1350–1600). By examining key texts from thinkers, writers, and artists such as Petrarch, Christine de Pizan, Thomas More, Machiavelli, Vasari, and Shakespeare, we will investigate the revival of classical culture, the rise of humanism, and the impact of geographical discoveries on the cultural world of the continent. We will engage with well-known works in literature, political philosophy, and art criticism, as well as a variety of lesser-known texts and artworks that provide a more comprehensive understanding of the Renaissance’s ideas about power, social structures, individual identity, and gender roles.

"The late-symbolist and modernist poems of Rainer Maria Rilke still have a wide readership. One of the reasons for this enduring popularity is undoubtedly Rilke’s ability to express existential experience with elevated imagery. Rilke’s works operate between two poles: on one hand, human existence is shown as intertwined with a 'higher order,' and on the other, he has a keen eye for the darker sides of existence. In this course, we will read the most important poetry collections of Rainer Maria Rilke: The Book of Hours, The Book of Images, New Poems, New Poems: The Other Part, Requiem for a Friend, Requiem for Count von Kalckreuth, The Duino Elegies, and The Sonnets to Orpheus.

Heritage cinema are costume drama, made in the last forty years, usually adapted from classical theatre and novels (Shakespeare, Austen, Balzac, E.M. Forster, Virginia Woolf). In the course students will read selection of classical novels from the 19th and the 20th century by Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, Virginia Woolf, E.M Forster, Evelyn Waugh og Jean Rhys, and these works will be analyzed in reference to heritage cinema and adaptations. Among themes and motifs investigated will be romance, nostalgia, relation between the sexes, masculinity, class division, psychosis and women‘s rank in the community.

The seminar deals with the history, role and complex meaning of the concept of world literature. Students will gain insight into earlier writings on world literature from the time of Goethe but the main emphasis is on the vivid scholarly debate in the last quarter of a century, as world literature has again come to play a central role in literary studies with the writings of scholars such as Franco Moretti, Pascale Casanova and David Damrosch. A further emphasis is on theories of literary systems and their role in scholarly debates on world literature. A special focus will be put on various smaller systems or subsystems which are often overlooked when scholars consider world literature as a unified system. One focus point is the Icelandic context of the early 20^th century, as the term heimsbókmenntir gained ground, as can be seen among others in the reception of the Bengali Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, red world literature and short story translations from esperanto.

Medical humanities is an interdisciplinary field of study that bridges medicine and the humanities, particularly literature, by focusing on narratives and the human body. This course explores key concepts and ideas in the medical humanities, examining the insights that literature and film offer into topics such as illness, pain, emotions, trauma, grief, and the relationships between patients and healthcare professionals. Central to the course is an exploration of the role of narrative in medicine, including an analysis of diverse narrative forms and the contrasting languages used by patients and doctors. Discussions will also cover the connections between storytelling and empathy, as well as how experiences of illness and trauma shape narratives. Emphasis will be placed on the phenomenology of illness, medical case studies, patient narratives, and the symbolic and cultural dimensions of illness as reflected in literature, film, and other art forms. Works analyzed in the course will include the novels Ból by Steinunn Sigurðardóttir, Stóri skjálfti by Auður Jónsdóttir, Lífsmörk by Ari Jóhannesson, Krabbaveislan by Hlynur Grímson; the films Still Alice, Wit, and Eiðurinn; as well as the autobiographies Ótuktin by Anna Pálína Árnadóttir and Ástin, dauðinn og drekinn by Vilborg Davíðsdóttir.

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

In this course, we will explore the various representations of women that appear in literature from earlier centuries, ranging from Norse mythology to folklore. We will examine women and female figures such as goddesses, Norns of fate, trolls (giantesses), Valkyries, shield-maidens, shape-shifting women, maiden kings, seeresses and sorceresses, learned women and nuns, holy virgins, courtly women and princesses, formidable women in the Sagas of Icelanders and legendary sagas, women in the Sturlunga saga, peasant women and female slaves, women writers, rebellious women, women in traditional ballads and sagnakvæði, women in Icelandic fairy tales, and hidden people (huldukonur). In all cases, we will examine the characteristics of these women, their roles in the narratives, their social status, and the societal framework created for them. We will read texts or excerpts where women play significant roles, as well as scholarly works and articles discussing women in Icelandic literature from earlier periods. This course aims to enhance students’ knowledge of women in Icelandic literary history and place them in a new and exciting comprehensive context.

The first night of Samuel’s Beckett Wating for Godot in Paris in 1953 is widely considered as a landmark in the history of Western play-writing and theatre. The origins of the so-called absurdism in theatre is most often related to that event. The influence of the constraint, continually repeated and systematically constructed use of words and actions in Beckett’s plays is easy to trace in works written for the theatre in the latter part of the twentieth century and to this date. In the course of the seminar this specific thread in Western theatre history will be carefully looked at, and analyzed how it can be seen in the bigger context of the development of theatre. Plays written by Pirandello, Tzara, Ionesco, Genet and Arrabal will be included, and shown how Beckett’s approach to drama and theatre is reawakened by Harold Pinter and Jon Fosse. Additionally plays by the American playwright, Edward Albee, and the Icelandic dramatists Oddur Björnsson, Guðmundur Steinsson and Hrafnhildur Hagalín will be read and analyzed.The seminar will be concluded by showing how Beckett in his last period of play-writing created works that are at least as much related to performance art as they are to traditional drama.

The course will explore a variety of films from the U.S. and other countries to highlight the evolution of the noir tradition. Students will engage with seven works of fiction, both domestic and international, that connect to this tradition in diverse ways.

In this seminar we will read the works of women ranging from Sappho and medieval women writers to later authors, such as Charlotte Brontë, Virginia Woolf, Karen Blixen and Zora Neale Hurston.  We will read some critical material alongside those works, but the main emphasis will be on working closely with the texts themselves and situating them in a historical and cultural context.  What do these writers have in common other than being women?  Can one discuss women writers as a specific group, or does such classification in fact confirm and maintain gender-biases that many of these authors fought against?  The emphasis will be on close reading and analysis of the texts as well as on comparative reading across temporal and cultural boundaries.  Students are expected to come prepared to class as we will be working closely with the texts in class.

MA-thesis in Comparative Literature

In this course, MA students in Comparative literature, Cultural studies and Film studies prepare for their final thesis. The group meets every two weeks during the semester. In the first half of the semester, the focus is on selecting a thesis topic, determining and searching primary sources, formulating a research question and other questions about getting started with a final thesis. Students then turn their attention to the theoretical background for their work and its theoretical basis. This work also involves critical reflection on search methods and approaches to texts. The third part of the course is dedicated to student presentations and discussion, where students and instructors come together to discuss research proposals, give feedback and get constructive criticism. The final product of the course is a report with a research proposal, partial bibliography and commentary on thesis aims, theory and methods. Students are also required to write a working diary describing their preparation process and readings and explaining the relation of different texts to their work. Course evaluation is based on this working diary (20%), class presentation (25%) and final paper (55%).

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

A project is selected in consultation with a teacher, and that teacher must approve the student's research plans before she or he is permitted to register for a study of this kind.

This course explores the European Renaissance (1350–1600). By examining key texts from thinkers, writers, and artists such as Petrarch, Christine de Pizan, Thomas More, Machiavelli, Vasari, and Shakespeare, we will investigate the revival of classical culture, the rise of humanism, and the impact of geographical discoveries on the cultural world of the continent. We will engage with well-known works in literature, political philosophy, and art criticism, as well as a variety of lesser-known texts and artworks that provide a more comprehensive understanding of the Renaissance’s ideas about power, social structures, individual identity, and gender roles.

"The late-symbolist and modernist poems of Rainer Maria Rilke still have a wide readership. One of the reasons for this enduring popularity is undoubtedly Rilke’s ability to express existential experience with elevated imagery. Rilke’s works operate between two poles: on one hand, human existence is shown as intertwined with a 'higher order,' and on the other, he has a keen eye for the darker sides of existence. In this course, we will read the most important poetry collections of Rainer Maria Rilke: The Book of Hours, The Book of Images, New Poems, New Poems: The Other Part, Requiem for a Friend, Requiem for Count von Kalckreuth, The Duino Elegies, and The Sonnets to Orpheus.

Heritage cinema are costume drama, made in the last forty years, usually adapted from classical theatre and novels (Shakespeare, Austen, Balzac, E.M. Forster, Virginia Woolf). In the course students will read selection of classical novels from the 19th and the 20th century by Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, Virginia Woolf, E.M Forster, Evelyn Waugh og Jean Rhys, and these works will be analyzed in reference to heritage cinema and adaptations. Among themes and motifs investigated will be romance, nostalgia, relation between the sexes, masculinity, class division, psychosis and women‘s rank in the community.

The seminar deals with the history, role and complex meaning of the concept of world literature. Students will gain insight into earlier writings on world literature from the time of Goethe but the main emphasis is on the vivid scholarly debate in the last quarter of a century, as world literature has again come to play a central role in literary studies with the writings of scholars such as Franco Moretti, Pascale Casanova and David Damrosch. A further emphasis is on theories of literary systems and their role in scholarly debates on world literature. A special focus will be put on various smaller systems or subsystems which are often overlooked when scholars consider world literature as a unified system. One focus point is the Icelandic context of the early 20^th century, as the term heimsbókmenntir gained ground, as can be seen among others in the reception of the Bengali Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, red world literature and short story translations from esperanto.

Medical humanities is an interdisciplinary field of study that bridges medicine and the humanities, particularly literature, by focusing on narratives and the human body. This course explores key concepts and ideas in the medical humanities, examining the insights that literature and film offer into topics such as illness, pain, emotions, trauma, grief, and the relationships between patients and healthcare professionals. Central to the course is an exploration of the role of narrative in medicine, including an analysis of diverse narrative forms and the contrasting languages used by patients and doctors. Discussions will also cover the connections between storytelling and empathy, as well as how experiences of illness and trauma shape narratives. Emphasis will be placed on the phenomenology of illness, medical case studies, patient narratives, and the symbolic and cultural dimensions of illness as reflected in literature, film, and other art forms. Works analyzed in the course will include the novels Ból by Steinunn Sigurðardóttir, Stóri skjálfti by Auður Jónsdóttir, Lífsmörk by Ari Jóhannesson, Krabbaveislan by Hlynur Grímson; the films Still Alice, Wit, and Eiðurinn; as well as the autobiographies Ótuktin by Anna Pálína Árnadóttir and Ástin, dauðinn og drekinn by Vilborg Davíðsdóttir.

MA-thesis in Comparative Literature