Courses in the FIG:
UGST 109 FIG Seminar
TIME | BUILDING | CRN | 1 Credit
This FIG explores a moment in Scandinavian history through its mythology and literature. The so called “Viking Age” has produced a whole slew of exaggerated stereotypes of merciless and marauding raiders, but perhaps we should keep in mind that these images were mostly constructed by the enemies of these medieval Scandinavians, we now mistakenly call the Vikings. It should be noted that medieval Scandinavians did not start writing down their stories until after their conversion to Christianity. In other words, the sagas were written after the period they describe by descendants of the “Vikings” who wrote about a past they sought to preserve and “correct.” This leads to several problems of interpretation and an opening to understand how peoples construct images of their past in order to speak to their present moment. Our FIG which pairs Scandinavian 259 with PSY 202Z will attempt to flesh out a more nuanced understanding of medieval Scandinavia. We will look at this moment as a time of a paradigm shift in religious belief, culture, and understanding. Our FIG class will attempt to connect how a people look at their past with how they understand their present moment. FIG activities will discussions, lunches, a dinner, and several day trips around Eugene.
PSY 202 Introduction to Psychology II
Social Science (>2)| TIME | BUILDING | CRN | 4 Credits
Psychology is the systematic study of experience and behavior -- how we think, feel, and act. This course introduces psychology by considering many of the sources of influence that produce the variations and commonalities we see in human psychology. The scope includes topics relevant both to the understanding of "normal" human functioning and to mental illness. Mental illness is an important part of psychology, but many of the influences on the mind that produce mental illness are at play in mentally healthy minds too. Topics covered in this course include: Development - Over time, how do the physical and cognitive changes that occur in humans affect their abilities, activities, and emotions, and how are these changes similar or different to those that occur in other species? Events and influences at one point in time can predict outcomes later in life. Personality - Our behavior often reflects stable and enduring traits that make us uniquely us. Some of these traits we are born with, others are encouraged by our environments, and some reflect the interplay of both nature and nurture. Social influence - Human behavior rarely occurs in isolation. Much of what we do everyday involves coordination and communication with the rest of the "pack," concern about how other people regard us, and a desire to influence others' behavior. The course takes a research-based approach to psychology, considering at every step along the way how psychologists can best empirically test their theories and add new knowledge about human behavior. Students are given a chance to hone their own observation skills, to develop and test hypotheses, and to become critical consumers of research findings.
SCAN 259 Vikings Through the Icelandic Sagas
Arts & Letters (>1)| TIME | BUILDING | CRN | 4 Credits
The Sagas and Hybrid Culture: This class serves as an introduction to the social, political, and cultural expressions of Viking Age Icelandic society through a survey of the medieval Sagas. The course attempts to illustrate how medieval Iceland forged its own identity while being profoundly engaged with other cultures. We know that the written documents depicting pre-Christian Scandinavia derive from Roman, Islamic, and Continental European sources, and that the Icelandic saga writers were attempting to create documentation attesting to both the uniqueness of Icelandic culture and its connection to the Christian world at large. With this in mind, we shall begin by establishing a premise: the hybridity of the cultural environment in which the Norse sagas were written is discernable when we understand that these narratives depict a time that rests on the cusp of the Icelandic conversion to Christianity. It is just as important that we keep in mind that the sagas that we will read were written retrospectively, two to three hundred years after the ?fact,? and during a time when Icelandic independence was under threat. Therefore, it is only fitting that we begin our survey with an exploration of the 13th century Icelandic reconstruction of Old Norse belief systems. We will then turn to a heroic saga, which has its roots in a larger European tradition, and look at the specific Icelandic cast of this story. After that, we shall read a series of Icelandic Family sagas, set in Iceland, and attempt to understand both their cultural context and how they themselves contextualize cultural tensions. In this way, we can explore how the development of culture and national identity reveals the dynamic interaction between local and imported beliefs. This course is conducted in English.