STUDY ABROAD! Sweden: Summer 2007

We are sorry to announce that the SWEDEN 2008 program has been CANCELLED due to budgetary constraints and problems caused by the weakness of the US dollar.

UMKC HONORS STUDY ABROAD IN
Uppsala, SWEDEN
July 1 – July 28, 2008
Sponsored by UMKC’s
Honors Program & the Center for International Academic Programs
Professor Lynda Payne, Program Director

Application Deadline: Friday, February 15, 2008

Photograph by Jen Kramer
Summer 2006 Participant

APPROXIMATE COSTS (exchange rate dependent)		OTHER ESTIMATED COSTS
UMKC Tuition & Fees (6 units UG):	$1500	Travel (r/t airfare KC-Uppsala):	$1000
Lodging (27 days) & excursions:	$1000	Meals:	$600
Program Fee:	$700	Mandatory study abroad insurance:	$40
		Spending Money (suggested)	$750
Approximate total:	$3,200	*Other estimated* costs total:**	$2,390

Insurance: The University of Missouri System requires each study abroad participant to enroll in the UM HTH Worldwide Health Insurance Plan for the period of their program. HTH specializes in study abroad. The UM System has worked with them to create a comprehensive plan fitting our specific needs. Insurance is approximately $40 per month with no deductible. More information is available on the Center for International Academic Programs website: www.umkc.edu/international

IMPORTANT DEADLINES
ALL application materials go to:
Center for International Academic Programs
Sweden Program
5325 Rockhill Road
Kansas City, MO 64110
Email: international@umkc.edu
Web: www.umkc.edu/international
(Hours 8-5 or front door drop box)

Friday, February 15, 2008: the application, along with a $50 deposit. If you are not accepted into the program, deposits will be refunded.
Friday, March 14, 2008: $700 deposit.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008: Balance $950 (+ UMKC Tuition and Fees).

2008 course offerings

History H400CC XCA: History, Nature, and Culture in Sweden (FL H480A)

History H497XCA: Project in Swedish History and Culture (FL H490B)

UMKC Study Abroad Program in Uppsala, Sweden, July 2008
Dr. Lynda Payne, Associate Professor of History

History H400CC XCA: History, Nature, and Culture in Sweden

(Crosslisted as FL H480A)

This three-unit interdisciplinary cluster course explores the interplay of history, nature, and culture in Sweden largely from the 18th century to the present. Together, we will read literature, look at artwork, listen to music, visit urban and rural sites, and discuss how the portrayal of nature is both a reflection of, and a driving force in the history and culture of Sweden.

Located in a beautiful region of lakes and surrounded by fields and forests, no Swedish city has a history as long as that of Uppsala. From the 6th to the 14th centuries the Swedish kings were elected at Mora stenar just outside the city. Uppsala has the largest cathedral (consecrated 1435) and the oldest university (founded in 1477) in Scandinavia. The Old Library, or Carolina Rediviva, contains student notes from the first semester, the Codex Argentus or Silver Bible from the 6th century, and a wonderful collection of maps dating back five hundred years. We will tour the oldest preserved building on campus, the Museum Gustavianum, and its restored anatomical theater from the early 1600s. The might of Sweden during the 17th century will be seen in visits to Uppsala Castle where breathtaking views of the city can be enjoyed. We will also travel by boat down the Fyris River to the impressive Skokloster Castle, and by train to Stockholm – a journey of only 45 minutes – to experience the Vasa Museum, the Royal Palace, the Nordic Museum of History, and too many other places to mention

Spending July in Uppsala gives us the perfect opportunity to focus our discussions around two moments in Sweden’s past when the interplay of history, nature and culture is particularly intriguing. The first involves one of the most famous scientists of the 18th century and the second concerns a generation of freethinkers in the 20th. Carl von Linné, or Linnaeus (1707-1778) was a professor of medicine and botany at Uppsala University. He devoted his life to classifying plants, animals, and humans throughout Sweden and the world. Linnaeus was the first to group warm blooded creatures together as “mammals.” We will read some of his writings, visit his Botanical Gardens at the University, tour his home in the city, and discuss Linnaeus’s impact on re-defining the relationship of human society to the natural world.

In the early 20th century “Swedishness” was constructed for future generations by the National Romantics. In the face of industrialization, the goal of this movement of artists, writers, and composers was to promote a Swedish national identity by preserving the indigenous culture and creating a society based on simplicity, cleanliness, and social equality. We will spend a weekend in Värmland, a beautiful region of forests and the center of Swedish National Romanticism. There we will visit the home of Selma Lagerlöf at Mårbacka. Lagerlöf was the first female writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1909. Her stories combine Nordic myths with a love of nature and also address social problems of the day. In the latter part of the class we will explore what the legacies of Linnaeus and the National Romantics are in Sweden, and especially in Uppsala, today. The city is both a home to Sweden’s oldest national symbols and a center for immigrants and political refugees from all over the world. It provides the ideal venue to consider Swedish traditions, Swedish politics, and the Swedish Welfare State.

READINGS

Books to buy (I suggest you buy these in the US and bring them with you. They are all available in paperback. There are bookshops in Uppsala that sell English language books but they are more expensive).

Selma Lagerlöf, The Wonderful Adventures of Nils, Dover Publications for Children, 1995
Majgull Axelsson, April Witch, Random House, 2003
Hjalmar Söderberg, Doctor Glas, Random House: Anchor Books, 2002

ASSIGNMENT

Keep a daily experiential journal and turn it in weekly to me. Please reflect on the topics for this course and your reactions to being in Sweden.

You will be graded on the above and your participation in lectures, discussions, and tours.

PROGRAM LECTURES AND TOURS

WEEK ONE

Monday: Orientation to Uppsala, drawing up a budget and sticking to it! Walk to the Cathedral and the Carolina Rediviva (guided tour)

Tuesday: We go to the lovely Baroque Castle of Skokloster by boat from Uppsala (11-4:30 p.m). Buffet lunch included on the boat.

Wednesday: Lecture on the Vikings and on medieval Sweden– then to Gamla Uppsala by bus to see the burial mounds, the medieval church, and the museum.

Thursday: Life and music in early modern Sweden: Lecture by Dr. Everett and Dr. Payne. Afternoon, we visit Uppsala castle.

Friday: Stockholm Day Tour. We visit Drottningholm Palace and then the Vasa Museum. From approximately 3 p.m. you will be free to explore Stockholm on your own.

The Weekend is free

Please read the handout from Linnaeus’ Iter Lapponicum (The Journey to Lapland) by Monday.

WEEK TWO
Please read The Wonderful Adventures of Nils before we go to Sunnë

Monday: Introduction to Linnaeus by Dr Chronwall. Walk to the Linné and the Botanical Gardens, see Linnaeus’ house, the university and the Museum Gustavianum

Tuesday: Linnaeus and his students by Dr. Chronwall. Visit to Hammarby by bus in the afternoon

Wednesday: Lecture on Nineteenth Century Sweden and Selma Lagerlöf by Dr. Payne. Afternoon is free to pack etc.

Thursday: To Värmland: We take the train to Karlstad (visit the Cathedral), then change to the train for Sunnë

Friday: Värmland: Tour of Selma Lagerlöf’s home, Mårbacka. At 7p.m. Program Dinner at Broby Gästgivaregård where we are staying.

Saturday: Return to Uppsala by train

Sunday: Free Day

Please read Dr. Glas by Hjalmar Söderberg by Monday

WEEK THREE

Monday: Music and National Romanticism by Dr. Everett, discussion of Dr. Glas

Afternoon free

Tuesday: Art and National Romanticism by Dr. Payne

Visit to the Thielska Galleriet and the Nordiska Museet in Stockholm. You may choose to stay on in the city and perhaps visit Skansen in the evening.

Wednesday: The construction of the Folkhemmet or the People’s Home: a Welfare State.

Thursday: WWII and Sweden’s neutrality. Visit to the Peace Museum at Uppsala Castle

Friday - Sunday: Free. Please read April Witch by Tuesday

WEEK FOUR Contemporary Topics

Monday: Government in Sweden. Visit to the Stadhuset in Stockholm

Tuesday: Health care in Sweden, discussion of April Witch. Afternoon free

Wednesday: PRESENTATION OF PROJECTS AT GAMLA UPPSALA from History 497XCA

Thursday: PRESENTATION OF PROJECTS IN SIGTUNA

UMKC Study Abroad Program in Uppsala, Sweden, July 2008
Dr. Lynda Payne, Associate Professor of History

History H497XCA: Project in Swedish History and Culture

(Crosslisted as FL H490B)

This three-unit interdisciplinary hands-on course is designed to help you choose and create a project concerning some aspect of the history and culture of Sweden. All students must present their project on one of the last two days of the course. Projects can take the form of a poster, a historical paper, a scrapbook, or other creative activity, for example, a piece of visual art, a poem, a short story, or a performance. Please include the context of the piece.

Time will be devoted to discussing in small groups the places we have visited for what they reveal about that week’s topic — Linnaeus and Nature, National Romanticism, Modern Sweden, and Contemporary Issues. You will also have scheduled one-on-one meetings with the instructor(s) to discuss progress toward completion of the project.

WEEK ONE: Linnaeus and Nature
START THINKING ABOUT A POSSIBLE PROJECT!
This week we visit sites that would have been familiar to Linnaeus in the eighteenth century, such as the cathedral, the university, and the anatomy theatre, along with sites he helped create, such as the botanic gardens, the Linné garden, and his summer home at Hammarby. We also travel by boat to Skokloster and to Stockholm to see the Vasa ship and Drottningholm Palace.

TOPICS for discussion in small groups: What impression do you have of Linnaeus and his work based on these tours? Linnaeus stated that one of his goals was to try and restore Sweden’s former greatness. What was he referring to? Can you use the trips to Skokloster and Stockholm as evidence of the power and wealth Sweden once possessed? How does the music Dr. Everett played and discussed reflect the rise and decline of the state? What was King Gustav III trying to do?

WEEK TWO: National Romanticism

MONDAY: TURN IN A ONE-PARAGRAPH DESCRIPTION OF YOUR TOPIC TO DR PAYNE. PLEASE SIGN UP FOR AN APPOINTMENT TO MEET WITH DR PAYNE TO DISCUSS YOUR PROGRESS ON THE PROJECT WHILE WE ARE IN VARMLAND.

This week we visit Skansen and the Nordiska Museet. Both were founded by the National Romanticist Artur Havelius in the 1880s. He collected houses, churches, palaces, and animals from all over Sweden and had them moved to the capital so Swedes would not lose touch with their past as the country rapidly industrialized.

TOPICS for discussion in small groups: From your trip to Skansen and the Nordiska Museet, what do you think the goals of Hazelius were? Can you relate them to some of the themes in the readings for this week by Selma LagerlÅf and Hjalmar Soderberg? What exactly was National Romanticism in Sweden and how was it both created and reflected in art and music?

WEEK THREE: Twentieth Century Sweden

PLEASE SIGN UP FOR A TIME TO MEET WITH DR PAYNE THIS WEEK TO DISCUSS YOUR PROGRESS ON THE PROJECT.

This week we focus on life in twentieth century Sweden – within families and at university — and two things that Sweden is famous for – the Nobel Prizes and the country’s high standard of living. Dr. Chronwall also leads a tour to the home of a 19^th century banker that he turned into an intimate art gallery.

TOPICS for discussion in small groups: What did the tours to Selma LagerlÅf’s home in Varmland and to the Thielska Galleriet reveal about the lives and interests of upper middle class Swedish families? Why were the Nobel Prizes set up and how do the winners get chosen today? Why does Sweden have such a strong Welfare State? What do you think of the idea of cradle to grave welfare for all citizens regardless of income?

WEEK FOUR: Contemporary issues in Sweden

PLEASE SIGN UP FOR A SLOT TO PRESENT YOUR PROJECT ON WEDNESDAY OR THURSDAY.

This week we discuss the connection of health and sexuality to nature in Sweden and visit the magnificent art nouveau City Hall and the National Museum’s Modern Swedish Design Collection in Stockholm. By contrast we travel to two early Viking settlements, Gamla Uppsala and Sigtuna to examine how Sweden preserves and presents its’ past.

TOPICS for discussion in small groups: What message were the architects trying to give to the public in their choice of design for the City Hall? How is the building used today? What message were you meant to take away from the tour? The National Museum, Gamla Uppsala and Sigtuna all proclaim that they represent Swedish history and culture. How do they do that? At the end of your month, what do you think the best and the worst things are about Sweden? What did the author of April Witch think they are? Did you agree with her?

PROJECTS WILL BE PRESENTED AT GAMLA UPPSALA AND SIGTUNA. PLEASE PREPARE FOR A 15 MINUTE PRESENTATION AND SEE DR. PAYNE IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS.

2006 Sweden Program students with Professor Chronwall
(one of 3 UMKC faculty members involved in this interdisciplinary course)