By The Keystone Newspaper By Kara Armstrong
Danish professor Julie King launches “Scandimania” course, bringing her culture to Kutztown
Danish professor Julie King has a kind smile, gentle mannerisms and a welcoming demeanor. She’s also nearly six feet tall. While her height may not be unusual in Denmark, it makes an impression in Kutztown.
The Danish professor is sharing her culture with KU students through a selected topic course called “Scandimania.” The course focuses on Scandinavian literature in translation and is designed to give students a different cultural perspective on social issues such as gender equality, LGBTQ rights and sustainable living.
Scandimania students begin the class by learning about the Modern Breakthrough, a literary movement that took place in 19th-century Scandinavia. Spearheaded by Danish literary critic Georg Brandes, the movement called for literature that debated social issues.
Students will study books from this period such as Lucie by Amalie Skram and As Trains Pass By (Katinka) by Herman Bang. One of Bang’s books was banned, in part due to the author’s homosexuality; years later, Denmark was the first country to legalize gay marriage. King says it is this type of severe shift in culture that her students examine.
“We study how these societies with so many social issues changed into societies that are known for social responsibility today,” said King.
Nordic countries are known for their access to free health care and higher education, high levels of gender equality and sustainable way of living. She hopes this course will give students perspective on Nordic countries and their own cultures.
“When I moved from one culture to the other, it opened my eyes to a lot of things about my own culture,” said King.
After living with her American husband in Denmark for 15 years, the couple decided it was time for a move. Their four sons hold dual Danish-American citizenship, and King felt it was important for her children to experience both sides of their heritage.
King left behind a career teaching high school which she loved. “When I came here, it turned out that my educational background and my teaching experience was a better fit for college than high school,” she said. High schools in Denmark require their teachers to have a master’s degree in the subject they teach, not in education. King holds a master’s degree in English and Scandinavian literature and languages from Roskilde University, qualifying her to teach as an adjunct professor at an American university level.
Additionally, King says that Danish high schools are structured more similarly to American colleges than American high schools. American high schools have a strict focus on rules, regulations and consequences that is not present in Danish high schools.
“We don’t take on the role of the authority there as much as teachers traditionally do here,” said King. “Part of the reason is there aren’t as many rules to uphold in the classroom.”
These nuances allow King’s teaching style to be more relational than students are typically used to in America. “It’s very important to me that the students feel comfortable in my classroom,” she said.
King allows her students to make revisions and resubmit assignments. “When you’re teaching writing, you have to allow room for practice,” she said.
This is King’s second year teaching at KU and her first year teaching full-time at KU. In addition to her Scandimania class, she currently teaches three freshman composition courses. She feels that her teaching style works well for first-year students, who appreciate being shown grace in their first semester of college. “A classroom that allows room for practice and mistakes is conducive to learning, in my opinion,” said King, “and I’ve noticed that students respond well to that kind of learning environment.”
Selected topic courses only run once or twice, so this may be KU students’ only opportunity to take Scandimania. King hopes that it will be run for a second time or even be turned into a regularly offered course.
“It would be fun to turn it into a course that could be offered to an even wider audience,” said King. “A lot of students in the class are not English majors, so it seems to have an appeal to a wide audience.”