HOME 

Hand in final essay and final exam here

Class discussion website

Grades

 SCAND 345 / EURO 345:
BALTIC CULTURES

Winter Quarter 2009

Reading Assignments:

  • Numbers (#1, #2) refer to items on reserve
  • underlined titles are links to websites

Week 1 (Jan 5-7) Encounters with Baltic Cultures

Mon: What do tourists see in the Baltic?

  1. Online video clips: "You won't believe it": song, aerodium, cosmos, cow;
  2. Visit Estonia (5 videos) ;
  3. "Flight over Lithuania,"
     
  4. More videos, just for fun: History of Latvia; History of Estonia; "A Trip to the Great Little Country"
  5. "Sounds Like Latvia," "Journey to the Center of Europe" "Unseen Lithuania" "Tallinn Tours"(films may take some time to download)
  6. Reference: Google Maps:

 
View Larger Map

Wednesday: Reading Landscapes
Reading due today:

  1. Imants Ziedonis, "My Motorcycle" (#1)
     

Week 2 (Jan 12-14): Agrarian Roots

Mon: Approaching realism

  1. Jonas Biliūnas, "Death of Brisius" (#2)
  2. Rūdolfs Blaumanis, "Andrikson" (#3)
  3. Anton Hansen Tammsaare, excerpt from Truth and Justice (1926).  [Link to online archive] (For information about connecting from off-campus, click here) ;
    Just for fun, see an Estonian ad for the book on YouTube [Link]

Wed: Romanticizing reality

  1. Mikalojus Čiurlionis, paintings and music
  2. Vincas Krėvė, "The Herdsman and the Linden Tree" (#4)

Week 3 (Jan 21): Folk songs, old and new

Mon: Martin Luther King, Jr., Holiday

  • Begin Friedrich Kreutzwald, Kalevipoeg (#6)

Wed: From folk tradition to national tradition

  1. Selected Baltic folksongs (#5)
  2. Ceiruleits, "I rode through the Prussian land, playing kokle and singing"
  3. Romuva 2008, "Your last morning" "Your last morning with a green rue wreath on your head"
  4. Veljo Tormis, Three Estonian folksongs, number 1 (numbers 2 and 3 are also interesting!)
     
  5. F. Kreutzwald, Kalevipoeg (#6)

Week 4 (Jan 26-28): Building Nations

Mon: Creating national epics

  1. F. Kreutzwald, Kalevipoeg (#6)
     
  2. Maironis, "Trakai Castle" (Scroll down to find the poem at http://www.efn.org/~valdas/maironis.html); (song & film on YouTube)

Wed: Defining the nation in national songs, past and present

  1. Selected songs (#7)
  2. Lydia Koidula "Land of my fathers" [Link to YouTube]
  3. Auseklis, "Castle of Light" [Link to YouTube]
  4. Maironis, "Dear Lithuania" [Link to YouTube]
     
  5. "Beauty of the Land of our Fathers" [Link to YouTube]
  6. Brainstorm, "My Song" [Link to YouTube]
  7. "Three Millions"  [Link to YouTube]; [karaoke]

Fri: Assignment 1 due; post it on the class website, and post your comments on a classmate's essay by Wednesday next week. 

Week 5 (Feb 2-4): International Currents, National Communication

Mon: Developing national Heroes for the 20th century

  1. Rainis, Fire and Night (#8)
  2. Excerpts from 1988 rock opera by Māra Zālīte, "Lāčplēsis" (#9) and mp3 recordings online (slow download): Lāčplēsis-Atgriešanās, Laimdota-Teci Saulīt, Līkcepure-Kangar

Wed: Discovering national Heroines for the 20th century

  1. Žemaitė, "Tofylis" (#10)

Week 6 (Feb 9-11): Beyond heroes, beyond nation building

Mon: In search of Art and Humanity

  1. Ēriks Ādamsons, "The Great Defier" (#11)
  2. Friedebert Tuglas, "Cannibals" (#12)

Wed: Borrowing culture

  1. Doctor Dolittle in the Baltic: Māra Zālīte, "The Birds' Opera" (#13)

Week 7 (Feb 18): Finno-Ugric connections

Mon: Presidents Day Holiday

  • Reading this week: Begin reading Ričardas Gavelis, Vilnius Poker

Wed: Laura Stark guest lecture: Sorcerers and Healers in Finland

  1. Aleksander Heintalu (Vigala Sass) and Elo Liiv Home Page, [Link]
  2. Optional reading, "Transmission of Knowledge among Estonian Witch Doctors" [Link]

Fri: Assignment 2 due; post it on the class website, and post your comments on a classmate's essay by Wednesday next week. 

Week 8 (Feb 23-25) Destruction, deconstruction of nations

Mon: Dealing with the trauma of war and Sovietization

  1. Jānis Sudrabkalns, "Stalin, We are following you" (#14)
  2. Romualdas Granauskas, "Red Forest"
  3. Veljo Tormis, "Song of the aborigine" [video]; "Curse upon Iron" (#15) [sound recording]
     
  4. Begin discussing Ričardas Gavelis, Vilnius Poker

Wed: Fighting destruction

  • Ričardas Gavelis, Vilnius Poker

Week 9 (March 2-4) Return to the Roots, Revival of National Culture

Mon Discovering Islands of Truth

  1. Romualdas Granauskas, "Bread Eaters" (#15)
  2. Imants Ziedonis, "At Maruža's," "Mother's the essence," "Green Fairy Tale," "I say to you, sing!" (#16)

Wed: Nonviolent Revolutions

Fri: Assignment 3 due; post it on the class website, and post your comments on a classmate's essay by Wednesday next week. 

Week 10 (March 9-11) Baltic Culture revisited

Monday and Wednesday:  Student presentations

  • Just for fun:
  • Priit Pärn, "Frank and Wendy" [Link];
  • Eurovision Championships: Estonia, winner in 2001; Latvia, winner in 2002; Lithuania, "We are the winners" in 2005

Fri: Final Essay (revise and expand one assignment) due.  Upload your essay to the "Collect It" website for this class, NOT the regular class discussion website.  

Final Examination Monday, March 16, 2009, 2:30-4:20

Upload your final exam essay to the "Collect It" website
 BACK TO TOP

Last Updated:
03/10/2009

 Contact the instructor at: guntiss@u.washington.edu