Icelandic Studies
Head: Peter Buchan
Campus Address/General Office: 357 University College
Telephone: 204 474 8487
Email Address: um_icelandic@umanitoba.ca
Website: umanitoba.ca/icelandic
Program Information
The department offers a study of a cultural heritage that crosses centuries, oceans and continents, which includes courses in Icelandic language and literature and the poetics of immigration. The study of Icelandic prepares students for opportunities in research, teaching, translation, writing, interpretation and publishing.
For entry, continuation and graduation requirements for the General Degree, Advanced Degree and Honours Degree, see: Basic Faculty Regulations for the B.A. General, Advanced and Honours Degree Programs.
Major Program
For entry to the Major, the prerequisite is a grade of “C” or better in either ICEL 1200 (6) or ICEL 2200 (6).
A minimum "C" average in all courses that comprise the Major is required to graduate including the higher grade of repeated courses and excluding failed courses.
Minor (Concentration) Program
For entry to the Minor (Concentration), the prerequisite is a grade of “C” or better in ICEL 1400 and ICEL 1410, or ICEL 1200 or ICEL 2200.
Honours Program
The Honours program is not currently offered.
For information on reciprocal recognition of credit for Scandinavian/ Icelandic courses given by the University of Alberta and the University of Manitoba, see the department.
Programs
Degree/Diploma | Years to Completion | Total Credit Hours | Has Co-op Option |
---|---|---|---|
Degree/Diploma Icelandic, B.A. Double Honours | Years to Completion 4 | Total Credit Hours 120 | Has Co-op Option no |
Degree/Diploma Icelandic, B.A. General | Years to Completion 3 | Total Credit Hours 90 | Has Co-op Option no |
Degree/Diploma Icelandic, B.A. Single Honours | Years to Completion 4 | Total Credit Hours 120 | Has Co-op Option no |
Degree/Diploma Icelandic Minor (Concentration) | Total Credit Hours 18 | Has Co-op Option no |
Courses
Icelandic
(Lab required) Language of instruction: English. Intended for students with little or no previous knowledge of Icelandic. Emphasis will be placed on functional spoken and written comprehension and communication, with some basic Icelandic grammar. Pronunciation and conversation skills are developed in weekly language laboratory sessions. May not be held with the former ICEL 1240. Not open to students with native oral fluency.
Equiv To: ICEL 1240
Attributes: Humanities, Recommended Intro Courses
This course is offered as part of the Summer Session course offerings. Intensive study of conversational Icelandic during a field trip to Iceland. Students will be trained in groups in a classroom setting before they try their language skills in authentic situations. The course is designed for beginners as well as intermediate students. Regular attendance is obligatory. Taught in English. Open to all students.
Attributes: Humanities, Recommended Intro Courses
The course is intended for beginners. Emphasis will be placed on conversation skills and reading comprehension, and students will also learn the basic grammatical structures of the language and how to write short compositions. Pronunciation is developed in weekly language laboratory exercises. Open to all students.
Attributes: Humanities, Recommended Intro Courses
The aim of this course is to study and explore a selection of literature, music, and visual art, and cultural critique. Students will also get an opportunity to study and explore both global and local Icelandic cultural characteristics and the fusion of cultural influences in contemporary Iceland. Open to all students. Taught in English. Students may not hold credit for both ICEL 1400 and the former ICEL 1220.
Mutually Exclusive: ICEL 1220
Attributes: Humanities, Recommended Intro Courses
The aim of this course is to study a selection of sagas, history fragments and mythological sources. Students will also get an opportunity to explore the way in which world-renowned modern poets and writers have been drawn to, and seriously seduced by, the culture of medieval Iceland. Open to all students. Taught in English. Students may not hold credit for both ICEL 1410 and the former ICEL 1220.
Mutually Exclusive: ICEL 1220
Attributes: Humanities, Recommended Intro Courses
Languages of instruction: English and Icelandic. Emphasis on expanding the vocabulary and knowledge of more complex grammatical structures. Students develop their spoken and written comprehension and communication through conversational practice, oral presentations, watching films and television shows, studying fictional as well as non-fictional texts and writing short papers in Icelandic. May not be held with the former ICEL 2240.
PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: ICEL 1200 or the former ICEL 1240, or written consent of instructor.
Equiv To: ICEL 2240
Attributes: Humanities
A study of modern Icelandic literature through an analysis of a selection of works by Icelandic writers in English translation from around 1900 until the present.
Attributes: Humanities
A survey of poetry, prose and drama by Icelandic-Canadian authors from the late 19th century settlement to the present. The course will examine the literature's individual characteristics and its place within the broader field of Canadian and world literature. All works will be in English or English translation.
Attributes: Humanities
Text: Sigrid Valfells and James E. Cathey. Old Icelandic: An Introductory Course (Oxford, 1981).
PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: written consent of department head.
Attributes: Humanities
Reading of Icelandic legends and fairy tales and how they compare with stories from Northern and Central Europe. For the analysis, students will be introduced to central concepts and approaches to the study of folktales. Open to all students. Taught in English. Students may not hold credit for both ICEL 2400 and the former ICEL 2250 (012.225).
Equiv To: ICEL 2250
Attributes: Humanities
Topics dealing with Icelandic literature, culture or language. Course content will vary from year to year depending on interest and needs of students and staff. The course content may vary. Students can earn multiple credits for this course only when the topic subtitle is different.
Attributes: Humanities
A study of Icelandic-Canadian literature, focusing on the poetics of immigration in the writings of Icelandic settlers and the first generation of Icelandic-Canadians. As a special assignment, students will study the voice of the poet, philosopher, and social prophet Stephan G. Stephansson, and the universal references of his poetics. Taught in English. Open to all students. Students may not hold credit for both ICEL 2420 and the former ICEL 2300.
Mutually Exclusive: ICEL 2300
Attributes: Humanities
A study of Icelandic-Canadian literature, focusing on the translation of cultures in the writings of modern and contemporary Icelandic-Canadian poets and writers. Students will read a selection of prose and poetry. They will also study ideas on the indispensable role of the translation of cultures in the context of world literature. Open to all students. Taught in English. Students may not hold credit for both ICEL 2430 and the former ICEL 2300.
Mutually Exclusive: ICEL 2300
Attributes: Humanities
Language of instruction: Icelandic. Emphasis on advanced syntax and grammar, word formation, and the use of idiomatic phrases. Reading of selected fictional and non-fictional texts, spoken and written discussion, translation exercises, oral presentations and written composition. May not be held with the former ICEL 3230.
PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: ICEL 2200 or the former ICEL 2240, or written consent of instructor. Pre- or corequisite: LING 1000 or LING 1440 or the former LING 1200 or the former ENGL 2470 or written consent of instructor.
Equiv To: ICEL 3230
Attributes: Humanities
The aim of this course is to study the concept of Romanticism in Icelandic literature and the key players in the Romantic movement in nineteenth century Iceland. A selection of poems, prose texts, and fragments will be read carefully, in particular the writings of Jónas Hallgrimsson. Taught in English.
PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: [a minimum of 30 credit hours of university level coursework] or written consent of department head.
Attributes: Humanities
The myths and cults of the pre-Christian gods in the Nordic countries studied on the basis of the original sources (in English translation) and related to pre-Christian Nordic society. Open to all students; taught in English.
Attributes: Humanities
The Medieval Icelandic sagas tell stories of outlaws, blood feuds and epic Viking battles. They also contain evidence of Norse pagan practices, the arrival of Christianity in Northern Europe, as well as the earliest documented contact between Europeans and North America’s Indigenous peoples. In this course students will explore several of the Icelandic sagas in English translation through a variety of literary, historical and cultural contexts. Open to all students; taught in English. ICEL 3320 is recommended, but not required.
Attributes: Humanities
A study of selected Icelandic sagas and Eddic poems.
PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: written consent of department head.
Attributes: Humanities
A study of the development of the Icelandic language from the twelfth century to the present day.
PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: written consent of department head.
Attributes: Humanities
A history of the emigration of Icelanders to North America and the Icelandic communities in Canada, their social and political organizations, churches, and cultural assimilation.
PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: written consent of department head.
Attributes: Humanities
A seminar course whose content will vary from year to year. The course content may vary. Students can earn multiple credits for this course only when the topic subtitle is different.
PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: written consent of department head.
Attributes: Humanities