20 years of Scandinavian studies at Vilnius University − feast, play and puzzles

The present review article has been re-published in this electronic journal with kind permission of the author of the article and the editors of the following book: Sausverde, Ērika and Ieva Steponaviciūtė (eds) 2014. Funs and Puzzles in Modern Scandinavian Studies. Vilnius University.

Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements.
However, the distinction is not clear cut… Wikipedia I study the Icelandic language not because I wish to train in politics or gain knowledge in the art of warfare, but rather to master the mindset of a true man and to rid myself of the deep-rooted spirit of misery and slavery which were fostered in me by my up-bringing.I want to train my mind and my spirit so that I would be able to face danger without fear, so that my spirit would choose to part with my body rather than to betray what it absolutely believes to be true and just.

Rasmus Rask
Those of us who were lucky to have had careers in university teaching, can remember the tickling feeling somewhere inside us -a mixture of joy and fear which we experienced before the first ever lecture in our lives.A belief that you know something that is worth sharing with people who will come to your lecture, mixed with excitement and fear -'how will it go?'Those were my feelings, when 27 years old, at the end of 1986, I came to Vilnius and put small Swedish flags on the desks in various departments, thus announcing a course in the Swedish language.On arrival my 'baggage' was far from heavy -just one Russian textbook on Swedish, coupled with a doctorate from St. Petersburg (then Leningrad) and topped by a desire to change the world.My plans were to share the knowledge and the academic spirit derived from some wonderful professors and friends in St. Petersburg and to open a window to another world.One should remember that all this was happening with the iron curtain still in the background.Sweden, Scandinavia, Europe were much further from Vilnius than Vladivostok or Samarkand.So, that other world was primarily of academic nature, in the best meaning of that word.The modern Nordic countries were so far away that they could be approached and taught mainly 'theoretically'.But things went on smoothly; the world changed too, and in 1991 the Department of Scandinavian Studies was established.
It would be unfair to say that Scandinavian languages were terra incognita at Vilnius Universitythere had been a tradition of Swedish lectureship before World War II2 .In the 70s and 80s, separate courses on Danish, Swedish and Icelandic were taught by Svetlana Steponavičienė.But never before has there been established a systematic and comprehensive study programme for these disciplines.Though things have changed since the beginning of the 90s (in 1991, the first lecturers of Danish and Norwegian arrived in Vilnius; the Swedish lectureship started in 1990).These pioneers of Scandinavian lectureship were Karin Nordquist from Sweden, Trond Thue and Gunnar Johannessen from Norway and Ebbe Flatau from Denmark.We appreciate greatly the contribution made by these and other dedicated lecturers to the academic and social life of our Department.
Launching proper studies was, needless to say, a big undertaking.Two options were considered: to offer academic language courses as secondary to some other main subject, or to organize independent academic studies.We chose the ambitious second option.Lack of local academic staff meant that a very large amount of organizational work had to be shouldered by those involved.We had to persuade lecturers and professors from other departments to prepare new -or to adapt existing -courses, so that they could fit into the curriculum of the Scandinavian Department.It was also necessary to establish links with other universities, invite colleagues from different countries to conduct courses and deliver lectures; in other words, to 'crank up' the study process.Looking back, it seems that all this called for somewhat infernal endeavors, but at the same time it was an incredibly joyful process, especially, when you encountered sympathy and co-operation from colleagues around the world.And of course, one should not forget that those were special times in Lithuania, often filled with new ideas requiring courage and faith that everything was possible. 3 the beginning, the Department was working in close collaboration with colleagues from St. Petersburg and Moscow, but very soon, links with universities of Uppsala, Lund, Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen, Reykjavik and others were established as well.As a result, the Department hosted a galaxy of wonderful lecturers.Actually, the lack of local academic staff turned out to be an academic luxury for the first students of the Scandinavian Department.They attended lectures on Old Icelandic Literature delivered by the unforgettable Olga Smirnickaja.Runology and a whole number of other courses were taught by Jurij Kusmenko; Swedish grammar was elucidated by Ulf Teleman; Norwegian literature was introduced by Otto Hageberg; history of the Norwegian language -by Arne Torp; whereas Henrik Galberg Jakobsen taught Danish lexicology.The list goes on.One can claim that the seeds sowed by these and other extraordinary specialists have yielded a remarkable harvest.The first international conference of teachers and students Scandinavistica Vilnensis, which was held in 1994 and brought together students and professors from Estonia, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Norway, Russia, Poland and Sweden, became an important milestone in the life of the young department.It was here that a number of Lithuanian students (some of them now teaching at Vilnius University) presented their research papers to an international audience for the first time.
At that time we decided to build a Scandinavian studies programme, based on the template which has been developed for the well-established studies in Lithuanian philology.As a result, our first graduates received a joint degree, but after a while, we were able to secure independent Scandinavian studies.We decided to start every year with one Scandinavian language as the main subject and repeat this cycle every four years.In such a way, from early 90s up to now, the Department (from 2006, 'Centre of Scandinavian Studies') has produced fifteen generations of graduates with a Bachelor's degree, and twelve -with a Master's.Altogether, the Department has trained over 200 specialists in Danish, Norwegian and Swedish.The language courses of Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, -after a while, also Icelandic -were also offered for four to five terms to students specializing in a range of different subjects.These studies attracted about 100 students on Sausverde, Ē. 20 years of Scandinavian studies at Vilnius University -feast, play and puzzles.Taikomoji kalbotyra 2015 (7), www.taikomojikalbotyra.lt different levels each year.In 2006, the Finnish lectureship was moved to the Department, and we started to offer courses in Finnish studies.Gradually, Scandinavian Studies have become one of the most popular subjects at Vilnius University.We keep in touch with many of our alumni who work in different companies and organizations both in Lithuania and abroad.Many of them work for different EU institutions, some have chosen academic careers and gained professorships in universities in Sweden and Canada.
We offered Bachelor and Master's degrees and, after few years, the first PhD students completed their course.The PhD course was organized in collaboration with other departments and universities.
Organizing studies on all these levels was challenging and an incredibly time-and energyconsuming task, but at the same time, it was a truly thrilling process.In our endeavors we could rely on the experience and commitment of friends.One such friend has been professor of Humboldt and St. Petersburg universities, dr.Jurij Kusmenko, who has participated in this educational process from its very beginning.In 2011, in grateful recognition of his contribution, professor Jurij Kusmenko was awarded the Doctor Honoris Causa of Vilnius University.
From 1999, the Department has been collaborating with professor Tomas Riad from Stockholm University, who for 3 years has also been a guest professor of the department4 and contributed significantly to the establishment of PhD courses by consulting both students and staff in their research work.
As our Department grew in strength and stature, we continuously evaluated our chosen direction consulting with our closest neighbours -Scandinavian philologists in Riga and Tartu. 5Our collaboration received a new impetus after Daniel Sävborg took over the professorship in Tartu, and we have found common interests in the Old Scandinavian literature.
Sausverde, Ē. 20 years of Scandinavian studies at Vilnius University -feast, play and puzzles.Taikomoji kalbotyra 2015 (7), www.taikomojikalbotyra.lt der Auwera (Antwerp) and Vladimir Plungian (Moscow) as the examiners -turned out to be a feast even for a sophisticated academic audience.
During its 20 years of existence, the Department has hosted numerous international conferences and seminars, which will continue to be a source of inspiration for students and staff for many years to These discussions resulted in the introduction of new programmes in 2011.Enhancement of interdisciplinary approach and extension of joint studies were widely implemented as a result of these discussions.In addition to more traditional subjects, such as linguistics, literature, Old Norse studies, our students are now also introduced to the Scandinavian theatre, films and the intellectual history. 8During this process, the Centre has gained new friends, such as David Östlund, a unique specialist in the Scandinavian intellectual history, and Claire Thomson, a specialist in the Scandinavian film.The Scandinavian and European Studies MA programme is conducted in collaboration with The Institute of International Relations and Political Science of Vilnius University.Our students have an opportunity to select additional programmes across other departments in the university.In turn, we offer Scandinavian Studies as an additional discipline for students from other departments.We view this approach as particularly befitting in the country come.Here I will mention some of them.The Academic Writing workshop with Lotte Rienecker and Peter Stray Jørgensen (1999), which provided a solid background for this course at Vilnius University.Small, but significant Writing Grammars: The Scandinavian Experience (2006), which gathered authors of Nordic and Lithuanian academic grammars -Staffan Hellberg, Svein Lie, Lars Heltoft and Axel Holvoet.Dialogues with the Viking Age (2007) on Old Norse literature, mythology, culture, social life and language, which resulted in the book Approaching the Viking Age.Being always conscious of the fact that we are teaching "small" languages in a "small" country we have always been curious as to how similar studies are organized around the world.This curiosity has resulted in several international conferences.The biggest of them Nordistik utanför Norden (Scandinavian Studies outside Scandinavia), held in 2005, brought together specialists in Scandinavian Studies from over 30 universities in Europe, USA and Canada.This conference provided a forum for discussion of our purposes and our methods.The conference Modules and Models.University Study Programmes (2008) was an attempt to respond to the changes in the studies of the humanities in modern times.