The course will be arranged online and is given in English. The course is arranged within the project ”Virtuelle Hochschule Ostseeraum”. Teaching and grading will be in the responsibility of the University of Stockholm. Please register only for lecture and seminar together.
As the course follows the Swedish system, the teaching period differs form the German fall semester. Teaching sessions will be mainly in November and December plus two sessions in January, usually on Wednesday afternoon, 14-16. In some cases tsessions on other weekdays can occur. Additionally the students will be expected to meet individually in working groups. Lectures will be accessbile online at any time.
Mobility in its various forms and scales is a fundamental aspect of human history. Already in pre-modern times, the Baltic Sea functioned as a route for travel and enabled the exchange of both goods and ideas. Mobility was thus a major factor of cultural contact – in most cases voluntary, in others forced. In many cases, the impact of this cultural exchange is still visible today. This course discusses different forms of mobility in the pre-modern Baltic Sea Region and examines the ways they can be assessed with the help of material that is still extant in the form of archives, collections, literature, or monuments. Students will learn to work with primary sources that were produced in the Baltic Sea region in the pre-modern times.
After the completion of the course, the students are expected to:
1. Assess different forms of mobility in the pre-modern Baltic Sea region, and explain its development, motives, and outcomes from a historical perspective.
2. Compare and critically discuss differences in historiographical traditions around the Baltic Sea concerning the significance of cultural contacts in pre-modern times.
3. Demonstrate competence in understanding, interpreting, and analysing primary source material related to the course contents.
