The Department of Central, Eastern and Northern European Studies (CENES) is thrilled to host an exciting array of courses in Summer 2026.
Summer is the time for sun and friends, but it’s also a time to learn new things and get to know new people. Come join one of our unforgettable language and culture courses in CENES — whether fully online asynchronous, in-person on UBC’s Point Grey campus, or hybrid to suit your busy summer schedule!
Questions about CENES courses or programs? Email our Undergraduate Program Assistant, Ashley Samsone, at cenes.undergrad@ubc.ca.
Central, Eastern, and Northern Europe
2026 Summer Term 1, Mon/Wed, 10:00-13:00, In-Person
Instructor: Dr. Karin Filipsson
This course investigates representations of nature and animals in Northern European film, literature and art, and explores themes like the Nordic child in children's literature like Astrid Lindgren's Ronia the Robber's Daughter, indigenous activism, trolls as eco-warriors, and fairy-tales like H.C Andersen's The Ugly Duckling.
Through fiction, film, and theories of gender, race, and social justice, this course tackles questions such as: What can an ecocritical perspective teach us about ourselves in relation to nature in today's world?
German Language
2026 Summer Term 1, Tues/Thurs, 10:00-1:00, In-Person
Instructor: Dr. Daniela Hempen
Meant for absolute beginners, this small and experiential workshop-style 3-credit course introduces students to the sounds, shapes, pleasures, and unique features involved in beginning to use the German language.
Cultural topics include: Germanophone countries, gender and non-binary identities, German colonialism and ethnic diversity, Indigenous land acknowledgement in German and more.
Textbook: Sag Mal, chapters 1-3. 3rd Edition.
GERN_V 102-921: Learning German 2
2026 Summer Term 2, Tues/Thurs, 10:00-1:00, In-Person
Instructor: Dr. Uma Kumar
Meant for students who have completed GERN 101 (or one year of high-school German), this 3-credit class helps students speak articulately about past experiences and future plans.
Cultural aspects focus on multicultural Germanophone societies, including topics such as diverse foods, coffeehouses, diversity and diaspora, housing and living arrangements, multicultural holidays, fashion, and history of flags.
Textbook: Sag Mal, chapters 4-6.
2026 Summer, Term 1 and Term 2 options, Online
Multiple Instructors
GERN 304 is a guided self-study online German reading course for students with no prior German knowledge. There are three sections available throughout Summer 2026: GERN_V 304-921, GERN_V 304-923, and GERN_V 304-925.
All of the German reading course materials are grouped into 20 Exploration modules which are embedded in the interactive UBC Canvas platform including online assessments. A step-by-step introduction to German reading skills in synchronous online classes is in English.
Students are expected to log on as scheduled.
German Studies
2026 Summer, Term 1, Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Dr. Elizabeth Nijdam
This course examines selected folk and fairy tales from the German-speaking tradition, primarily those collected by the Brothers Grimm, and their adaptation in popular culture. We will locate the texts in the 18th- and 19th-century cultural contexts of their origins and then follow how they have evolved into perennial favourites internationally across various media.
Nordic Studies
NORD_V 333-921: Nordic Literary Cultures
2026 Summer, Term 1, Tues/Thurs, 10:00 - 1:00, In-Person
Instructor: Ann-Kathrine Havemose
This course explores themes of agency and madness as it has been portrayed in Nordic literature over the past 200 years. From Hans Christian Andersen’s literary fairytales, Edith Södergran’s unconventional modernist poetry to Tove Jansson’s portrayal of grief, we will examine how and why these themes play an essential role in Nordic literary cultures and what that means from both contemporary and current perspectives.
NORD_V 336-921: Nordic Crime Fiction, Film and Television
2026 Summer, Term 2, Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Dr. Karin Filipsson
This course explores Scandinavian crime literature, film and TV to provide insight about the Nordic countries since the crime genre offers the potential of mirroring contemporary society in a particularly effective manner.
We will highlight themes such as global issues, migration problems, environmental concerns, and gender roles as well as stylistic analysis of the individual works and the genre in general.
Slavic and Eastern European Studies
SLAV_V 321A-921: Russian Culture Values
2026 Summer, Term 2, Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Dr. Veta Chitnev
In this course, students will be exploring Russian values and the assumptions that shape Russian culture. The course format includes recorded lectures, online discussions, assigned readings from classical Russian literature, films by acclaimed Russian directors, and a research component.
SLAV_V 323C 921: Literature and Film in Eastern Europe
2026 Summer, Term 1, Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Dariya McEwen
This course explores the twentieth-century cultural transformations of Eastern Europe, focusing on Ukraine, Poland, and Croatia.
In the aftermath of independence, within a world suddenly opened yet profoundly unsettled, Eastern European societies navigated newly regained sovereignty, as writers and intellectuals once again reconstruct and reimagine their nations through literature.
Through literature and film, students will encounter the early 1920s avant-garde artistic experimentation and the subsequent compulsory writing style (Socialist Realism), with its repressive censorship. They will witness the backlash created by artistic communities publishing clandestinely and how their resistance ultimately contributed to the fall of the Soviet bloc.
All material is in English.
