Visby during Medieval Week

Welcome to the course "From Medievalism to Climate Change Apocalypse"!

In this course, we will be exploring narrative perspectives on cultural heritage and disaster, two fields of research that might seem very different in character, yet they also inhabit some common ground. One example of this is that disasters, at least in the contemporary world, tend to be memorialized in different ways, and are thus incorporated into collective memory and cultural heritage.

The basic premise of the course is that narratives are powerful cultural tools. They create the conditions for how we experience and cope with events and phenomena in our everyday lives, while these experiences engender narratives in their own turn. We study this topic using a number of themes as points of departure, the common denominator being narratives and narrating. The course treats the production of cultural heritage in theory and practice, how folklore and narratives about the past constitute important elements in cultural heritage processes and the experience industry, and how e.g. ghost tourism, dramatised museum tours and Mediaeval festivals create history.

The course also examines how narratives of disaster shape our understanding and reaction to disasters: narratives can have highly tangible impacts on a society's disaster response and people's lives in the shadow of disaster. During the course, we will discuss e.g. the Lisbon earthquake, Hurricane Katrina and narratives of climate change in this light.

Teacher: Camilla Asplund Ingemark: camillaasplundingemark@etnologi.uu.se

Much of the course will be on campus at Engelska parken (lecture hall 3-2028), though some seminars will be on Zoom (https://uu-se.zoom.us/j/67225220912). Please note that the introductory lecture will be on Zoom!

For questions about admission, registration and the like, please contact our course administrator Angelika Holm.

Don't forget to register yourself on the course!

To start the course, you need to be registered. Go to Ladok for students to register. It is not enough that you are only admitted to the course. On the page Admissions and registration there are instructions on how you do this. The registration period is open February 23 through Mars 22 2026.

Study Support

If you need special support in your studies, you need to obtain a certificate to receive it, a so-called NAIS certificate. You can read more and apply for support on our student page Study Support. If you have questions, contact Uppsala University’s coordinators for targeted study support. Apply as early as possible after you have registered for the course. That way you will get help the fastest.