Teaching American Studies in the Nordic Countries: An Introduction

There are three interconnected purposes of this special issue on teaching American Studies in the Nordic countries. The first purpose is to map the Nordic teaching field, to establish a baseline for understanding the institutional and practical circumstances of American studies teaching in our four countries. Second, through a series of shorter essays, we wish to provide insights from scholars engaged in the day-to-day work of curriculum development, didactic considerations, the negotiation of institutional frameworks, and the challenges of meeting students' needs and expectations. Together, these essays are intended to create a greater understanding of the defining features of American studies as a fieldof teaching (though, as we shall see, not always as a discipline) in the Nordic countries, to show what our national circumstances look like, and to ask how we can turn its characteristics to a regional advantage.