In preparing for a lecture about dueling Nordic poets, CU Boulder Professor Benjamin Teitelbaum was reminded of a modern rap battle. Not one to miss an opportunity to reach his students, Teitelbaum searched for and found a (French) rap battle to play for his Scandinavian Studies class. Such an entertaining class session is not an isolated incident for his Nordic Studies students. Teitelbaum constantly searches for traces of historic Nordic lore in modern society. For example, if he finds a Swedish or Norwegian commercial to be particularly emblematic of Nordic culture, he may include it in a PowerPoint lecture.
Teitelbaum has been teaching at CU Boulder for two years now, and this spring, students in Scandinavian Studies 2201, Introduction to Modern Nordic Culture and Society, nominated him for an ASSETT Teaching with Technology Award. Students praised Teitelbaum's inclusion of the clips of films that help illustrate Nordic society. Students also praised his clicker questions. Teitelbaum says that he quizzes students with clickers so that he can take the, "Opportunity to have an instant discussion," with the class about a topic.
Next year, Teitelbaum hopes to incorporate clips from the NBC sitcom Welcome to Sweden into class. Finally, he returns the compliment: "We have wonderful students," Teitelbaum says of CU Buffs.
