An introduction to Nobel Prize winning authors from northern Europe in the context of literary prizes and the politics of literary reputation. Analyze and compare literary works, set novels into historical context, investigate what popular and scholarly reviews do, and research in both popular and scholarly sources. Only one of the following may be counted: Comparative Literature 323 (Topic 48), 324E, European Studies 347 (Topic 38), 347R, German, Scandinavian, and Dutch Studies 341N. Three lecture hours a week for one semester.