Students cultivate their skills in understanding Finnish: vocabulary, Finnish society and culture.

The course covers four contemporary Finnish novels. The course is completed through independent study (81 h).

Students read 4 novels in Finnish and take an exam on them.

The course involves a written exam and 81 hours of independent study including self-assessment of learning assignment of 1 hour.

Students read four novels, one of each category:
a. Antti Holma: Järjestäjä or Maria Turtschaninoff: Maresi. Punaisen luostarin kronikoita
b. Venla Hiidensalo: Karhunpesä or Tommi Kinnunen: Lopotti
c. Juha Itkonen: Palatkaa perhoset or Riikka Pulkkinen: Paras mahdollinen maailma
d. Jussi Valtonen: He eivät tiedä mitä tekevät or Riikka Ala-harja: Maihinnousu

Taking the exam requires excellent Finnish skills and knowledge of the basic terms of literary research in Finnish.

The student:
• may have read all the required books but is not able to demonstrate that.
• is able to interpret some aspects of the texts according to the assignment and he/she may give few examples.
• has limited understanding and usage of the basic literary concepts.

The student:
• has read all the required books and is able to demonstrate that.
• is partly able to interpret the texts according to the assignment and gives some examples, which aren’t always relevant.
• understands partly the basic literary concepts and uses some of
them correctly.

The student:
• has read all the required books and is able to demonstrate that by interpreting the texts, discussing the different elements and giving relevant examples.
• understands fully the basic literary concepts and uses them correctly.