<p>Or, at the very least, classes in the Nordic languages offered?</p>
<p>I mean, every other major Indo-European language branch (sans the defunct Gaelic dialects) is well-represented, so why not?</p>
<p>It's kind of weird that the only noteworthy Scandinavian department in a Canadian university can be found somewhere in Alberta, stereotypically the most "conservative" province.</p>
<p>It's not weird, it reflects the fact that the middle/west of Canada (as well as of US) was settled by many Scandinavian immigrants</p>
<p>Yes, but for a city praised for its eclectic ethnic mix and progressivism, you'd think that a Scandinavian program would be one of the first things established at the local institution. </p>
<p>Quite a few Canadians have compared their country to the nations of Northern Europe; therefore, their top university would do well to act accordingly.</p>
<p>OK, I'll take the bait. Technically, it's an Ontario university, not a Canadian university. And it was already pretty well settled when those Scandinavians made their way over in the late 1800's - and they mostly didn't stop in Toronto, they were farmers and went to the prairie provinces. A lot of them were recruited by Canadian and US railroads who wanted to populate the prairies to make the railroads more viable.It has nothing to do with progressivism OR conservatism. It just makes sense for Alberta to have those studies.</p>
<p>It's mostly an issue of supply and demand. The demand for Scandinavian Studies is very small anywhere in North America, not just in Canada. In the U.S., I believe there are less than ten colleges which offer the program, and the vast majority of them are offered at mid-western colleges. U of T offers over 300 different programs so they have an excellent range of courses covered. If someone wants to major in Scandinavian Studies, their options are going to be limited both in Canada and in the U.S.</p>
<p>There are exceptions: CA-Berkeley is the most prominent.</p>
<p>If one of the US's best public universities - which is both far from the Midwest and is located in an area populated by few people of Northern European ancestry - can have an extensive Scandinavian department, then what is stopping UToronto from doing the same thing?</p>
<p>maybe the lack of demand????????????</p>
<p>Err, the Gaelic 'dialects' are not defunct.</p>
<p>And yet, you have failed to provide evidence to the contrary, ansiarach - after one month, no less.</p>
<p>i always considered gaelic to be a virtually dead language, but a friend of mine who travelled through ireland last year said that it is still spoken in many small towns there. maybe that's what ansiarch is referring to...?</p>