Considering it’s the culmination of five plus years of study, handing in your thesis is a surprisingly unmemorable event. Greasy hair, lack of sleep and a stack of papers fresh off the printer, you exchange hard work for a signature from your university. And maybe a smile.<\/p>\n
Now at the Department of Scandinavian Studies and Linguistics (INSS) at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH), the days of the thesis-hand-in anti-climax are over. The occasion is to be marked in an appropriately festive manner. Graduates will have their picture taken, and INSS will host a leaving party at the end of each term. <\/p>\n
And graduates will be given a ‘festive Smurf’ figurine when they hand in their thesis. <\/p>\n
“How unconventional”, some might say. Others might say “WTF?”. For what does a tiny, blue, cartoon creature from Belgium have to do with handing in a thesis? Danish-language news site Uniavisen<\/em> visited one of the people behind the initiative, Dorte Ostenfeld, to get the low-down:<\/p>\n … But why? Why Smurfs?<\/em> Did you consider other 80s and 90s toy relics like Power Rangers, Turtles, My Little Pony?<\/em> In your newsletter it was emphasised that you are using ‘festive Smurfs’. Aren’t all Smurfs festive?<\/em> Have you considered giving students Smurfs suited to their character? Mature or late students could received either Old or Lazy Smurf figurines, for example.<\/em> Not everyone is equally pleased with the initiative, however. Christina Yhman Kaarsberg is doing her Master’s in Danish, but isn’t looking forward to receiving a Smurf:<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe a Finnish ‘Moomin’ figurine so a parallel could be drawn to our interest in Nordic languages, culture and media. But a Smurf?\u201d says Christina, sighing. She says it gives the wrong idea: \u201cConsidering the Humanities is accused, time and time again, of not being serious enough, it seems a little unfortunate to hand a newly inaugurated ‘cang.mag.’ [=Master’s graduate,ed. ] a little toy figurine.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe intention is really sweet, and Smurfs may seem perfectly harmless, but I can’t help but see it as an unintentional belittling of five years worth of study and hard work.\u201d<\/p>\n Everyone has been happy with the gesture so far, says Dorte Ostenfeld.<\/p>\n “Our students are highly capable, and personally I think it’s important to acknowledge what a huge accomplishment it is to write a thesis.\u201d<\/p>\n One last thing. Several students at the Faculty of Humanities, the majority of which are women, are interested in gender theory. Have you no qualms about choosing as patriarchal a phenomenon as the Smurfs, where all ‘men’ are characterised by their capabilities, whilst the ‘woman’, Smurfette, is defined by nothing but her gender?<\/em> “I would call that progressive, not patriarchal.\u201d<\/p>\n Touch\u00e9.<\/p>\n nicklas.lund@adm.ku.dk Like us on Facebook <\/a> for features, guides and tips on upcoming events. Follow us on Twitter<\/a> for links to other Copenhagen academia news stories. Sign up for the University Post weekly newsletter here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" You hand in your thesis, and the department wants to turn this into a real occasion. How do they do this? You guessed it [you didn’t guess it, ed.] . They reward you with a commemorative … Smurf<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":12224,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","expression-news_article"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\n“We would like to have done more, but a bigger gift wasn’t an option, so rather than something anonymous like a keyring, we went for something more off-kilter and memorable,” she says. “Plus, Smurfs suit our generation of students, who remember them from their childhood.”<\/p>\n
\n“No.”<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWe have chosen some particularly festive figurines, suitable for the occasion. Smurfs with flowers, champagne and medals,\u201d says Dorte Ostenfeld, pointing at a shelf containing a selection of Smurfs.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cNo, people get to pick their own Smurf. And we don’t have Old Smurf or Lazy Smurf in our selection.”<\/p>\nBelittling Smurfs<\/h2>\n
Patriarchal smurfs? No<\/h2>\n
\n\u201cWe don’t have a Smurfette figurine, who was actually a late arrival on the Smurf-scene. You could say that we subscribe to a pre-gender binary system view of the Smurfs, with no distinction between male and female \u2013 where everyone is just ‘Smurf’.” <\/p>\n
\nuniversitypost@adm.ku.dk<\/p>\n