HTY 398 (005): Historical Issues: The Vikings
Instructor: Joel Anderson
Class Number: 78117
Days/Time: Tuesday and Thursday, 2:00 – 3:15 p.m.
Location: Nutting 102
Description: Marauding barbarians with a lust for blood and plunder, the Vikings retain their grip on the popular imagination. To what extent are our images of the medieval Northmen grounded in historical reality? This course will begin by asking what archaeological finds, runestones, skaldic poetry, and foreign chroniclers can tell us about the people of Viking Age Scandinavia. We will then explore how different societies and cultural groups have shaped and reshaped images of the Vikings to suit different agendas. Our investigation will range from thirteenth-century Iceland, where medieval Christian writers composed vernacular sagas about pagan heroes, to contemporary America, where Viking imagery appears on everything from football helmets to comic books.
General Education Requirements: This course does not meet any of the General Education requirements.
Prerequisites: First-year students require permission.