mythology

Scandinavian 150: The Vikings and the Nordic Heroic Tradition

Semester: 

Spring

Offered: 

2012
course website

Examines the historical events in Europe A.D. 800 to A.D. 1100, and the resulting heroic legacy in medieval poetry and Icelandic sagas. The course focuses on Viking Age figures as warriors, kings, poets, outlaws and adventurers; pre-Christian religion, the viking raids and the Norse experience in "Vinland" carefully considered. Note: This course, when taken for a letter grade, meets the General Education requirement for Aesthetic and Interpretive Understanding or the Core requirement for Literature and Arts A.

My research addresses a wide variety of genres and periods of Nordic culture and literature, centering on popular traditions, mythology, and legends in the late medieval and early modern periods, but I have also written on such diverse topics as Scandinavian drama and women's autobiographical literature in the 17th century.