Mar 28, 2024  
2017-2018 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2017-2018 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

HTY 427 - Vikings!


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 Norse 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: Satisfies the General Education Requirements for Western Cultural Traditions and Cultural Diversity/International Perspectives.

Prerequisites: Three credits of History or permission.

Credits: 3