SCAND 370 / HSTAM 370, University of Washington (pdf)
Instructor:
Dr Timothy Bourns
Email: tbourns@uw.edu
Office: Raitt Hall, 305 X
Office Hours: Thursdays, 3-5pm, or by appointment (note that my office is not currently accessible by elevator; please do not hesitate to ask for alternative meeting arrangements).
Classes:
Thomson Hall, 135
In-person, Mondays and Wednesdays, 1:30-3:20pm
Autumn Quarter, 2024
Course Description:
Welcome to The Vikings! The primary focus for this course will be the study of the Vikings in their historical context – the Viking Age, ca. 750-1100 CE, both in Scandinavia and beyond. During the course, we will closely read a range of textual sources in translation, including from Old Norse, Old English, Latin, Greenlandic, and Arabic, developing critical reading and thinking skills in the process. In addition to historical, literary, and poetic texts, we will examine runic evidence and discuss various archaeological sites and finds. You will learn how to critically engage with different primary source materials, and you will apply these skills in an independent research project on a topic of your choosing.
The purview of the course is broad and exciting: we will explore Viking-Age society and social structure, both in Scandinavia and abroad, as well as various aspects of Viking daily life and culture, including runes, language, writing, poetry, riddles, art, fashion, sports, and games. You will learn about Norse mythological stories and Old Norse religion, as well as the conversion to Christianity and emergence of the Scandinavian kingdoms; Viking-Age gender constructions and their porous boundaries; Viking weapons, ships, objects, and material culture; the origins of the Viking Age and the expansion of the Vikings beyond Scandinavia – the shift from raiding to settlement, global contacts in trade, the Viking diaspora, and the diversity of the Old Norse world. Lastly, we will look at the ongoing legacy of Vikings in the modern world, including the Viking revival in European Romanticism and Victorian Europe and the popularity of Vikings in twentieth and twenty-first century film, television, video games, graphic novels, music, and digital media, reflecting on popular misconceptions about the Vikings and their age.
Learning Objectives:
- Acquire a breadth of knowledge about the Vikings and their history, society, and culture
- Develop source-critical reading and analytical skills to engage with and examine a range of primary source materials, both textual and archaeological
- Apply these skills to an independent research project, developing advanced and in-depth knowledge of a particular topic of your choice
- Reflect critically on popular conceptions and misconceptions about Vikings in the modern world
Grading:
Final grades for this course will be calculated as follows:
Quiz: 10%
Midterm Test: 20%
Research Proposal: 10%
Research Project: 30%
Final Exam: 30%
Grading Scale:
97-100%=4.0; 93-96%=3.9 ; 91-93%=3.8 ; 90%=3.7 ; 89%=3.6 ; 88%=3.5 ; 87%=3.4 ; 86%=3.3 ; 85%=3.2 ; 84%=3.1 ; 83%=3.0 ; 82%=2.9 ; 81%=2.9 ; 81%=2.8 ; 80%=2.7 ; 79%=2.6 ; 78%=2.5 ; 77%=2.4; 76%=2.3; 75%=2.2; 74%=2.1; 73%=2.0; 72%=1.9; 71%=1.8; 70%=1.7... (0-60%=0.0)
Research Proposal and Project:
The research project is an independent inquiry into an approved topic of your choice. Essentially: what generally interests you the most about Vikings? And what specific aspect do you want to learn more about? Once you have answered these questions, you can research this topic and then tell me about what you have learned, citing relevant sources and showing me where the information came from. The research project is due on Friday, November 29th.
In advance of the research project, you should submit a research proposal (by Friday, November 15th at the latest). This is an opportunity for you to tell me about the topic that you are interested in, why you are interested in it, and some sources (both primary and secondary) which will guide your research. This provides an opportunity to receive feedback and suggestions before submitting your research project.
The research proposal should be no more than two pages, double spaced. The research project should be between 1500-2000 words, double spaced (i.e. 6-8 pages). Both the research proposal and project should be uploaded to Canvas by the deadline. Unless a doctor’s note is provided or you are granted an extension in advance, there will be a 2% grade reduction for every day that the research proposal or project is late.
Quiz, Test, and Exam:
The Quiz will consist of short answer questions on the main themes from the first few classes. The Midterm Test will consist of multiple-choice questions, evaluating your knowledge of the material from weeks 1 through 5 of the course (based on the lectures and required readings). The final exam will consist of two components: multiple-choice questions, evaluating your knowledge of the material from weeks 6 through 11 of the course, as well as long-answer questions which cover the course in its entirety (you will have the opportunity to select topics from a broad range of options).
The Quiz will be held at the beginning of class on Monday, October 7. The Midterm Test will be held at the beginning of class on Monday, October 28. The final exam is scheduled for Monday, December 9th, from 2:30-4:20pm (during Finals week). Please let me know if you will require any accommodations for these evaluations; I am happy to make arrangements as needed.
Course Structure:
In-class lectures are a major component of this class, consisting of the presentation of topics and themes relating to the main subject of the course – the history and culture of the Vikings. Lectures will occasionally be supplemented by films and video clips, and there will also be plenty of time for discussion, especially of the assigned readings and primary texts.
Readings:
There will be a relatively short amount of required reading for each class, as well as optional suggested readings for further learning. The required text for this course is The Viking Age: A Reader (Third Edition, ed. Angus A. Somerville and R. Andrew McDonald), which is available via the UW Bookstore. Several readings will also be taken from The Vikings and Their Age (ed. Somerville and McDonald) and The Viking World (ed. Stefan Brink and Neil Price), as well as other books and articles, which will be uploaded to Canvas as PDFs. Assigned readings will be posted on Canvas on a week-by-week basis, one week in advance.
Course Schedule:
Week 1: Welcome and Introduction
Wednesday, September 25: Conceptions and Misconceptions
Week 2: Scandinavia and the Viking Age
Monday, September 30: An Overview of the Viking Age
Wednesday, October 2: Viking Sources and Biographies
Week 3: The Vikings at Home
Monday, October 7: Quiz
Monday, October 7: Scandinavian Homelands and Kingdoms
Wednesday, October 9: Viking Society and Social Structure
Week 4: Viking Life and Language
Monday, October 14: Runes and Writing, Poetry and Riddles
Wednesday, October 16: Art and Fashion, Sports and Games
Week 5: Viking Myth and Religion
Monday, October 21: Tales from Norse Mythology
Wednesday, October 23: Old Norse Religion and the Christian Conversion
Week 6: Viking Gender(s)
Monday, October 28: Midterm Test
Monday, October 28: Men and Masculinity, Fragility and Fluidity
Wednesday, October 30: Viking Women, Female Fighters, Queer Identities
Week 7: Viking Things
Monday, November 4: Viking Warriors and Weapons
Wednesday, November 6: Viking Ships and Sailing
Week 8: Viking Raiding, Trading and Settlement
Monday, November 11: The Viking Expansion
Wednesday, November 13: From Raiding to Settlement
Friday, November 15: Research Proposal Due
Week 9: The Vikings Abroad
Monday, November 18: The Vikings go East and South
Wednesday, November 20: The Vikings go North and West
Week 10: The Viking Revival
Monday, November 25: Afterlife I: Vikings in the 18th and 19th centuries
Wednesday, November 27: Afterlife II: Vikings in the 20th century
Friday, November 29: Research Project Due
Week 11: Vikings Today
Monday, December 2: Afterlife III: Vikings in the 21st century
Wednesday, December 4: Wisdom, Death, and the Meaning of Life
Final Exam:
Monday, December 9, 2:30-4:20pm: Final Exam
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Policies, Procedures, and Acknowledgements:
Academic Style and Format:
Citations used in course work should follow either the MLA style (http://guides.lib.uw.edu/research/citations/mla-style), or The Chicago Manual of Style. Be consistent! Choose one style and stick with it.
Academic Integrity: Cheating and plagiarism include, but are not limited to:
- Copying the work of others or allowing others to do your work
- Directly quoting the words of others without using quotation marks, indented format, and in-text citations to identify them
- Using sources (published or unpublished) without identifying them
- Paraphrasing materials or borrowing the ideas of others without identifying the sources.
Plagiarizing, or copying and/or using the words or ideas of others without acknowledgement can undermine your learning and devalue the degree that you are seeking. It can result in failure of the assignment or course. Acknowledge and/or cite every single source that you consider when producing assignments. Over-citing is better than under-citing! If you need help understanding and avoiding plagiarism, come talk to me. Consequences for plagiarizing will be determined on a case-by-case basis. Please refer to the Community Standards & Student Conduct – Academic Misconduct webpage for more information about plagiarism and other forms of misconduct.
Use of AI:
All work submitted for this course must be your own. Any use of generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, when working on assignments is forbidden. Use of generative AI will be considered academic misconduct and subject to investigation.
The assignments in this class have been designed to challenge you to develop creativity, critical-thinking, and problem-solving skills. Using AI technology will limit your capacity to develop these skills and to meet the learning goals of this course.
If you have any questions about what constitutes academic integrity in this course or at the University of Washington, please feel free to contact me to discuss your concerns.
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Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodations-policy/). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/).
Your experience in this class is important to me. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please activate your accommodations via myDRS so we can discuss how they will be implemented in this course.
If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), contact DRS directly to set up an Access Plan. DRS facilitates the interactive process that establishes reasonable accommodations. Contact DRS at disability.uw.edu.
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Land Acknowledgement:
The University of Washington acknowledges the Coast Salish peoples of this land, the land which touches the shared waters of all tribes and bands within the Suquamish, Tulalip, and Muckleshoot nations, including the Duwamish, on whose traditional lands the University of Washington-Seattle stands in violation of the Treaty of Point Elliott.