The Viking Society - General Course, 15 HP

The aim of  “The Viking Society – General Course” is to give the students a comprehensive knowledge of the Scandinavian societies during the Viking Age. The course consists of three units. The first unit “The Vikings in Archaeology and History” concentrates on discussing and questioning how the concepts “Vikings” and “Viking Age” have been used in archaeology and history through the centuries. The unit also aims to give the students a basic knowledge about the most important written sources and archaeological source materials. The crucial point in the second unit “The Viking Homelands” is questions and discussions about the societies in the Scandinavian homelands. Main topics discussed are regional differences in material culture, daily life, handicrafts and farming, grave types and grave goods. Gender issues as the role of the Viking Age women will also be raised. The last unit “The Viking Expansion” concentrates on studying the causes of the “Viking” expansion and the impact it had on the development of the societies along both the western and the eastern routes, and not at least in the Scandinavian homelands. Discussed topics are warfare and raids, Christianization, urbanization and economic development as production and trade. The course ends with the aim to define the legacy of the “Vikings” on the “World History”.