This course is fully booked (no waiting list)

The Viking Age (c. 750 – 1050 AD) was a formative period of history. During this time, Scandinavians were to leave their mark across Europe and beyond, and contributed to shaping the world we live in today. Maritime interactions tied together people and societies in new ways, spurring cultural encounters and economic transformation. With the discovery of sailing routes to Iceland, Greenland and America the Vikings expanded the reach of global interactions. Archaeology shows the Viking Age as a transformation of societies within and beyond Scandinavia.

The course gives an in-depth introduction to the archaeology of Northern European societies in the Viking Age, and frames this in the perspective of theme-based case studies and interdisciplinary research. The focus is on the cultural and societal transformation of Scandinavia and its neighbors in the period c. 600-1100 CE in the context of the catalyzing expansion of maritime interactions. Themes include: The expansion of maritime activities and ship-building, diaspora communities and identities, martial society and gender roles, colonization and climate, urban networks and globalization and cultural interactions with communities from Russia and the Baltic to the British Isles and the west.

Lectures and seminars provide a thorough founding in the archaeological study of the period, whilst training skills in navigating a problem-oriented approach: how to appreciate the difference between a convincing-looking argument and a settled case.