Making the Viking World

Between the 700s and 1000s, pirates known as Vikings raided much of Europe. Some were linked to merchant groups reaching into Central Asia, while others joined diaspora communities that sailed across the Atlantic. They made their worlds in many ways—through texts, images, artifacts, and behaviors. In this class, students will accomplish the same, guided by the principle that making is best studied by doing. This will be accomplished through a series of creative assignments accompanied by written discussions drawing on scholarship and historical materials. The course will culminate in a written proposal for a museum exhibit allowing students to explore chosen narratives or thematic interests. Through this work, students will learn how Viking-Age peoples made their world and consider how we recreate and represent that world today