Harvard Summer Program in Scandinavia

  Denmark

Aarhus

  Germany

• Berlin: 
Berlin
• Munich: 
Munich (Munchen)

  Sweden

Stockholm

Term: Summer 
Dates: June 10-July 24

Description: The Vikings conquer all in their path and nothing resists them. So wrote a Frankish chronicler about the northern pirates whose collective name has come to represent the European ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries. This Viking studies program in Scandinavia explores the rich archaeological, cultural, and literary heritage of northern Europe in the early Middle Ages.

Itself founded during the Viking Age, the lovely Danish city of Århus and its modern university are our principal hosts. From this charming seaside location, we visit important sites and collections in Denmark and Germany before relocating to Sweden for the final weeks. Specialists in many different aspects of Viking culture lecture and guide classes.

The Viking studies program appeals to students who

* are interested in heroic literature, medieval history, and archaeology.
* are eager to explore the relationship between history and national myths.
* want to experience Scandinavian cultural life.

Highlights: Students take both of the following courses.

ANTH S-1095 Study Abroad in Scandinavia: Viking Studies - History and Archaeology

This course introduces the material legacy of the Vikings, the enigmatic Scandinavians whose dramatic expansion from the eighth to eleventh centuries AD transformed not only their own society but much of the entire northern world.
During this period Swedes, Danes, and Norwegians raided, traded, and conquered their way across western Europe, toppling kingdoms and founding new ones. With a focus on the settlements and grave fields of western Denmark and Gotland, the course explores this Viking civilization, its customs and lifestyles, and above all the immense cultural diversity of the early Scandinavian world. The modern country of Denmark was partially formed in Jutland during the Viking Age, making this area the ideal center for such a study program. Some of Scandinavias first towns and several of the largest, most spectacular cemetery complexes of the north are in the area. Through lectures, seminars, and visits to some of the great museum collections and archaeological sites in the Nordic world, such as Moesgaard museum, students encounter the richness of the Viking heritage. In addition to visiting the royal center at Jelling, archaeological excursions will also likely include the Viking Age town of Ribe, the ancient sites at Lejre, the Viking Ship museum in Roskilde, and tours through the preserved landscapes of Viking Age Denmark. In addition to its base in Århus, we expect the course to be centered for a week or two on the all-important Baltic island of Gotland, with its many Viking Age monuments and treasures. Jutland and Gotland are ideal sites for exploring these topics, and to ensure that students get the most from their summer experience in these vibrant Scandinavian areas, a three-day orientation to the modern Nordic world precedes the Viking studies program. Prerequisites: none.

SCAN S-150 Study Abroad in Scandinavia: Viking Studies - Lore and Literature

The historical events that took place during the Viking Age gave rise to a great medieval literature in Iceland, one that told not only of the Vikings' adventures but also of their religious beliefs. From the prose and poetic eddas, skaldic poetry, and archaeological evidence, the roles in daily life of Thor, Freyja, Odin, and the other deities who populate the mythological world of the Vikings emerges, and we examine the post-conversion reception of these mythological materials and how echoes of them can be teased from the later sagas. The course also examines the heroic legacy of such adventures as the New World "Vinland" settlement and the disastrous attack on Anglo-Saxon England in 1066 as they are reflected in the medieval sagas. In addition to taking up their historical and mythological frames, we will consider the formal literary properties of these great novel-like texts. Beyond contemplating specific heroic traditions (e.g., the dragon-slayer), we review the constant reinterpretation of the Viking Age in the works of later periods, and especially the ways in which history and perceptions of the Vikings develop into modern myths that have been used to reify national stereotypes. Prerequisites: none.

Degree Level: Bachelors Degree (Undergraduate)

Cost in US$: $7,350

- tuition
- room
- opening banquet and final banquet
- excursions (including meals when appropriate)

Experience Required: no

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants.

Participants Travel Independently

Typically Participants Work Independently

Application Process Involves:

• Essay
• Transcript
• Written Application

Harvard Summer School Study Abroad Programs's Mission Statement: The Harvard Summer School makes Harvards academic resourcesa distinguished faculty, well-equipped laboratories, fine museums, and a world-class university library available to men and women of many ages, backgrounds, and nationalities through an intensive summer session of liberal arts courses in Cambridge and overseas. Our international student body includes Harvard undergraduate and graduate students, visitors from other colleges and universities, highly qualified secondary school students, adult learners, and nonnative English speakers seeking to refine their language skills. Students take courses to challenge themselves academically, meet degree requirements, prepare for graduate school, gain college experience, advance their careers, and pursue personal enrichment. Students who study at Harvard Summer School may reside in a supportive residential environment, commute to campus, complete courses via distance education, or participate in one of the faculty-led programs based abroad. Many come to experience the extraordinary environment of Harvard College academics, resources, and residential life. Harvard Summer School serves the University community by providing faculty with teaching opportunities that allow them to experiment with new materials and teaching methods. Students from many Harvard schools take advantage of the breadth of summer course offerings to meet requirements for concentrations and degree programs, and to create more flexibility within their term-time academic program. Harvard graduate students from abroad can work on refining their English language skills, and Harvard College students take advantage of the summer session to expand their cultural, social, and intellectual horizons by studying abroad.