Module HIST1631: Beyond the Northlands: The Vikings and their World

Department: History

HIST1631: Beyond the Northlands: The Vikings and their World

Prerequisites

• Normally a A or B grade in A-level History, or an acceptable equivalent (e.g. in terms of Scottish Highers or IB)

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• This module will provide students with a broad survey of Norse/Viking history and culture, their impact throughout medieval societies, and their far-travelling exploits across the known world and beyond.
• Taking an interdisciplinary approach, it will illuminate the diversity of activities and cultural contacts that took place between the Norse and the other peoples and areas of the world.

Content

• In this module we will study the history of the Vikings at home and abroad. How did this remote people on the cold northern edge of Europe come to have such a tremendous impact on the early medieval world? To answer this question, we will start with traditional view of the Norse as violent raiders who tormented the Christian lands of Western Europe, using historical sources written by their victims. That’s the image we start with, but to understand them, we need to explore the Norse homelands in Scandinavia, and consider why they stepped onto the world stage at this particular moment. From there, we will cast our eyes further afield, following the Norse themselves as they explored every corner of the known world and beyond: north to Arctic Scandinavia, west to Greenland and North America, east to Russia, and south to the Mediterranean and the Holy Land. Throughout the module, we will use a variety of written and non-written sources to explore themes such as socio-political structures, religion, technology, trading, law, and cultural contact.

Learning Outcomes

• Knowledge and understanding of the general outline of Norse/Viking history, at home and abroad.
• Familiarity with the use of a wide range of historical sources, including written texts from the Norse diaspora and other societies, archaeological evidence, DNA, coins, rune stones, and place-names.
• Development of analytical skills to interpret global history through the lens of a specific culture.

• Subject specific skills for this module can be viewed at: http://www.dur.ac.uk/history.internal/local/ModuleProformaMap/

• Key skills for this module can be viewed at: http://www.dur.ac.uk/history.internal/local/ModuleProformaMap/

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Student learning is facilitated by a combination of:
• lectures to set the foundations for further study and to provide the basis for the acquisition of subject specific knowledge. Lectures provide a broad framework which defines individual module content, introducing students to themes, debates and interpretations. In this environment, students are given the opportunity to develop skills in listening, selective note-taking and reflection;
• seminars to allow students to present and critically reflect upon the acquired subject-specific knowledge, methodologies and theories, and to identify and debate a range of issues and differing opinions. The seminar is the forum in which students are given the opportunity to communicate ideas, jointly exploring themes and arguments. Seminars are structured to develop understanding and designed to maximise student participation related to prior independent preparation. Seminars give students the opportunity to develop oral communication skills, encourage critical and tolerant approaches to reasoned argument and historical discussion, build the students' ability to marshal historical evidence, and facilitate the development of the ability to summarise historical arguments, think in a rapidly changing environment and communicate in a persuasive and articulate manner, whilst recognising the value of working with others and, occasionally, towards shared goals. The seminar will also be the primary forum for developing students skills in reading and criticizing primary sources.
• Assessment:
• Unseen Examinations test students' ability to work under pressure under timed conditions, to prepare for examinations and direct their own programme of revision and learning, and develop key time management skills. The unseen examination gives students the opportunity to develop relevant life skills such as the ability to produce coherent, reasoned and supported arguments under pressure.
• Students will be examined on subject specific knowledge;
• The summative essay remains a central component of assessment in history, due to the integrative high-order skills it develops. It allows students the opportunity to recognise, represent and critically reflect upon ideas, concepts and problems; students can demonstrate awareness of, and the ability to use and evaluate, a diverse range of resources and identify, represent and debate a range of subject-specific issues and opinions. Through the essay, students can synthesise information, adopt critical appraisals and develop reasoned argument based on individual research; they should be able to communicate ideas in writing, with clarity and coherence; and to show the ability to integrate and critically assess material from a wide range of sources.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

One or more short assignments submitted in writing or delivered orally and discussed either 1:1 or in a group context.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University