Key Information
About the content
Explore with us the fascinating ways of thinking about space in Viking Age and Old Norse culture. Together we will discuss how space is conceptualised and depicted in diverse Old Norse genres and traditions.
Syllabus
Week 1
Introduction and course overview: space as a key element of narration and representation
Week 2
Constructing mythological space: Eddic cosmography
Sources: Prose-Edda, Poetic Edda
Week 3
Discovering new spaces: geographical and social aspects; memory and space
Sources: Sagas (Grænlendinga saga, Eiríks saga rauða)
Week 4
Cosmography: descriptions of the world in texts
Sources: Leiðarvísir (Itinerary of Nikulas)
Week 5
Mapping the World: Cartography
Sources: Carta Marina
Week 6
Spatiality in visual media
Sources: picture-stones, runic inscriptions, paintings, woodcarvings, manuscripts
Week 7
Archaeology:
Sources:
Week 8 Language and space: spatial thinking in language; place names
Sources:
Conclusion and outlook
Instructors
- Sandra Schneeberger - Deutsches Seminar, Abteilung für Nordische Philologie
- Jürg Glauser - Deutsches Seminar, Abteilung für Nordische Philologie, University of Zurich
Content Designer
Platform
Coursera is a digital company offering massive open online course founded by computer teachers Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller Stanford University, located in Mountain View, California.
Coursera works with top universities and organizations to make some of their courses available online, and offers courses in many subjects, including: physics, engineering, humanities, medicine, biology, social sciences, mathematics, business, computer science, digital marketing, data science, and other subjects.
