SCAND 270 A / C LIT 252 B / GLITS 252 B (pdf)
University of Washington
Instructor:
Dr Timothy Bourns
Email: tbourns@uw.edu
Office: Raitt Hall, 305 X
Office Hours: Mondays, 3-5pm, or by appointment (note that my office is not currently accessible by elevator; please do not hesitate to ask for alternative meeting arrangements)
Teaching Assistant:
Ian Gwin, iangwin@uw.edu
Office: Raitt Hall, 305 S
Office Hours: Mondays, 3-4pm and Wednesdays, 3-4pm
Classes:
Savery Hall, 264
In-person, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:30-4:20pm
Winter Quarter, 2025
Course Description:
Welcome to the Sagas of the Vikings! This course will introduce you to one of the greatest treasures of medieval literature: the Old Norse-Icelandic sagas. We will explore a range of texts from medieval Iceland in translation, with a focus on three of the most famous and celebrated genres: the mythical-heroic fornaldarsögur Norðurlanda (legendary sagas from Northern lands), the historical and action-packed konungasögur (kings’ sagas), and the dramatic, psychologically profound Íslendingasögur (sagas of Icelanders). During the course, we will place the sagas in their cultural and historical contexts; acquire skills in Old Norse textual criticism and analysis; and discuss a range of themes including the environment, mythology, religion, the supernatural, gender, identity, social power, and more.
Learning Objectives:
- Acquire a base knowledge about Viking history and medieval Icelandic culture and society
- Read, understand, and appreciate a diverse selection of texts from medieval Iceland’s rich literary legacy
- Develop source-critical reading and analytical skills to meaningfully engage with and examine Old Norse prose sagas, as well as the poetry embedded within
- Apply these skills in three short (and one long) writing assignments, demonstrating both creative and critical thinking
Grading:
Final grades for this course will be calculated as follows:
Writing Assignment 1: 10%
Writing Assignment 2: 10%
Writing Assignment 3: 10%
Final Writing Assignment: 20%
Midterm Test: 20%
Final Exam: 30%
Grading Scale:
|
4.0 – 96-100% 3.9 – 93-95% 3.8 – 90-92% 3.7 – 89% 3.6 – 88% 3.5 – 87% 3.4 – 86% |
3.3 – 85% 3.2 – 84% 3.1 – 83% 3.0 – 82% 2.9 – 81% 2.8 – 80% 2.7 – 79% |
2.6 – 78% 2.5 – 77% 2.4 – 76% 2.3 – 75% 2.2 – 74% 2.1 – 73% 2.0 – 72% |
1.9 – 71% 1.8 – 70% 1.7 – 69% 1.6 – 68% 1.5 – 67% 1.4 – 66% 1.3 – 65% |
1.2 – 64% 1.1 – 63% 1.0 – 60-62% 0.0 – 0-59% |
Writing Assignments:
There will be four writing assignments during the course, and additional details about each will be provided in advance.
The first writing assignment will be a close reading in which you select a passage from one of the assigned readings and demonstrate skills in textual and thematic analysis. It is due on Friday, January 24th, and is worth 10% of your final grade.
The second writing assignment will provide an opportunity to compose a personal reflection or creative response to a saga of your choice. It is due on Friday, February 7th, and is worth 10% of your final grade.
For the third writing assignment, you will compare two similar (or dissimilar) passages from two different sagas and compose a comparative analysis of a specific theme, demonstrating an awareness of both similarity and difference. It should not be on the same passage as the first writing assignment. It is due on Friday, February 28th, and is worth 10% of your final grade.
With the final writing assignment, you will have the opportunity to expand, develop, and improve one of the first three pieces of writing (of your choosing). It is due on Friday, March 14th, and is worth 20% of your final grade.
The first three writing assignments should be between 450 and 550 words. The fourth writing assignment should be between 900 and 1100 words. Failure to keep to these word counts will result in a grading penalty.
All four writing assignments should be uploaded to Canvas by the deadline. Unless a doctor’s note is provided or you are granted an extension in advance, there will be a 2% grade reduction for every day that a writing assignment is late.
Midterm Test and Final Exam:
The Midterm Test will be held at the beginning of class on Tuesday, February 11th. It will consist of multiple-choice questions, evaluating your knowledge of the material from weeks one through five of the course (based on the readings and lectures).
The final exam will be held on Tuesday, March 18th, during Finals Week. It will consist of two components: multiple-choice questions, evaluating your knowledge of the material from weeks six through ten of the course (based on the lectures and readings), as well as long-answer questions which cover major themes from the course in its entirety (you will have the opportunity to select topics from a broad range of options).
Please let me know if you will require any accommodations for these evaluations; I am happy to make arrangements as needed.
Course Structure:
In-class lectures are a major component of this course, consisting of the presentation of topics and themes relating to the main subject of the course: Old Norse-Icelandic saga literature. Lectures will occasionally be supplemented by films and video clips, and there will also be plenty of time for discussion and group activities.
Course Readings:
Most of the required readings for this course are available via the UW Bookstore: The Saga of the Volsungs with The Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok (trans. Jackson Crawford), The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki (trans. Jesse Byock), and The Sagas of Icelanders (trans. Jane Smiley et al.). All other required readings will be uploaded to Canvas as PDFs in advance. Optional readings may also be uploaded to Canvas from time to time.
Course Schedule:
Week 1: Welcome and Introduction
Tuesday, January 7: Introducing Saga Literature
Thursday, January 9: Introducing Viking History and Medieval Iceland
Week 2: Sigurd the Dragonslayer
Tuesday, January 14: The Saga of the Volsungs (chs. 1-21)
Thursday, January 16: The Saga of the Volsungs (chs. 22-42)
Week 3: Legendary Women and Warriors
Tuesday, January 21: The Saga of Ragnar Loðbrók
Thursday, January 23: The Saga of King Heidrek the Wise
Friday, January 24: Writing Assignment 1 Due
Week 4: Ancient Kings
Tuesday, January 28: The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki
Thursday, January 30: The Saga of the Ynglings
Week 5: Medieval Kings and Tales
Tuesday, February 4: Excerpts from Heimskringla (The Circle of the World)
Thursday, February 6: A selection of Þættir (short stories)
Friday, February 7: Writing Assignment 2 Due
Week 6: Introducing the Sagas of Icelanders
Tuesday, February 11: Midterm Test
Tuesday, February 11: The Saga of Hrafnkel Frey’s Godi
Thursday, February 13: The Saga of the People of Vatnsdal, with excerpts from Njal’s Saga
Week 7: A Viking Warrior-Poet
Tuesday, February 18: Egil’s saga (chs. 1-45)
Thursday, February 20: Egil’s saga (chs. 46-90)
Week 8: Gender and Power
Tuesday, February 25: The Saga of the People of Laxardal (chs. 1-38)
Thursday, February 27: The Saga of the People of Laxardal (chs. 39-78)
Friday, February 28: Third Writing Assignment Due
Week 9: Medieval Icelandic Outlaws and Romances
Tuesday, March 4: Gisli Sursson’s Saga, with excerpts from The Saga of Grettir the Strong
Thursday, March 6: The Saga of Gunnlaug Serpent-tongue & The Saga of Ref the Sly
Week 10: The Vínland Sagas
Tuesday, March 11: The Saga of the Greenlanders & Eirik the Red’s Saga
Thursday, March 13: Greenlandic Inuit Tales
Friday, March 14: Final Writing Assignment Due
Final Exam:
Tuesday, March 18, 4:30-6:20pm: Final Exam
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Policies, Procedures, and Acknowledgements:
Academic Style and Format:
Citations used in course work should follow either the MLA style (http://guides.lib.uw.edu/research/citations/mla-style), or The Chicago Manual of Style. Be consistent! Choose one style and stick with it.
Academic Integrity: Cheating and plagiarism include, but are not limited to:
- Copying the work of others or allowing others to do your work
- Directly quoting the words of others without using quotation marks, indented format, and in-text citations to identify them
- Using sources (published or unpublished) without identifying them
- Paraphrasing materials or borrowing the ideas of others without identifying the sources.
Plagiarizing, or copying and/or using the words or ideas of others without acknowledgement can undermine your learning and devalue the degree that you are seeking. It can result in failure of the assignment or course. Acknowledge and/or cite every single source that you consider when producing assignments. Over-citing is better than under-citing! If you need help understanding and avoiding plagiarism, come talk to me. Consequences for plagiarizing will be determined on a case-by-case basis. Please refer to the Community Standards & Student Conduct – Academic Misconduct webpage for more information about plagiarism and other forms of misconduct.
Use of AI:
All work submitted for this course must be your own. Any use of generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, when working on assignments is forbidden. Use of generative AI will be considered academic misconduct and subject to investigation.
The assignments in this class have been designed to challenge you to develop creativity, critical-thinking, and problem-solving skills. Using AI technology will limit your capacity to develop these skills and to meet the learning goals of this course.
If you have any questions about what constitutes academic integrity in this course or at the University of Washington, please feel free to contact me to discuss your concerns.
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Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodations-policy/). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/).
Your experience in this class is important to me. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please activate your accommodations via myDRS so we can discuss how they will be implemented in this course.
If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), contact DRS directly to set up an Access Plan. DRS facilitates the interactive process that establishes reasonable accommodations. Contact DRS at disability.uw.edu.
Land Acknowledgement:
The University of Washington acknowledges the Coast Salish peoples of this land, the land which touches the shared waters of all tribes and bands within the Suquamish, Tulalip, and Muckleshoot nations, including the Duwamish, on whose traditional lands the University of Washington-Seattle stands in violation of the Treat of Point Elliott.