Harvard Summer Program in Scandinavia
This page contains content from the Summer School 2009. For current information, visit the Harvard Summer School website at www.summer.harvard.edu.
Information on the programs being offered summer 2010 will be available online in early September.
Viking studies in Denmark and Sweden
Faculty: Stephen Mitchell, Neil Price, and Pernille Hermann
(8 credits: UN, GR) Limited enrollment
Program dates: June 10–July 24, 2009
Application deadline: February 27
Cost: $7,350
“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 is ideal for those 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
Course of study
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 Scandinavia’s 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.
Course credit
For Harvard College students, this program counts as two half-year courses (4 credits each) of degree credit. SCAN S-150 counts toward the Literature and Arts A Core requirement.
Transfer credit. Harvard Summer School courses and credits are accepted toward degrees at most colleges and universities. Since degree requirements vary among schools, students are advised to obtain transfer credit approval from their home institutions before registering for Harvard Summer School courses.
Faculty
Stephen Mitchell, Professor of Scandinavian and Folklore, and Curator of the Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature, Harvard University
Neil Price, Sixth Century Chair of Archaeology and Head of Department, University of Aberdeen, Scotland
Pernille Hermann, Assistant Professor of Scandinavian, Århus University
For extended biographies of the faculty, see the Viking Studies in Scandinavia website.
Application
Students must be at least 18 years old to apply. The application materials, outlined below, are due February 27:
- An application form (applications for this program are no longer being accepted)
- Official transcripts (sent directly from schools to the address below; unofficial copies of transcripts are accepted for Harvard College students only)
- A $50 nonrefundable application fee
- A supplementary statement describing interest in the program, relevant coursework, and travel experience abroad (not a prerequisite)
Applications should be addressed as follows:
Matilda West
Study Abroad Coordinator
Harvard Summer School
51 Brattle Street
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
Students are notified of admissions decisions by mid-March.
Cost
The cost of the program is $7,350, plus a nonrefundable $50 application fee. In addition, students are responsible for a health insurance fee ($165; waived if students have US insurance that provides coverage outside the United States) and for transportation to and from Denmark. The cost of the program covers the following:
- Tuition
- Room
- Opening banquet and final banquet
- Excursions (including meals when appropriate)
Program directors will advise students of likely additional expenses.
Payment deadlines
Harvard Summer School online services allows accepted students to make payments or deposits with a valid credit card.
Students can also mail their payment, along with a completed Study Abroad Payment Form (available in Forms), to:
Student Financial Services
Harvard Summer School
51 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
For those admitted to the program, a nonrefundable deposit of $735 must be received by April 15 to secure a place in the program. Payment in full is due by May 15. A $100 late fee will be charged for payments received after this date.
Funding
Harvard College students are eligible for funding through the Harvard College Office of International Programs (OIP), as well as a variety of centers around campus. All Harvard Summer School study abroad programs qualify for summer funding. Programs of eight weeks or longer in duration (including extensions of Harvard Summer School Programs approved by faculty members) qualify for Rockefeller International Experience Grants; programs of shorter duration qualify for other summer grants.
Students may consult the Funding Sources Database for more information on all sources of funding. Please note that the funding application deadline for summer grants and Rockefeller International Experience Grants is February 27.
To apply for any study abroad funding, students need to provide information about the program’s budget, submit an application through the Common Application for Research and Travel (CARAT), as well as supplementary documents to the relevant center, if necessary. Additional information on the funding application process is available through CARAT.
Also see the Harvard College Financial Aid Office summer school page for information about assistance.
Other Harvard students may be eligible for financial assistance through their Harvard financial aid offices. Students enrolled at other institutions should consult their respective financial aid offices.
Accommodations
Students stay in student housing in Århus and in a residential hotel in Visby.
Additional information
Contact Stephen Mitchell, samitch@fas.harvard.edu; (617) 495-3513; fax (617) 495-9507.
Students with disabilities should contact the disability services coordinator as soon as possible: (617) 495-0977, (617) 495-9419 (TTY), or disabilities@dcemail.harvard.edu. Request-for-accommodation forms and supporting diagnostic documentation must be submitted by April 15. See the Disability Services page for more information about disability services, including request forms and guidelines for documentation.
Students applying for admission to Harvard’s study abroad programs should understand that although the University provides reasonable assistance and support to facilitate the participation of qualified students in its programs (including students with disabilities and health impairments), some of our programs are located in parts of the world where accommodations may not be readily available. Students are encouraged to be forthcoming with the disability services coordinator about any specific needs and functional limitations so that the Summer School can collaborate with those students in a way that fosters their safe participation and allows them to fully appreciate any barriers that they may face, depending on the location and rigors of the particular program.
Harvard Summer School is aware of the risks associated with international travel. Should the US Department of State issue a travel warning for any of the countries in which a study abroad program is planned, the program in that country may be canceled.