"What of the gods, what of the elves? Do you want to know more?" - the prophetess of the Eddic poem Völuspa keeps on asking Odin. And there is indeed so much more to investigate about the trove of pre-Christian beliefs and rituals in Scandinavia than your typical Marvel Thor images.

This short course aims to introduce the student to the study of Old Norse religion(s), namely the challenges of working with incomplete or late sources entailing a development of pagan memories rather than realities, new insights from archaeology, linguistics and anthropology revealing social and religious variation as well as attempts to unlock or reconstruct world views based on multiple religious discourses dealing not only with individual gods (Óðinn, Þórr, Freyr, etc.), but also ritual occasions (such as initiations of warriors, fertility of land, death, protection against hostile forces), or with magic (the ‘luck’ of a person, techniques to prevent sickness etc.). In this sense, the course also aims to raise awareness about the complexity of a religious phenomenon often reduced to Old Icelandic mythology.

The module will follow an 8-session structure as shown below:

Outline	8-Session Structure
Week 1	Lecture 1: Theoretical considerations, religious vocabulary and archaeology
	Discussion 1: Discussion about Lecture 1 material
Week 2	Lecture 2: Indo-european and germanic (dis)continuites
	Discussion 2: Discussion about Lecture 2 material
Week 3	Lecture 3: Historical and social context, ritual time and space
	Discussion 3: Discussion about Lecture 3 material
Week 4	Lecture 4: Cosmogonies and afterlives/td>
	Discussion 4: Discussion about Lecture 4 material