Dr. Paul Peterson

The literature containing Norse mythology remains one of the most fascinating bodies of medieval storytelling anywhere. Participants will make sense of Norse myths by examining the structures of the tales and investigating the background in which they were written down in manuscripts. Explore Norse mythology with Old Norse expert Dr. Paul Peterson!

This series of modules introduces the vocabulary and grammar of the Gothic language, the oldest attested body of literature in a Germanic language (4th century AD), not just by talking about grammar, but by doing real translations of real Gothic texts. While no prior language study experience is necessary or expected, it is certainly a benefit to understand basic grammatical terms in English (or equivalent) or have knowledge of learning to read another language.

This module is part of the Academic Mastery program. Please apply to the AM program before enrolling in this course or any of its modules.

This module is part of the Intermediate Old Norse Poetry series.

This module has prerequisites. Please read all details before enrolling.

Course Description

Old Norse Heroic Eddic Poetry 1 focuses primarily on reading legendary poetry of the world-famous Eddic corpus. The poems we will read in this module include: Hlöðskviða and Fáfnismál. Special attention will be paid to reading Fáfnismál in its original manuscript.

Format: 4 weeks of live classes with 2 hours of live class meetings per week. Translation in a group setting.

Assessments: Critique of translations in class and in a summative exercise.

Materials: No additional books or materials required.

Fee: 2 Tokens.

Goals and Skills:

Intermediate Old Norse Poetry allows students to translate complete versions of several of the most famous works of medieval Old Norse literature in the original language.

Students will develop existing translation skills by reading complex texts at the intermediate level. The course also includes a significant amount of Old Norse paleography, i.e. reading digital images of original medieval manuscripts written in the language.

Reading Eddic poetry provides a foundation for continued exploration of Old Norse literature in the original language. Since the Eddic corpus is the most famous and broadly read, it allows an expert level exploration into scholarly issues within Old Norse studies and Germanic philology.

This course is graduate level in intensity.

This module assumes general competency with Old Norse vocabulary and grammar. Students should complete the Beginning Old Norse series before attempting these intermediate modules. Students who have passed Introduction to Old Norse in the Signum MA program may bypass this requirement. Students who have familiarity with Old Norse from another scholarly experience may apply for an independent evaluation of their Old Norse skills, which, if passed satisfactorily, will also permit direct enrollment in this module.

This module is part of the Academic Mastery program. Please apply to the AM program before enrolling in this course or any of its modules.

This module is part of the Intermediate Old Norse Poetry series.

This module has prerequisites. Please read all details before enrolling.

Course Description

Old Norse Heroic Eddic Poetry 2 focuses on the legendary cycle of Eddic poetry, including the poems Sigrdrífumál and Guðrúnarkviða I. In addition to translating each of these poems in full, special attention will be paid to reading the texts in their original medieval manuscripts.

Format: 4 weeks of live classes with 2 hours of live class meetings per week. Translation in a group setting.

Assessments: Critique of translations in class; oral presentation at the end of the module

Materials: No additional books or materials required.

Fee: 2 Tokens.

Goals and Skills:

Intermediate Old Norse Poetry allows students to translate complete versions of several of the most famous works of medieval Old Norse literature in the original language.

Students will develop existing translation skills by reading complex texts at the intermediate level. The course also includes a significant amount of Old Norse paleography, i.e. reading digital images of original medieval manuscripts written in the language.

Reading Eddic poetry provides a foundation for continued exploration of Old Norse literature in the original language. Since the Eddic corpus is the most famous and broadly read, it allows an expert level exploration into scholarly issues within Old Norse studies and Germanic philology.

This course is graduate level in intensity

This module assumes general competency with Old Norse vocabulary and grammar. Students should complete the Beginning Old Norse series before attempting these intermediate modules. Students who have passed Introduction to Old Norse in the Signum MA program may bypass this requirement. Students who have familiarity with Old Norse from another scholarly experience may apply for an independent evaluation of their Old Norse skills, which, if passed satisfactorily, will also permit direct enrollment in this module. Students are encouraged but not required to take "Old Norse Heroic Eddic Poetry 1" before taking this related module.

This module is part of the Academic Mastery program. Please apply to the AM program before enrolling in this course or any of its modules.

This module is part of the Intermediate Old Norse Poetry series.

This module has prerequisites. Please read all details before enrolling.

Course Description

Old Norse Mythological Eddic Poetry explores three of the mythological poems of Old Norse, The poems in this module include: Grímnismál, Völuspá, and Skírnismál. Similarly to other Old Norse modules, we will explore and read the original medieval manuscripts of these poems secondarily to the main translation assignments.

Format: 4 weeks of live classes with 2 hours of live class meetings per week. Translation in a group setting.

Assessments: Critique of translations in class; summative writing assignment (c. 3000 words)

Materials: No additional books or materials required.

Fee: 2 Tokens.

Goals and Skills:

Intermediate Old Norse Poetry allows students to translate complete versions of several of the most famous works of medieval Old Norse literature in the original language.

Students will develop existing translation skills by reading complex texts at the intermediate level. The course also includes a significant amount of Old Norse paleography, i.e. reading digital images of original medieval manuscripts written in the language.

Reading Eddic poetry provides a foundation for continued exploration of Old Norse literature in the original language. Since the Eddic corpus is the most famous and broadly read, it allows an expert level exploration into scholarly issues within Old Norse studies and Germanic philology.

This course is graduate level in intensity.

This module assumes general competency with Old Norse vocabulary and grammar. Students should complete the Beginning Old Norse series before attempting these intermediate modules. Students who have passed Introduction to Old Norse in the Signum MA program may bypass this requirement. Students who have familiarity with Old Norse from another scholarly experience may apply for an independent evaluation of their Old Norse skills, which, if passed satisfactorily, will also permit direct enrollment in this module.

This module is part of the Academic Mastery program. Please apply to the AM program before enrolling in this course or any of its modules.

This module is part of the Intermediate Old Norse Poetry series.

This module has prerequisites. Please read all details before enrolling.

Course Description

Old Norse Skaldic and Runic Poetry introduces two of the more difficult areas of Old Norse poetry: skaldic poetry, and runic inscriptions. For skaldic poetry, less attention will be paid to the manuscripts, but runic inscriptions with poetic text will be examined visually using digital images to learn how to decipher the original text.

Format: 4 weeks of live classes with 2 hours of live class meetings per week. Translation in a group setting.

Assessments: Critique of translations in class and summative project of the student's choice.

Materials: No additional books or materials required.

Fee: 2 Tokens.

Goals and Skills:

Intermediate Old Norse Poetry allows students to translate complete versions of several of the most famous works of medieval Old Norse literature in the original language.

Students will develop existing translation skills by reading complex texts at the intermediate level. The course also includes a significant amount of Old Norse paleography, i.e. reading digital images of original medieval manuscripts written in the language.

Reading Eddic poetry provides a foundation for continued exploration of Old Norse literature in the original language. Since the Eddic corpus is the most famous and broadly read, it allows an expert level exploration into scholarly issues within Old Norse studies and Germanic philology.

This course is graduate level in intensity.

This module assumes intermediate competency with Old Norse vocabulary and grammar. Students should complete the Beginning Old Norse series and at least one Intermediate Old Norse module (Old Norse Heroic Eddic Poetry 1 or 2, or Old Norse Mythological Eddic Poetry) before attempting this module. Students who have familiarity with Old Norse from another scholarly experience may apply for an independent evaluation of their Old Norse skills, which, if passed satisfactorily, will also permit direct enrollment in this module.

In an interactive language course, we will explore the grammar, culture, and vocabulary of the largest Scandinavian language spoken today. From Vikings to Volvos to IKEA, Sweden is internationally recognized as a leader of cultural thought and political neutrality. The Swedish language is from the branch of North Germanic languages, meaning a lot of built in cognates exist for speakers of other Germanic languages (including English).

Kom och tala svenska med mig!