Old Icelandic saga
Instructor: Prof. Kendra Willson, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Time: spring semester 2012, 1st quarter (7 meetings), Fridays 10-12 (1st meeting on Friday, 13 January)
Place: seminar room Juva (E119), Minerva building, 1st floor (Sirkkala campus)
Level: MA (syventävät opinnot) or PhD (jatko-opinnot)
Assesment: active participation, further readings, homeworks, 2 or 4 credit points
Sign-up by Wednesday, 11 January, by e-mail to Prof. Willson (willson[at]humnet.ucla.edu). When signing up, please indicate your major subject and level of study (MA/PhD).
Students should consult their relevant subject/department about the placement of the course in their curriculum.
Goals of the course
1. To gain an understanding of the literary culture of 13th and 14th c. Iceland, the genesis of saga literature, major genres thereof, and salient features of Icelandic family sagas and Eddic and skaldic poetry.
2. To understand the social context of early Icelandic society as reflected in texts.
3. To learn rudiments of the Old Norse-Icelandic language and gain awareness of salient features of its grammar and diction.
Readings
• Snorri Sturluson. Gylfaginning from the Prose Edda.
• Selected poems from the Poetic Edda
• Hrafnkels saga Freysgoða
• Víga-Glúms saga
• Gisla saga Súrssonar
• Eiríks saga rauða
• Egils saga Skalla-Grímssonar
• Chapters from Sigrid Valfells and James Cathey, Old Icelandic.
Assessment
1. (2 credit points) active participation (attending at least 5 of the 7 meetings unless otherwise agreed) and either (1) a one- to two-page informal written response to each week's reading, highlighting something about it you found interesting and connecting it to other texts or concerns, or (2) a short presentation during the final class meeting, on a topic to be discussed with the instructor. (The specific length depends on the number of people presenting.)
2. (4 credit points) in addition to the requirements for option 1, a ten-page original research paper on a topic of your choice, subject to instructor's approval. The research paper should present your interpretation and assessment of some aspect of the primary texts, supported by critical evaluation of secondary literature. I would be happy to help you find sources and discuss potential topics. The topic of the essay may be the same as that of the class presentation.
This is a seminar course and reading group. I expect you to do the reading in advance of the class meetings and participate actively in discussion.
I have deliberately chosen texts which are available in Finnish as well as Swedish and English translations. These texts have also been translated into many other languages. You are welcome to use any edition or translation you choose. Be aware that translations may vary in their choice of source manuscripts and in their faithfulness to these.
The whole group will examine short passages in Old Norse together. Students with previous knowledge of Old Norse-Icelandic are strongly encouraged to read texts in the original to the extent possible. If there is interest, I will arrange additional meetings to translate and discuss original-language texts.
The default assumption is that discussions will take place in English. The research and response papers may be written in any language I can read (including Finnish and Swedish).
Preliminary schedule (subject to change)
Week 1: Introduction
• Settlement and early history of Iceland
• Introduction to the Old Norse-Icelandic language
• Medieval Icelandic written culture; saga writing
Week 2. Mythology
• Gylfaginning
• selected poems from the Poetic Edda
• metrics and poetic form
Week 3
• Hrafnkels saga Freysgoða
Week 4
• Víga-Glúms saga
Week 5
• Gísla saga Súrssonar
Week 6
• Egils saga Skalla-Grímssonar
Week 7
• Eiríks saga rauða
Further information: prof. Kendra Willson(willson[at]humnet.ucla.edu) or Marika Räsänen (marras@utu.fi)