About the course

Given the increased media presence of elements of Norse mythology and the Norse Middle Ages, two courses will provide an introduction to current issues in Old Norse mythology.

Thematically, the first course will focus on an examination of the most important sources, texts, and myths from the reception of the Norse Middle Ages. Building on this, the second course deals with the reception of Norse mythology from the 18th century onwards. A wide variety of sources from classical literature and art history, from the political history of the 1930s/40s, and more recent popular culture will be explored.

In order to encompass the concept of myth in the diverse sources on the Norse Middle Ages, interdisciplinary theoretical and methodological concepts will be drawn upon, such as aspects of memory studies, literary studies, visual culture, media theory, and reception studies.

Thomas Mohnike

Thomas Mohnike is Professor of Scandinavian Studies at the Université de Strasbourg. In teaching and research, he is interested in the influence of imagined geographies on collective identity formation - e.g. in the history of Scandinavian studies -, the reception of Nordic mythology, the influence of Protestantism on aesthetics in Scandinavia, and the digital analysis of mythems in cultural circulation.

Anja Ute Blode

Anja Ute Blode's research is especially related to medieval Scandinavia. The focus is particularly on historiography, in Latin, as well as in Danish and Swedish. Other research interests include rhymed chronicles at the end of the Scandinavian Middle Ages, text and manuscript transmissions in the medieval North, and the reception of the Nordic Middle Ages, especially in comics, manga and anime. She currently works at the Department for Scandinavian/Fennish Studies at the University of Cologne, where she works for the project j o l n e s - Joint Learning in Northern Studies, which offers international collaborative online teaching.