IMC 2007: Sessions

Session 1229: Viking Identities Network: Modern Identities

Wednesday 11 July 2007, 14.15-15.45

Sponsor:	Viking Identities Network (VIN)
Organiser:	Christopher P. Callow, Department of Medieval History, University of Birmingham
Moderator/Chair:	Christopher P. Callow, Department of Medieval History, University of Birmingham
Paper 1229-a	Talking the Talk and Walking the Walk: Interpreting the Vikings for Diverse Audiences (Language: English) Gareth Williams, Department of Coins & Medals, British Museum, London Index terms: Archaeology - Artefacts, Education, Military History, Teaching the Middle Ages
Paper 1229-b	Berserkers from the ID: Vikings on Film (Language: English) Lesley Coote, Department of English, University of Hull Index terms: Language and Literature - Scandinavian, Medievalism and Antiquarianism
Paper 1229-c	Iceland's Lost Heritage: The Sagas on Film (Language: English) Sverrir Jakobsson, University of Iceland, Reykjavík Index terms: Historiography - Modern Scholarship, Language and Literature - Scandinavian, Pagan Religions
Abstract	The Viking Age is traditionally seen as the aggressive, militaristic expansion of a Scandinavian seafaring and warrior culture with imperialist ambitions. The Viking Identities Network seeks to reconfigure the period as a diaspora, with subsequent effects on ethnic, religious, linguistic, cultural, and genetic identities. The Viking 'migrations' were a physical movement, with the re-settlement of people and the re-establishment of key institutions, but 'diaspora' can be seen as the consciousness of being connected to people and traditions of a homeland and to migrants from the same ethnic origin. Into the 20th and 21st centuries the image of the Viking has continued to be significant for a wide range of audiences. This session aims to explore the nature and significance of the idea of the Viking in particular contexts.