Cost and Registration Information

Early Registration Price (by February 10): $260
Regular Price (after February 10): $286

Seminar Description

Discover the relationship between the tales of Norse mythology and the cultures that produced them. Participants will learn how powerful myths preserved by Icelanders in the thirteenth century relate to the religious beliefs and practices of the pre-Christian northern world. Particular attention will be paid to the role of women in Norse culture and how, as Christianity spread and gained power, these stories descended from religion to myth to legend to fairy tale to superstition. Nine sessions.

Dr. Karl E. H. Seigfried writes on myth and religion for publications and broadcast media around the world, and he is currently working on his third graduate degree at the University of Chicago Divinity School.

Materials List

Required:

• Gods and Myths of Northern Europe by H.R. Ellis Davidson, Penguin Books, ISBN-13: 978-0140136272
• The Poetic Edda, Translated by Carolyne Larrington, Oxford World’s Classics, ISBN-13: 978-0199675340
• Edda by Snorri Sturluson, Translated by Anthony Faulkes, Everyman’s Library, ISBN-13: 978-0460876162

Note: Please do not buy electronic copies of these books, since they do not have page numbers, which will be necessary for reading assignments.

First Readings:

• None

This class is part of the Newberry’s Adult Education Seminars Program. Learn more about our registration procedures.