University of Manitoba
Since 2014 I have worked as an instructor in the Department of Icelandic language and literature at the University of Manitoba where I have instructed eleven different sections of five different courses. Students enrolled in these courses include those seeking Major degrees and Minors in Icelandic Language and Literature and students from across many other departments and faculties fulfilling elective requirements for their degree programs. The descriptions below are those listed in the official Academic Calendar and Catalog of the University of Manitoba, which are followed by listings of the course materials I have used in each course over the last few years. More detailed information, including sample assignment handouts and course syllabi, can be made available upon request.
ICEL 1400 (3 credit hours), Introduction to Contemporary Culture in Iceland (3 sections, 2016, 2017, 2018):
The aim of this course is to study and explore a selection of literature, music, and visual art, and cultural critique. Students will also get an opportunity to study and explore both global and local Icelandic cultural characteristics and the fusion of cultural influences in contemporary Iceland.
Course texts have included: A Coursepack designed by the instructor with various assigned reading (~150 pages); Birna Bjarnadóttir’s book of fragments (2010); Oddný Eir’s Jarðnæði (Land of Love and Ruins), translated by Philip Roughton (2015); Andri Snær Magnason’s Sagan af bláa hnettinum (The Story of the Blue Planet), translated by Julian Meldon D’Arcy (2012); Gerður Kristný’s Blóðhófnir (Bloodhoof), translated by Rory McTurk (2010); Draumalandið (Dreamland), a film by Þorfinnur Guðnason and Andri Snær Magnason (2009); Gargandi snilld (Screaming Masterpiece), a film by Ari Alexander Ergis Magnússon (2005); Heima (at home), a film by Sigur Rós (2007); Vesturfarar (Westward Bound), a television series by Egill Helgason (2014).
ICEL 1410 (3 credit hours), Introduction to Medieval Culture in Iceland (1 section, 2017):
The aim of this course is to study a selection of sagas, history fragments and mythological sources. Students will also get an opportunity to explore the way in which world-renowned modern poets and writers have been drawn to, and seriously seduced by, the culture of medieval Iceland.
Course texts have included: A Coursepack designed by the instructor (~200 pages); Ragnars saga loðbrók (The Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok), translated by Jackson Crawford (2017).
ICEL 2410 (3 credit hours), History of the Viking Age (1 section, 2020):
From the eighth century onwards, Norse groups, who are popularly known as the Vikings, expanded their influence outward from Norway, Denmark, and Sweden in every direction. This course discusses “Viking” activities – from raiding and mercenary work to exploration and trade, from conquest and settlement to lawmaking and dispute resolution. Centred on the medieval Nordic, lectures consider such activities in their full geographic context. Norse expansion touched Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, the Baltic, the North Atlantic, and Canada. Students in this course will explore the Viking Age through a select survey of sources from both Norse cultures and the cultures they encountered.
Course texts have included: The Viking Age, A Reader, edited by Angus A. Sommerville and R. Andrew McDonald; Njal’s saga, translated Robert Cook (2001).
ICEL 3320 (3 credit hours), Old Norse Mythology (2 sections, 2016, 2017):
The myths and cults of the pre-Christian gods in the Nordic countries studied on the basis of the original sources (in English translation) and related to pre-Christian Nordic society.
Course texts have included: Eddukvæði (The Poetic Edda), translated by Carolyne Larrington (2014); Völsunga saga (The Saga of the Volsungs), translated by Jackson Crawford (2017); Snorra-Edda (The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson), translated by Jesse Byock (2006); Hrafnin flygur (When the Raven Flies), a film by Hrafn Gunnlaugsson (1984).
ICEL 3330 (3 credit hours), Icelandic Sagas in Translation (4 sections, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018):
The Medieval Icelandic sagas tell stories of outlaws, blood feuds and epic Viking battles. They also contain evidence of Norse pagan practices, the arrival of Christianity in Northern Europe, as well as the earliest documented contact between Europeans and North America’s Indigenous peoples. In this course students will explore several of the Icelandic sagas in English translation through a variety of literary, historical and cultural contexts.
Course texts have included: Njal’s saga, translated Robert Cook (2001); The Sagas of Icelanders: A Selection, edited by Örnolfur Thorsson (2001) [selected readings from this texts have included “Gisli Sursson’s Saga”; “The Saga of Hrafnkel Freysgodi”; “The Saga of the People of Laxardal”; “The Saga of Gunnlaug Serpent-Tongue”; “The Saga of the Greenlanders”; “The Saga of Eirik the Red”]; Útlaginn (The Outlaw), a film by Águst Guðmundsson (1981).
University of Winnipeg
Since 2016 I have worked as an instructor in the Department of Rhetoric, writing, and communications at the University of Winnipeg where I have instructed six different sections of three different courses in the Department of Rhetoric, Writing, and Communications at the University of Winnipeg. Students enrolled in these courses include those seeking Major degrees and Minors in Rhetoric, Writing, and Communications and students from across many other departments and faculties fulfilling their writing requirement. All University of Winnipeg students are required to fulfil the University Writing Requirement by special exemption or by coursework, including the completion of any one of those courses listed below. The descriptions are those listed in the official Academic Calendar and Catalog of the University of Winnipeg, which are followed by listings of the course materials I have used in each course over the last few years. More detailed information, including sample assignment handouts and course syllabi, can be made available upon request.
RHET 1101 (3 credit hours), Academic Writing: Humanities (1 section, 2018):
Academic Writing teaches the essential strategies for university writing and research: the discovery of topics, the arrangement of ideas, the assessment of audience and purpose, and the practice of effective editing. Sections of RHET-1101 are designed for students likely to major in a discipline in the Humanities, such as English, History, or Philosophy. Assignments may include summaries, reviews, critiques, and research papers. Students are introduced to the styles of documenting sources and to the research databases relevant to the Humanities.
Course texts have included: Tom Nichols’ The Death of Expertise (2017); Martha Nussbaum’s Not For Profit (2010).
RHET 1102 (3 credit hours), Academic Writing: Social Sciences (1 section, 2017):
Academic Writing teaches the essential strategies for university writing and research: the discovery of topics, the arrangement of ideas, the assessment of audience and purpose, and the practice of effective editing. Sections of RHET-1102 are designed for students likely to major in a discipline in the Social Sciences, such as Politics, Psychology, or Sociology. Assignments may include annotated bibliographies, literature reviews, and ethnographies. Students are introduced to the styles of documenting sources and to the research databases relevant to the Social Sciences.
Course texts have included: Across the Disciplines: Academic Writing and Reading, edited by Jaqueline McLeod Rogers and Catherine G. Taylor (2011).
RHET 1105 (3 credit hours), Academic Writing: Multidisciplinary (4 sections, 2016, 2017, 2018):
Academic Writing teaches the essential strategies for university writing and research: the discovery of topics, the arrangement of ideas, the assessment of audience and purpose, and the practice of effective editing. Sections of RHET-1105, designed for students who have not yet chosen a field of study, take a multidisciplinary rather than discipline-specific perspective. The approach taken in each section (for instance, the assignments, the research methods, and the styles of documentation) varies.
Course texts have included: Across the Disciplines: Academic Writing and Reading, edited by Jaqueline McLeod Rogers and Catherine G. Taylor (2011).
Christopher W. E. Crocker 