Reading List for MA Viking and Anglo Saxon Studies

[RurikNjalsson]

If you saw this on r/gradschool, I also posted it there.

Hey all,

I was recently accepted to an MA in Viking and Anglo-Studies program at the University of Nottingham. I was sent the reading list for the various modules I can take during the one year program, with around 8 modules available. My question is: how much of this should I tackle before my program starts in two months?

I'm sure the answer from most people will be "as much as possible" but my first caveat with that answer is that in a couple of the lists have a disclaimer that not all of the readings will be read throughout the module.

In addition, I neither have the funds nor the ability to obtain most of the books, due to their rare subject matter and the fact that I am in the United States and in a small town in the South.

Lastly, a good portion of them require knowledge of Old Norse or Old English which I will be taught concurrently in the module.

How best to tackle this?

[guest56436]

None or minimal. A lot of first year students make the mistake of reading ahead. But the problem is that it is very hard to remember much more than the basics of what you read even as little as a couple of weeks later.

If I were you, I would try to see if you can study some Old English before the program, that way you can hit the ground running and potentially spend less time on developing those skills during your program (or conversely, become more proficient than your could have otherwise).

Edited July 24, 2017 by Comparativist