Work in progress

I have not had the time to post as much on my blog yet as I would like to. But there is a good reason for that. In two weeks' time I have what is more or less my only 'real' deadline before my final thesis is due to be submitted in October 2015. My university requires all PhD students to go through an upgrade process towards the end of their first year. This is to demonstrate that they have the necessary skills and a suitable project that can be completed in three or four years. When you first start you are registered as an MLitt (Master of Letters) student, and when you have successfully passed your upgrade you become a fully-fledged PhD student. In practice this means submitting a draft thesis chapter of about 10 000 words, which will be assessed by two internal examiners. You then have to defend your work along with a thesis outline, bibliography, and progress plan in a sort of interview called a viva - which is the same process you go through with your final thesis. 

Although working on my upgrade means spending very little time in the lab I'm finding it a very useful process. I've chosen to submit a draft of my background chapter, which sets the context for my research. I'm writing about the historical development of the period, and ways in which we interpret identities in the past. In other words how do we work out   who people were -  both who (and what) they considered themselves to be, and who others thought they were? This is really at the core of my research, and I need to consider how we define a 'Viking'. What happened to those who came to England to settle? Did they consider themselves to be outsiders, who were different from the 'native' population? And if so, how was this difference shown, and for how long? And how did the newcomers (both the armies and the more peaceful settlers) interact with the locals 
A lot has been written about this already; some excellent work, some not quite so good. So my current job is to wade through the literature and extract the most important arguments and resources. And this is what requires a lot of tea and some motivation from my muse, the Lego Viking woman residing on my desk. 

Update, June 2013: I passed the upgrade!! 

Armchair Archaeology

The field, and the Bumpy Line

Or in this case, bedroom window archaeology. I recently made the startling discovery that the long bumpy line I've been staring at in the field behind my house for the past six months is in fact an

PhD project Q & A

What happened at Repton in the 9th century?

According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, an historical document written down some time between 900 and 1200 AD, the Viking Great Army travelled to Repton and overwintered there in 873-874AD. At the time Repton was an important site in the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, with a church and a double-house monastery dating back to the 7th century. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says that when the Vikings arrived in Repton, they also conquered Mercia, drove King Burgred across the sea, and placed a puppet king under their control on the throne.

Viking Worlds

Image: Copyright IAKH, University of Oslo

This week I will be going to the Viking Worlds conference in Oslo, arranged by my old department at the University of Oslo, IAKH. I am bringing a poster on my PhD project, which will be a good opportunity to present my research to other academics working in the same field. Lets just hope nobody notices the typo that found its way into my text at the last minute.