Alan Macniven

Affiliation: University of Edinburgh

Abstract:

“Cultural Interaction and Shifts in Power: The Vikings’ Impact on Scotland’s Islands”

While some scholars seek to approach the Viking Age through the prism of National Romantic literature, others are now searching for it in strands of modern DNA from assumed Viking heritage communities overseas. Some seem to nurse hopes that this material will finally unlock the answers to age-old questions – did the Vikings arrive as conquistadors or conquerors sweeping all before them? Did they arrive en masse, or as a more limited group of influential yet adaptable interlopers? Or do these figures loom far larger in more recent literary fiction than they ever did in reality? This paper will address some of the pitfalls and potential in using modern DNA evidence as historical source material. Taking the Inner-Hebridean island of Islay as a focal point, we will explore how the emergence of appealing, yet hazy rhetoric has served not just to muddy, but to congeal the waters. Despite the appearance of objectivity, a formidable arsenal of syllogisms, false equivalence and statistical sleight of hand has been used to reinforce longstanding assumptions. In unpicking the soundbites and examining their implications, we will also consider whether the space-age science of DNA analysis might not be something of a red herring in our quest for historical accuracy.

Biography: Dr Alan Macniven is Senior Lecturer and Head of Scandinavian Studies at the University of Edinburgh, where he teaches on a range of courses covering the language, literature and culture of modern and medieval Scandinavia. He is particularly interested in areas where aspects of Nordic history and culture intersect with those of Scotland. Alan's research has focused on the identification, interpretation and implications of the evidence for Viking activity in Scotia Scandinavica.