The Virtual Viking Longship Project: A Study in the Future of Liberal Arts Teaching and Research

FAIN: HAA-290378-23

Grinnell College (Grinnell, IA 50112-2227)
David Neville (Project Director: June 2022 to present)
Timothy Arner (Co Project Director: June 2022 to present)
Austin Mason (Co Project Director: June 2022 to present)

The development of a virtual reality model of a Viking Age longship with a team of undergraduate researchers. The project team will document the workflow and learning outcomes to share with other undergraduate institutions.

This project explores and tests strategies for integrating undergraduate student learning and labor in the development of long-term Digital Humanities (DH) research projects. Combining the strengths of two leading liberal arts colleges with the multidisciplinary affordances of virtual reality (VR) technologies, the project aims to create an immersive VR experience for visualizing the social and cultural roles of a Viking Age longship by forming a DH community of inquiry and practice that cultivates deep competencies in spatial computing within the context of a liberal arts education. Student co-authored outcomes will include: (1) an open-source minimum viable product (MVP) VR experience made in consultation with museum partners in the US and Europe; (2) experience design document outlining future development; (3) presentations on our findings at major DH and History conferences; and (4) open-access article detailing the project's strategies and recommended best practices.

Media Coverage

NEH Grant Supports Immersive Virtual Reality Project (Media Coverage)
Date: 1/13/2023
URL: https://www.grinnell.edu/news/neh-grant-supports-immersive-virtual-reality-project