MR MILES LOURENCO

External Memberships

The Returning Soldier Network - Member

Scottish Society for Northern Studies - Member

Viking Society for Northern Research - Member

Prizes and Awards

Outstanding Achievement in History Award - Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) (2022)

Departmental Honours in History - SCSU (2022)

Certificate of Recognition for Outstanding Research and Presentation - SCSU (2022)

• Awarded for successful presentation and completion of an Undergraduate Research Grant project in which, after successfully applying for the grant, I mapped and proposed new locations for the attempted Norse settlements in Eastern Canada and New England during the medieval period. This was based on a detailed close reading of the Old Norse Vinland Sagas in conjunction with relevant secondary sources, specifically identifying passages in the text with descriptions of landscape, nautical directions, weather, and the Indigenous Peoples encountered by the Norse during their foray into North America.

Army Achievement Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters - United States Army (2018, 2019, 2020, 2022)

Research Overview

My general research focuses on Scandinavian medieval history and literature. Currently my interests include trauma studies, emotions in saga literature, military history, and the relationship between prose and poetry in Old Norse literature.

Current Research

My current research focuses on combat stress and trauma in the Íslendingasögur.

Past Research

My past research has focused on two topics. The first is landscape and it's role in medieval Icelandic stories as a catalyst for encounters between Christian characters and pagan supernatural phenomena and creatures. I examined this through the lens of a specific sub genre of medieval Icelandic short story known as 'pagan-contact þættir,' arguing that landscape as the catalyst for each encounter should be one of the defining elements of the genre. My other past research focused on the place of literature in the formation of Icelandic identity in the 13th century, using Egils saga and Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu in particular.

Funding and Grants

Undergraduate Research Grant from Southern Connecticut State University (2022)