David Neville sets sail on virtual Viking longship project

By Krista Spies spieskri@grinnell.edu

The National Endowment of the Humanities has awarded David Neville, digital liberal arts specialist, along with a team of faculty and students a grant of $46,136 to create a virtual-reality (VR) Viking longship as an original, interwoven technology learning pursuit. Neville’s “The Virtual Viking Longship Project” will not only create a VR learning space to replicate elements from the Viking era, including a longship and a mead hall, but will also introduce the concept of a new immersive learning method into academia .

“We can produce things at the College and put it out there for people to use — other institutions, high schools, junior highs,” said Neville. “This is a way for us to amplify and project our voices and our ideals out into the world.”

Neville’s interest in the Viking Age, a period that spanned from 793 to 1066 C.E. and reached from North America to the Middle East, began early when he made Viking armor for picture day in kindergarten. Drawn to the medieval period throughout his academic career, he received his Ph.D. in German language and literature from Washington University with concentrations in medieval studies and Latin language and literature.

The technical side of learning has also always interested Neville. “I like technology because it lets me ask the ‘what if’ questions,” said Neville. He notes that it allows him to push the envelope and try new things.

After applying for other various grants since 2012, Neville began working on building the longship project specifically during COVID-19 lockdown. He began by taking actual drawings and measurements of Viking constructions, creating a 3D model on his laptop with Blender and the Unity game engine. He and his creating team first submitted to this grant in 2021 and were awarded in January of this year.

Neville’s collaborators include Tim Arner, associate dean of curriculum and academic programs and associate professor of English, Vanessa Preast, associate director of the Center of Teaching, Learning and Assessment