This course introduces students to some of the basic skills that they will use in the study of history. The special character of history and its relationship with other fields of study will be discussed. The students will be introduced to the sources and methods used in historical research and the writing and presenting of historical work. - Students must register for the course in the beginning of their history study (first or second semester, depending on whether they start in January or September).

This is a core course in the Department of History and the focus will be on modernizing processes during the early modern period. The aim is to give students an overview over the period from the start of the 16th to the end of the 18th century. Topics will include imperialism and global connections, the development of capitalism and slavery, war and state formation, indigenous polities in North America, as well as the start of the Age of Revolutions in the United States, France and Haiti. In other words, the course addresses many aspects related to the shaping of modern society as we know it today.

An overview of the history of Iceland in the period 1500-1800, with a focus on selected themes, based on primary sources. A historiographical view on the period and recent changes and trends will be discussed. Social changes following the reformation will be analyzed, followed by emphasis on witchcraft and religious ideas, means of education, literary culture, policies following the enlightenment, commerce, trade and Iceland´s interaction with the outside world. Students will hand in a assignment based on primary sources.

Introductory course on the history of late medieval Europe. Taught in Icelandic; please see full course description in Icelandic

This introductory course deals with global history from 1815 to the First World War. The connecting theme of the course is the development of democracy in the 19^th century, in a wide sense. Three interwoven issues are emphaised: 1)  Women’s rights and the women’s movement in relation with the right to vote (in general), the abolishment of slavery and social welfare. 2) These are discussed in relation with nationalism and the construction of nation states in relation with who is seen as citizen/subject. 3) And finally, a topic that touches upon the two first: the colonialism of European nations, as well as of the United States and Japan, and the its influence on African and Asian societies.

This course introduces Ancient Greek and Roman historiography, tracing its beginning and development, and discusses its scope, aims and methods. Among authors who will be discussed are Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Polybius, Cato, Sallust, Livy, Plutarch, Suetonius, Tacitus, Ammianus Marcellinus and others. Readings will include excerpts from ancient texts in translation.

This course offers a perspective of the history of Iceland from the ninth to the sixteenth century from a historical and archaeological viewpoint. Among themes which will be explored are the Viking Age and research on this period, the settlement of Iceland and its development, the organization of a new society , identities and economic development, Christianization, political conflict and the introduction of executive power in the thirteenth century. In the latter half of the course the focus is on the Church and its economic, political and cultural influence. This will be discussed in view of the general historiography of the period, technical and material developments and the international context. An emphasis is placed on familiarity with primary sources, both written and archeological. Teaching consists of lectures and discussion classes.

This introductory course deals with international history in the 20th century with an emphasis on the changes in the international system and international politics.  Special attention wil be devoted to several themes: (1) the new state system after the end of World War I; (2) the impact of political ideologies, notably, communism and Nazism/fascism; (3) The origins and nature of World War II and its effects on decolonization and national liberation struggles in Africa and Asia; (4) the ideology of the Cold War and the power politics exercised by the United States and the Soviet Union; (5) geopolitical shifts in the present, especially with respect to strategic competition between the United States and China.

This survey course provides a basis for understanding the economic and social development of Iceland since 1800. It seeks to develop both historical and transferable skills building on the course Making History. The main topics are Iceland‘s international relations; rise and decline of the agricultural economy;  causes and consequences of the industrial revolution; class structure and social conditions; women, men and work; demography and family life; effects of two World Wars on economic and social trends, the Great Depression and economic policy; growth and fluctuations; Europeanization and the international economy; rise of welfare society; industries and regions in the post-1945 period; financialization and the economic crisis of 2008.

The aim of this course is to give students a critical understanding of the historiography of Icelandic politics and culture from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the present. It focuses on the following topics: (i) the origins of the nation state, (ii) democracy (iii) culture and education, (iv) gender, sexuality and class, (v) political parties and social movements and (vi) transnational- and international relations. Emphasis is placed on looking at the history of Iceland in a Nordic, Western and global context. The course provides students with training in reading and discussing primary and secondary sources, as well as in collecting material on and writing short essays about a clearly defined topic.

This compulsory course aims at improving knowledge and skill in the understanding and use of the concepts and theories that are used in history and scholarly study and discussion about societies, culture and politics.

What is known about the long lost medieval Icelandic church buildings? On what source material does the knowledge rest? What was the purpose of these buildings in their contemporanean society? Although there are no remaining medieval church buildings in Iceland, there is, substantial source material to base some knowledge about these churches. Several sites have been excavated and there is also some information in different types of written sources. Much of interior utensils and decoration has been preserved. The course aims at presenting what is known about medieval Icelandic churches and the society that built them and used them. The churches will be studied according to their rank in the church hierarchy: Cathedrals, monastic/larger churches and other types. The outer form will be presented as well as the importance of reuse of building material.

Iceland was for a long time an agrarian society, where agriculture was the dominant occupation from the settlement period up until well into the 20th century. This course aims to examine the development of the agrarian society, with a particular focus on the 19th century and up to the present day. Material culture and tangible objects will be a special focus for students, as the possessions of farmers, farmhands, and museum collections will be used, among other things, to explore farming practices and rural households. The homes of farmers in the past were notable production units where the boundaries between private life and work were blurred. This development will be analyzed to highlight how agricultural practices have changed over time in relation to material culture. The goal of this course is to demonstrate the significant role agriculture played in people’s daily lives and the impact the sector had on the development of society. Students will work with individual objects as well as collections of items, thereby gaining both insight into the history of agriculture in Iceland and training in using material culture as a tool for narrative and research. What was the development of Icelandic farming practices up to the 21st century? What kinds of objects were found in farmers’ homes, and what roles did they serve? How did people organize their daily lives around their material possessions? How can a single object “tell the story” of the past?

This course explores how climate shifts, erosion, and resource scarcity intersected with subsistence strategies and cultural meaning in Iceland and the wider North Atlantic world. Students will analyze saga narratives and legal texts alongside scientific papers, testing how historical sources align (or conflict) with archaeological and environmental data. 

The course provides a solid introduction to the economic history of the West, from the Second Industrial Revolution at the end of the 19th century to the present day. Students will gain an overview of the economic development of Europe and North America during the “long 20th century,” and how economic development and the development of financial markets have influenced the social development of this period.

In the course, students will be introduced to economic and business history as a discipline and to the most important theories, ideas, and concepts used in the field. The focus is on the history of the company and financial markets as institutions and major players in the history of capitalism. While companies and financial markets have a long history, organized financial markets and stock exchanges, along with the large corporations that rely on them, are relatively new. It is not until the second industrial revolution at the end of the 19th century that these phenomena became absolutely central to industrialized market economies.  The course will examine the role of stock exchanges and banking institutions in the emergence of large corporations on both sides of the Atlantic in the late 19th century, especially in the United States and Germany, and the different theories of economists about the role and nature of markets, corporations, and capitalists in that development.

Among other things, the theories of institutional economists such as Thorstein Veblen, Ronald Coase, and Oliver Williamson will be discussed, as well as economic and business historians such as Alexander Gerschenkron, Alfred Chandler, and Richard Tedlow. It will discuss late industrialization and research on the role of investment banks in the industrialization of Germany, controversies over the historical role of "Captains of Industry" and “Robber Barons” in the industrialization of the United States, and the nature and origins of large corporations. It will also discuss the changing role of stock exchanges and international capital markets in the 20th century, especially in light of instability and financial crises. Further, the course will introduce students to the growth of international financial markets and deregulation at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, culminating in the financial crash of 2008.

Saints were central to medieval social, religious, and political life. Indeed, local Nordic saints’ cults mirrored an older continental tradition, emphasizing the connectivity of the Nordic lands to the wider Christian world. As such, the study of saints in the medieval North gives us a unique and important picture of cultural, religious, and literary exchange with medieval Christendom. Although Christianization in Scandinavia and Iceland happened quite late (ninth- to eleventh-centuries), the historical record reflects a Nordic society that participated fully in Christian practices from the continent, while also adapting texts and rituals to fit the local society.
The course will illuminate the narratives of Christianization, sainthood, heroism, and nationalism via the study of saints’ lives. A great focus will be placed on questioning the boundaries of genre, nationalities, and religions in the context of the Middle Ages.

The course is intended to enhance the skills of students in writing about historical matters and communicate historical knowledge through various media. Students will gain practical knowledge and training in presenting historical matters, using text, images, podcasts, film, web content and documentaries. Teaching will include lectures, discussions, field trips, and project work.

This course introduces Ancient Greek and Roman historiography, tracing its beginning and development, and discusses its scope, aims and methods. Among authors who will be discussed are Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Polybius, Cato, Sallust, Livy, Plutarch, Suetonius, Tacitus, Ammianus Marcellinus and others. Readings will include excerpts from ancient texts in translation.

The objective of the course is to examine the fashion and clothes making of Icelanders in the 18th and 19th century from various angles. Research on handicraft and manufacturing will be examined in light of a variety of sources on handicraft, manufacturing and mentality in Iceland in relation to corresponding phenomena elsewhere in the realm of Denmark-Norway at the time. The reading material will be both scholarly work and primary sources. New research will be combined with primary sources, both from archives and museums. Field trips will be an important part of the course and research and analysis on clothes that are preserved. In recent years access has become better to published primary sources, both printed and online. The students will become capable of reading, finding, using and evaluating archival material from the 18th and 19th century and defining research questions in the field.

In today’s society, where there is backlash in human rights, and in some cases women’s previously secured rights have been challenged, it is essential to understand the history of women´s right sand the women’s movement.  This course explores ideas concerning women’s rights from the eighteenth century (and, where relevant, earlier) to the latter half of the twentieth century, examining who articulated these ideas and in what ways. It addresses the struggles of women (and men) for gender equality, the milestones that were achieved, and the obstacles women encountered along the way. Attention will be given to concepts such as feminism, a term that did not emerge until the late nineteenth century, and its various manifestations. The concept, women’s movement, will also be scrutinised. Scholars in the fields of women’s and gender history have increasingly critiqued dominant definitions and questioned which movements deserve recognition within the grand narrative of women’s history. In this context, the usefulness and limitations of the so-called “wave theory” will be discussed, that is, the tendency to liken women’s movements to tidal cycles of ebb and flow: the first wave of feminism/women’s rights, the second wave, and so forth. Although the focus of the course will primarily be on the Western world, efforts will be made to integrate perspectives from other regions, as well as from Iceland, where appropriate.

This course examines the development and transformation of ideological and political conflicts between East and West from 1979—when the Cold War took on a new form—until the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Students explore how ideology shaped the interactions, conflicts, and cooperation between the superpowers during the final years of the Cold War and after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Special emphasis is placed on the end of the Cold War, the impact of Gorbachev’s reforms, the fall of the Soviet Union, and how ideological tensions have continued in the relations between Russia, the United States, China, and Europe in the 21st century.

This course compares Arthurian ideals with Icelandic saga traditions, examining how honor, gender, law, and heroism intersect and diverge between the two cultural spheres. Students read selections from Geoffrey of Monmouth, Chrétien de Troyes, and the Vulgate Cycle alongside saga texts, analyzing what happens when knightly values meet the world of the goðar. The course concludes with a mini-colloquium where students present comparative insights.

This course aims to introduce students to the nature and development of science by examining episodes of its history and by disucssing recent theories concerning the nature, aims, and development of science. A special emphasis will be placed on the history of physical science from Aristotle to Newton, including developments in astronomy during the scientific revolution of the 16th and 17th century. We will also specifically examine the history of Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection. These episodes and many others will be viewed through the lens of various theories of scientific progress, and through recent views about interactions between science and society at large. The course material may change depending on the students’ interest.

In 2026, the United States will mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. This course offers a comprehensive examination of the American Revolution, tracing the principal events that culminated in the founding of the United States—from the crisis of the British Empire in the aftermath of the Seven Years’ War to the adoption of the Constitution and the early years of the new republic. Special attention will be devoted to explaining why some British colonists in North America rose up against imperial authority while others remained loyal to the Crown. Major themes include the historiography of the Revolution and competing interpretations of its causes, as well as the political and intellectual currents that shaped its social and institutional development. The course will address the fundamental tensions within a republic that promised liberty and self-government, yet wielded state power in ways comparable to other empires, all while sustaining a slave society whose prosperity rested on domination and unfreedom. A particular emphasis will be placed on the Revolution’s international context and its global reverberations—from France and Haiti to Norway and India. Finally, the course will consider historical memory, popular culture, and contemporary political debates over the Revolution’s legacy as the 250th anniversary approaches.

Students learn and are trained in the methods of archival research, finding and evaluating sources in archives.  Practical exercises will be assigned.

Introductory course on the history of Rome. Taught in Icelandic; please see full course description in Icelandic.

Medieval pilgrimage texts and travel logs are essential in understanding how medieval people thought of moving between different places and, most importantly, between cultures. The course examines examples of travel writing from various cultures, covering narratives from Scandinavia to the Middle East from 9th to 14th centuries. Not only are these stories full of marvelous details, fantastic people, and riches, but students will also explore detailed guidebooks and diaries full of complaints about foreign laws and food. The course is a journey through literary texts, which will allow students to examine political, social, economic, and cultural aspects across Europe and the Middle East.

This course offers an overview over the history of Ancient Greece from the Minoan period till the time of the Hellenistic Kingdoms.

What is known about the long lost medieval Icelandic church buildings? On what source material does the knowledge rest? What was the purpose of these buildings in their contemporanean society? Although there are no remaining medieval church buildings in Iceland, there is, substantial source material to base some knowledge about these churches. Several sites have been excavated and there is also some information in different types of written sources. Much of interior utensils and decoration has been preserved. The course aims at presenting what is known about medieval Icelandic churches and the society that built them and used them. The churches will be studied according to their rank in the church hierarchy: Cathedrals, monastic/larger churches and other types. The outer form will be presented as well as the importance of reuse of building material.

Iceland was for a long time an agrarian society, where agriculture was the dominant occupation from the settlement period up until well into the 20th century. This course aims to examine the development of the agrarian society, with a particular focus on the 19th century and up to the present day. Material culture and tangible objects will be a special focus for students, as the possessions of farmers, farmhands, and museum collections will be used, among other things, to explore farming practices and rural households. The homes of farmers in the past were notable production units where the boundaries between private life and work were blurred. This development will be analyzed to highlight how agricultural practices have changed over time in relation to material culture. The goal of this course is to demonstrate the significant role agriculture played in people’s daily lives and the impact the sector had on the development of society. Students will work with individual objects as well as collections of items, thereby gaining both insight into the history of agriculture in Iceland and training in using material culture as a tool for narrative and research. What was the development of Icelandic farming practices up to the 21st century? What kinds of objects were found in farmers’ homes, and what roles did they serve? How did people organize their daily lives around their material possessions? How can a single object “tell the story” of the past?

This course explores how climate shifts, erosion, and resource scarcity intersected with subsistence strategies and cultural meaning in Iceland and the wider North Atlantic world. Students will analyze saga narratives and legal texts alongside scientific papers, testing how historical sources align (or conflict) with archaeological and environmental data. 

The course provides a solid introduction to the economic history of the West, from the Second Industrial Revolution at the end of the 19th century to the present day. Students will gain an overview of the economic development of Europe and North America during the “long 20th century,” and how economic development and the development of financial markets have influenced the social development of this period.

In the course, students will be introduced to economic and business history as a discipline and to the most important theories, ideas, and concepts used in the field. The focus is on the history of the company and financial markets as institutions and major players in the history of capitalism. While companies and financial markets have a long history, organized financial markets and stock exchanges, along with the large corporations that rely on them, are relatively new. It is not until the second industrial revolution at the end of the 19th century that these phenomena became absolutely central to industrialized market economies.  The course will examine the role of stock exchanges and banking institutions in the emergence of large corporations on both sides of the Atlantic in the late 19th century, especially in the United States and Germany, and the different theories of economists about the role and nature of markets, corporations, and capitalists in that development.

Among other things, the theories of institutional economists such as Thorstein Veblen, Ronald Coase, and Oliver Williamson will be discussed, as well as economic and business historians such as Alexander Gerschenkron, Alfred Chandler, and Richard Tedlow. It will discuss late industrialization and research on the role of investment banks in the industrialization of Germany, controversies over the historical role of "Captains of Industry" and “Robber Barons” in the industrialization of the United States, and the nature and origins of large corporations. It will also discuss the changing role of stock exchanges and international capital markets in the 20th century, especially in light of instability and financial crises. Further, the course will introduce students to the growth of international financial markets and deregulation at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, culminating in the financial crash of 2008.

Saints were central to medieval social, religious, and political life. Indeed, local Nordic saints’ cults mirrored an older continental tradition, emphasizing the connectivity of the Nordic lands to the wider Christian world. As such, the study of saints in the medieval North gives us a unique and important picture of cultural, religious, and literary exchange with medieval Christendom. Although Christianization in Scandinavia and Iceland happened quite late (ninth- to eleventh-centuries), the historical record reflects a Nordic society that participated fully in Christian practices from the continent, while also adapting texts and rituals to fit the local society.
The course will illuminate the narratives of Christianization, sainthood, heroism, and nationalism via the study of saints’ lives. A great focus will be placed on questioning the boundaries of genre, nationalities, and religions in the context of the Middle Ages.

The course is intended to be, first of all, a very practical overview of the main categories of public sources that are preserved in archives and are accessible in electronic form. All categories have their advantages and disadvantages. The sources were created within some kind of administration and their aim was to gather information about the "population" that is under, preserve it and use the information to strengthen the administration and "create" the facts it needed. to hold to maintain itself. Secondly, the course is an introduction to the development that has taken place in the methodology of solitude in new Icelandic research in history. This is a new perspective on what has been called the unification of history. Thirdly, the course will be an introduction to how the emotions of individuals in the past can be analyzed through public sources and how the ideology of the history of emotions can be used in those analyzes and a new integration of theories about poverty and disability in the past with special emphasis on gender perspectives.

The course analyzes the formation, articulation, and practice of U.S. foreign policy from World War II to the present. It focuses on the hegemonial position of the United States in the international system, its political values, culture, domestic politics, propaganda, and military power. It also explores representations of the “American Empire” during and after the Cold War and its reception abroad through an analysis of the transmission of American ideologies, unilateralist practices, liberalism, mass culture and consumption patterns, and race and gender images. The history of U.S. foreign policy from the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt to that of Donald Trump will be approached by examining how individual presidents shaped America’s global role.  U.S. actions abroad will be analyzed within broader ideological and structural contexts—including the Cold War, capitalism and anti-communism, democracy promotion, imperialism, human rights, international law, and global economic institutions. Special attention will be given to how race, gender, and domestic politics intersect with foreign policy, as well as the evolving role of international organizations and legal norms in shaping American engagement with the world. Attention will be paid to geopolitical and regional approaches, with emphasis on U.S.-European relations, Asia and Africa, and individual states, such as the Soviet Union/Russia, Britain, Germany, France, Vietnam, China, and South Africa during and after the Cold War. Emphasis will also be put on military interventions, including the Korean War, the Vietnam Wars, the wars in the former Yugoslavia, “the war on terror,” and the wars in Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq, Syria, and Ukraine  Finally, ideas about the decline of the “American Empire” will be explored and put within the context of the rise of China. In addition, recent U.S. attempts to challenge the liberal international order it created after World War II and to question the sovereign rights or aspirations (Canada and Greenland) will be analyzed. Various theoretical approaches in History, International Relations, and Cultural Studies, will be used to examine the topic.

This course covers the role of public archives and archiving and record management in the past and present. The importance of the principle of provenance for archives and history. A summary of the history of administration. The activities and legal environment of public archives in Iceland will be discussed and their role in records management in public administration. What organizations are obliged to transfer their records to public archives. The evolution of archiving and records management in the 20th and 21st centuries will be examined. Methods of records managements, old and new. The sorting and cataloguing of archives.

Historical and historiographical survey of major topics in the history of the medieval North, with special emphasis on Iceland and Norway from the Viking Age into the fourteenth century. Topics include: Power, kingship and state; law and feud; kinship, gender and social ties; religious and mental outlook(s); conversion, Christianity and church; economic conditions. Prior knowledge of the “factual” narrative (textbook narrative) is helpful but not necessary.

This course introduces Ancient Greek and Roman historiography, tracing its beginning and development, and discusses its scope, aims and methods. Among authors who will be discussed are Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Polybius, Cato, Sallust, Livy, Plutarch, Suetonius, Tacitus, Ammianus Marcellinus and others. Readings will include excerpts from ancient texts in translation.

The objective of the course is to examine the fashion and clothes making of Icelanders in the 18th and 19th century from various angles. Research on handicraft and manufacturing will be examined in light of a variety of sources on handicraft, manufacturing and mentality in Iceland in relation to corresponding phenomena elsewhere in the realm of Denmark-Norway at the time. The reading material will be both scholarly work and primary sources. New research will be combined with primary sources, both from archives and museums. Field trips will be an important part of the course and research and analysis on clothes that are preserved. In recent years access has become better to published primary sources, both printed and online. The students will become capable of reading, finding, using and evaluating archival material from the 18th and 19th century and defining research questions in the field.

In today’s society, where there is backlash in human rights, and in some cases women’s previously secured rights have been challenged, it is essential to understand the history of women´s right sand the women’s movement.  This course explores ideas concerning women’s rights from the eighteenth century (and, where relevant, earlier) to the latter half of the twentieth century, examining who articulated these ideas and in what ways. It addresses the struggles of women (and men) for gender equality, the milestones that were achieved, and the obstacles women encountered along the way. Attention will be given to concepts such as feminism, a term that did not emerge until the late nineteenth century, and its various manifestations. The concept, women’s movement, will also be scrutinised. Scholars in the fields of women’s and gender history have increasingly critiqued dominant definitions and questioned which movements deserve recognition within the grand narrative of women’s history. In this context, the usefulness and limitations of the so-called “wave theory” will be discussed, that is, the tendency to liken women’s movements to tidal cycles of ebb and flow: the first wave of feminism/women’s rights, the second wave, and so forth. Although the focus of the course will primarily be on the Western world, efforts will be made to integrate perspectives from other regions, as well as from Iceland, where appropriate.

This course examines the development and transformation of ideological and political conflicts between East and West from 1979—when the Cold War took on a new form—until the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Students explore how ideology shaped the interactions, conflicts, and cooperation between the superpowers during the final years of the Cold War and after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Special emphasis is placed on the end of the Cold War, the impact of Gorbachev’s reforms, the fall of the Soviet Union, and how ideological tensions have continued in the relations between Russia, the United States, China, and Europe in the 21st century.

This course compares Arthurian ideals with Icelandic saga traditions, examining how honor, gender, law, and heroism intersect and diverge between the two cultural spheres. Students read selections from Geoffrey of Monmouth, Chrétien de Troyes, and the Vulgate Cycle alongside saga texts, analyzing what happens when knightly values meet the world of the goðar. The course concludes with a mini-colloquium where students present comparative insights.

This course aims to introduce students to the nature and development of science by examining episodes of its history and by disucssing recent theories concerning the nature, aims, and development of science. A special emphasis will be placed on the history of physical science from Aristotle to Newton, including developments in astronomy during the scientific revolution of the 16th and 17th century. We will also specifically examine the history of Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection. These episodes and many others will be viewed through the lens of various theories of scientific progress, and through recent views about interactions between science and society at large. The course material may change depending on the students’ interest.

In 2026, the United States will mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. This course offers a comprehensive examination of the American Revolution, tracing the principal events that culminated in the founding of the United States—from the crisis of the British Empire in the aftermath of the Seven Years’ War to the adoption of the Constitution and the early years of the new republic. Special attention will be devoted to explaining why some British colonists in North America rose up against imperial authority while others remained loyal to the Crown. Major themes include the historiography of the Revolution and competing interpretations of its causes, as well as the political and intellectual currents that shaped its social and institutional development. The course will address the fundamental tensions within a republic that promised liberty and self-government, yet wielded state power in ways comparable to other empires, all while sustaining a slave society whose prosperity rested on domination and unfreedom. A particular emphasis will be placed on the Revolution’s international context and its global reverberations—from France and Haiti to Norway and India. Finally, the course will consider historical memory, popular culture, and contemporary political debates over the Revolution’s legacy as the 250th anniversary approaches.

Students learn and are trained in the methods of archival research, finding and evaluating sources in archives.  Practical exercises will be assigned.

Introductory course on the history of Rome. Taught in Icelandic; please see full course description in Icelandic.

Medieval pilgrimage texts and travel logs are essential in understanding how medieval people thought of moving between different places and, most importantly, between cultures. The course examines examples of travel writing from various cultures, covering narratives from Scandinavia to the Middle East from 9th to 14th centuries. Not only are these stories full of marvelous details, fantastic people, and riches, but students will also explore detailed guidebooks and diaries full of complaints about foreign laws and food. The course is a journey through literary texts, which will allow students to examine political, social, economic, and cultural aspects across Europe and the Middle East.

This course offers an overview over the history of Ancient Greece from the Minoan period till the time of the Hellenistic Kingdoms.

The BA thesis is primarily intended to train students in researching a chosen topic within their field of study and presenting their findings in a well-structured academic text. Students write a BA thesis on a research topic of their own choice in consultation with their supervisor. The course coordinator assists students in selecting a supervisor if needed. Students are encouraged to meet with their supervisor and prepare an initial outline of the research project before the thesis semester begins.

The final thesis should demonstrate the student’s ability to work independently and academically, present material logically and systematically, analyse sources, and make use of scholarly resources (e.g., handbooks, dictionaries, or comparable online resources).

Students are encouraged to use the services of the University of Iceland Centre for Writing [link: https://ritver.hi.is/is], which offers support for academic writing. At the Centre for Writing, students can book consultations and receive advice on any issues related to academic essays, reports, and other written assignments.

Students are also advised to familiarise themselves with the University of Iceland guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence: https://gervigreind.hi.is/ 

See detailed rules regarding BA theses at the School of Humanities (in Icelandic only): https://ugla.hi.is/kerfi/view/page.php?sid=3544 

For further information see guidelines for essays in history.

The BA thesis is primarily intended to train students in researching a chosen topic within their field of study and presenting their findings in a well-structured academic text. Students write a BA thesis on a research topic of their own choice in consultation with their supervisor. The course coordinator assists students in selecting a supervisor if needed. Students are encouraged to meet with their supervisor and prepare an initial outline of the research project before the thesis semester begins.

The final thesis should demonstrate the student’s ability to work independently and academically, present material logically and systematically, analyse sources, and make use of scholarly resources (e.g., handbooks, dictionaries, or comparable online resources).

Students are encouraged to use the services of the University of Iceland Centre for Writing [link: https://ritver.hi.is/is], which offers support for academic writing. At the Centre for Writing, students can book consultations and receive advice on any issues related to academic essays, reports, and other written assignments.

Students are also advised to familiarise themselves with the University of Iceland guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence: https://gervigreind.hi.is/ 

See detailed rules regarding BA theses at the School of Humanities (in Icelandic only): https://ugla.hi.is/kerfi/view/page.php?sid=3544 

For further information see guidelines for essays in history.

The BA thesis is primarily intended to train students in researching a chosen topic within their field of study and presenting their findings in a well-structured academic text. Students write a BA thesis on a research topic of their own choice in consultation with their supervisor. The course coordinator assists students in selecting a supervisor if needed. Students are encouraged to meet with their supervisor and prepare an initial outline of the research project before the thesis semester begins.

The final thesis should demonstrate the student’s ability to work independently and academically, present material logically and systematically, analyse sources, and make use of scholarly resources (e.g., handbooks, dictionaries, or comparable online resources).

Students are encouraged to use the services of the University of Iceland Centre for Writing [link: https://ritver.hi.is/is], which offers support for academic writing. At the Centre for Writing, students can book consultations and receive advice on any issues related to academic essays, reports, and other written assignments.

Students are also advised to familiarise themselves with the University of Iceland guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence: https://gervigreind.hi.is/ 

See detailed rules regarding BA theses at the School of Humanities (in Icelandic only): https://ugla.hi.is/kerfi/view/page.php?sid=3544 

For further information see guidelines for essays in history.

In this course we will examine the role of folkloristic material in modern western society, examining in particular its presence in the media, films and the internet, as well as in the oral and practical tradition. Among other things, an examination will be made of modern migratory legends and the modern role of fairy tales, belief and prejudice, games and festivals, graffiti and jokes, and all sort of other modern customs and traditions. The aim is to increase our understanding of the popular basis of modern culture and extend our conciousness of all the "trivial" which has such a central role to play in shaping our attitudes within society and our views with regard to our fellow people. Reference will be made to recent and modern research work that has been undertaken in folkloristics, cultural studies and related subjects.

This course delves into the transformative events of early 20th-century Russia, beginning with the collapse of the tsarist regime and the revolution of 1917. It examines the creation of a new society after the devastation of the Civil War (1918–1921) and traces the evolving political landscape of the 1920s. Key topics include the Bolshevik regime’s efforts to control industry and food production, debates over the revolution’s direction, and the emergence of “new people” as a result of revolutionary changes. The course also explores the global impact of Communism, including the role of the Communist International, before turning to Stalin’s rise to power. Students will look at Stalin’s totalitarian rule, the changes caused by industrialization and collectivization in the early 1930s, and their profound consequences. Finally, the course investigates Stalin’s reign of terror, focusing on the Great Purges and the extensive prison camp system (the Gulag).

In this course, we examine how places in cities, rural areas, and the wilderness acquire meaning for individuals and groups. We explore how both personal memories and cultural memory shape perceptions and understanding of the landscape. We consider how place names, stories, and legends—such as those about elf churches, cursed spots, and past events—influence the value and meaning of places, as well as how emplaced experiences and memories tend to stick to locations. Why do some places become sacred sites, while others remain merely spaces people pass through on their way elsewhere? Why do people feel at ease in some places but experience discomfort or fear in others? How do individuals form connections to places during short visits or longer stays? Does it matter whether one is a newcomer or a native? What does it mean to feel a sense of belonging or to consider a particular place home? How refugees and other immigrants form attachment to the places where they settle and how they maintain or sever ties with the places they leave behind. What does it mean for people to have been forced to leave their homes due to wars or natural disasters, facing uncertainty about whether they can return? Attention will be given to how discourse and social dynamics shape people-place relationships, as well as the role of experience, perception, memories, aesthetics, and diverse narratives in giving meaning to place, forming place attachment, and defining who can lay claim to a place—and how.

This is a basic composition course. Writing skills will be honed through regular assignments, lectures, class discussions and workshops.Approaches to writing research papers will be addressed, such as choosing and narrowing a topic, structure, and sources. Register, style, spelling, punctuation, and resources for writers will be discussed. Students write essays and papers of various kinds and get regular feedback from peers and teachers. Course assessment is based on written assignments and class participation. The course can only be passed if all assignments are turned in.

Overview and introduction to the aims and methods of archaeology. What is archaeology? The history of the discipline is discussed, its ideological base and its relationship with other disciplines. How are material remains used to shed light on social structure, the environment, economy and trade, religion and ideology, development and change?

This class focuses on foods and foodways as a way to better understand past societies. We will examine the role of food in human evolution, address how archaeologists use multiple data sources to reconstruct past foodways, and assess how these data can be integrated and interpreted through a series of case studies. “Food” includes both meat and plant sources, and we will discuss studies of each and their contributions to the understanding of past societies’ food habits. Various food processing technologies, like ceramics and lithics, are also important for deciphering foodways, and we will examine the ways archaeologists gain information from them. The course will cover a wide variety of geographic and temporal areas, and will present an overview of foods and foodways across time and space.

The aim of this course is to provide a general background to theoretical archaeology in Europe and North America. The course will look at how theory is involved in all aspects of archaeological work and explore the key themes and major schools of social theory which have been influential in archaeology as well as theories of contemporary relevance today.

The course aims to give the students an insight into the main theories, concepts, topics, and principles of macroeconomics and macroeconomic activity. The course stresses both the analytical content and applied usefulness of the topics covered and how they relate to various current economic issues at home and abroad. A sound knowledge of macroeconomics prepares students for various other economics courses, and for life.

A survey of ancient philosophy, based upon a close reading of primary texts from the works of the Presocratics, Plato and Aristotle, and their Hellenistic successors. The primary aim is to offer an overview of the development of ancient philosophy. A secondary aim is to offer an insight into the importance of the history of philosophy for philosophy, and deepen the students' competence in reading philosophical works from the ancient world. At the completion of the course, the students should be acquainted with the main periods and individual thinkers of ancient philosophy, their views and arguments. They should be able to give an account of these views, support it with references to the primary sources, and compare the views of different philosophers. Further, they should have gained an insight into the importance of the history of philosophy for philosophy and the historical origins of classical philosophical problems.

The aim of this course is to show students the importance of critical thinking by introducing its main concepts and methods as well as different understandings of the notion. Furthermore, the aim is to train students in critical thinking and argumentation, both in a philosophical and an everyday context. Special emphasis will be placed on analysing arguments. The relationship between critical thinking and ethics will be thoroughly examined.

The teaching involves both lectures and discussion sessions. Assignments will primarily be aimed at practical tasks relevant to everyday experiences.

In this course, we discuss a few selected contemporary issues in the field of social and political philosophy. We will discuss and analyse key concepts of relevance for a good society, such as liberty, equality, justice and democracy with a special reference to Icelandic society. 

In this course, 19th and 20th century ideas that had fundamental effects on Western philosophy and intellectual history, will be examined. These are socially transformative ideas such as freedom, secularism, equality, resistance, the relation between the individual and society, ideas concerning existence and the soul, oppression, injustice, the national state and capitalism. Perhaps last but not least ideas about history, time and evolution of humanity and the planet. 

Each week a new thinker or idea that transformed Western intellectual history is introduced and engaged with. Thinkers such as G.W.F. Hegel, Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, Rosa Luxembourg and Emma Goldman are analysed and influential isms such as phenomenology, neoliberalism or postructuralism. The aim is to read these thinkers and isms in accordance with the zeitgeist of the historical period they belong to (to the extent that we, people in the 21st century can “read” zeitgeists of older periods). At the same time the aim is to dig deep into original texts and to acquire multi-dimensional understanding of the ideas. Important part of the course is also to look at these themes in relation to the present times and the issues happening at the moment in Western societies and all around the globe. 

This course is an introduction to the history of Ancient Greek civilization, with an emphasis on Ancient Greek culture and world view, from earliest times to the Roman period.

In the course the main works of Western art from the early renaissance to the early 19. century. Geographically, the focus is on works of art from Italy and Spain, France, the Netherlands, Germany and England. Main methods and schools, academies and manifestations of art in religious, political and social contexts will be discussed. Painting, sculpture, architecture, the artisanal works and printmaking will be discussed. Efforts will be made to examine the extent to which art reflects society, how imagery reflects the life and worldview of people in different periods. Different approaches to time and space at any given time will be discussed, changes in the symbolic image of the body, the status and social role of the artist, and the interactions of art and institutions of power. In connection with these issues, key works of each period will be taken for detailed interpretation and their distribution history discussed.

A survey of Icelandic art from 1860 to 1970. The course will look at the origins of Icelandic modern art, selected Icelandic artists and factors influencing the Icelandic art scene, influence from foreign art ideas and movements, attempts at definging "national" Icelandic art, government support and influence on the development of visual art, the tension between proponents of "national" art and "non-national" art as well as between "expressive"art and " conceptual" forms of art presentation, local art education and the characteristics of art critic as it appeared in the printed media. An attempt will be made to evaluate characteristics of Icelandic visual art in relation to foreign developments and changes in Icelandic society and history.

A general course in the field of legal theory and statutory interpretation which also provides for a brief account of chosen topics in  Icelandic legal history. The first part of the course deals with the concept of law, origins and sources of legal rules and their interrelationship, as well as general principles of the rule of law. Major developments of the Icelandic legal system from the settlement of Iceland in the ninth century to the present are briefly discussed. The second part consists of a comprehensive elaboration of the general principles and ideas forming part of the theory of statutory interpretation as well as providing for a detailed overview of generally accepted methods in interpretation of legal texts. The aim of the course is to provide an account of the doctrine of the sources of law and legal methods in the Icelandic legal system.

This course surveys the history of the Middle East from ancient times to the medieval period. Topics include the emergence of Egypt and Sumerians and other peoples of the so-called 'cradle of civilization'. Special emphasis will be on the emergence of Islam in the seventh century, and ascent of the Islamic empire in the following centuries. Among the subjects discussed are the prophet Muhammad and his successors, the creation of the Quran, the Caliphates of the Ummayyads and the Abassids and the 'golden age' of Islam. Teaching language is Icelandic but reading materials are mostly in English.

This class surveys the history, society and archaeology of Viking Age Iceland. We will read parts of medieval Icelandic sagas, the Eddas and Skaldic poetry, and modern historical, anthropological and literary studies will be discussed. We will explore the ways in which Icelandic society evolved throughout the Viking Age (ca. 790–1100 AD) in its interrelation with different cultural spheres, and dive into aspects of everyday life, politics, belief systems, ship building and traveling.

A regular focus of this class will be on saga literature (Fornaldarsögur, Íslendingasögur, Konungasögur), as this literature is our main source for interpreting archaeological findings, on the one hand, for exploring later medieval ideas of the Viking Age, on the other hand. With that said, the source value of written artifacts for Viking Age Iceland will be discussed, and this even includes a closer look at modern popular and academic reception, where different sources are regularly mingled without any distinct source criticism. Last but not least, we will discuss the so-called Vikings and their so-called age in the light of recent populist movements, and scholarly reactions to it.

This course examines events and transformations in Soviet history from the late 1930s to the collapse of the Soviet Union. It begins with an exploration of World War II and the victory over Nazi Germany, focusing on its profound impact on the Soviet Union, and the USSR’s shifting international and domestic position after the war. The origins and key causes of the Cold War are analyzed, alongside the establishment of Communist regimes in Eastern Europe, social developments, and Stalinist governance. The course then investigates the Khrushchev and Brezhnev eras, highlighting political changes and social tensions following Stalin’s death. Gorbachev’s reforms under perestroika are studied carefully, culminating in an analysis of the Soviet Union’s dissolution. Finally, students will explore the post-Soviet landscape, with a brief discussion of the former Soviet republics and Russia’s policies toward them, focusing on the invasion of Ukraine, the annexation of Crimea and recent signs of aggression against Georgia and Moldova.

The course starts with a general introduction to political science, covering different analytical approaches (e.g. systems approach, functional approach, power approach), decision-making and policy formation (e.g. Simon, Lindblom, Richardson, et al.), comparative government (e.g. the nation state, cleavages, forms of government), political socialization and political culture. The latter part of the course concentrates more heavily on the Icelandic political system, covering the main features of the development of the political system in the 19th and 20th centuries (e.g. nationalism, cleavages, major periods of the politics of independence and modern politics), the constitution, political parties and elections (e.g. development of the franchise and electoral system, participation, party system, organization, voting behaviour), the legislature (Althingi), and the executive (e.g. president, government and the coalition system, the bureaucracy, relations to interest organizations, policy-making and local government).

The course is intended to introduce students to different theories and subjects within international politics, with a particular emphasis on the changing nature of international politics after the end of the Cold War. The course begins by addressing the nature of the international system, the state and its role within the system. The basic theories of international politics are introduced, as are the main branches within the field, such as international political economy and international security. International organizations, such as the United Nations, and their role are discussed. The latter part of the course is dedicated to the issues of international politics and covers among other things the environment, the role of non-governmental organizations, human rights, and more.

In the course, students are:
1) introduced to the basic theories of international politics, providing them with the basis for understanding contemporary political events
2) trained in analyzing critically concepts and theories relating to globalizations
3) introduced to the relationship between international events and theories of international politics

This class introduces students to political issues and developments in the 20th century that helped shape present day politics. Issues covered in the class include negotiations that resulted in a sovereign statehood for Iceland in 1918; the development of the Icelandic party system; the electoral system and conflicts relating to it; the establishment of a republic in 1944; the Cod Wars and conflicts over the management of the fisheries; key conflicts on foreign policy including membership in NATO and EEA; factors influencing the formation and termination of coalition governments. Students are also introduced to the main characteristics of the Icelandic economy and the key macroeconomic tools used by governments in the past.

The Arctic is expected to become more important in the coming decades as climate change makes natural resources and transport routes more accessible creating threats to fragile ecosystems and societies as well as economic opportunities. Satellite data collected since 1979 shows that both the thickness of the ice in the Arctic and range of sea ice have decreased substantially, especially during the summer months. The melting of the ice facilitates natural resource exploration in the high north. U.S. Geological Survey estimates from 2008 suggest that 13 percent of the world's undiscovered oil and 30 percent of undiscovered natural gas reserves are located in the Arctic Circle. Moreover, the retreating and thinning of the ice opens up new trade routes.

The Arctic Circle Assembly is designed to increase participation in Arctic dialogue and strengthen the international focus on the future of the Arctic. The Arctic Circle Assembly will contain sessions on a wide variety of topics, such as:

• Sea ice melt and extreme weather
• Polar law: treaties and agreements
• The role and rights of indigenous peoples
• Security in the Arctic
• Shipping and transportation infrastructure
• The prospects and risks of oil and gas drilling
• Clean energy achievements and sustainable development
• Arctic resources
• Human rights and gender equality
• Business cooperation in the Arctic
• The role of Asian and European countries in the Arctic
• Greenland in the new Arctic
• Fisheries and ecosystem management
• The science of ice: global research cooperation
• Arctic tourism
• Arctic identity and cultures
• The ice-dependent world: the Arctic and the Himalayas
• Politics in the Arctic

This course enables and relies on the participation of UoI graduate and advanced undergraduate students in the Arctic Circle Assembly conference in Harpa, Reykjavik. Students are required to attend the Arctic Circle Assembly. Students have to attend one class shortly before the Assembly and one class shortly after the Assembly.

Arctic Circle Assembly,  October 16 - 18th 2025 in Harpa, Reykjavík.  Attendance at the Assembly is mandatory as well as attendance in one pre (14th October), and one post Assembly session. 

Students need to pay the student registration fee to the conference, but receive a discount. 

Climate change is a global issue and one of the more challenging environmental problems of the present and near future. Since 1992, there have been many meetings and agreements under the auspices of the United Nations.

This course will cover the topic of climate change from several angles. Starting with the basic evidence and science behind climate change and modeling of future scenarios, then through impacts and vulnerability to efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Issues such as climate refugees, gender aspects and negotiations are addressed.

Grading is based on writing assignments, short quizzes, course participation and presentations, in addition to group assignments where mitigation, future scenarios and basic processes are examined further. Students taking this course generally have very different backgrounds, and you will have a chance to learn about climate change from different viewpoints.

This course provides an introduction to the study of folk narrative as a particular genre within the overall field of folkloristics. Students will be introduced to the main theories concerning the origins, features and distribution of folk tales, their role in society, their collection, methods of classification and means of preservation. Among others, students will be introduced to the work of Antti Aarne, Inger M. Boberg, Bruno Bettleheim, Linda Dégh, Stith Thompson, Timothy Tangherlini and Alan Dundes. Particular attention will be laid to the main forms of oral narrative, particular attention being paid to the form and analysis of legends and fairy tales from the viewpoint of the main arguments concerning these aspects of study, among others the work of Algirdas Greimas, Bengt Holbek, Max Lüthi, Axel Olrik and Vladimir Propp.

The course explores the human body from an ethnological and cultural historical perspective. Different attitudes to the body are studied as they appear in ideas about the relations between mind and body, attitudes towards cleanliness and body care, physical appearance, moral conduct etc. To what extent are ideas on physical beauty and health determined by society? How has emerging knowledge and practice in life and health sciences influenced the ways in which the body is perceived? How is bodily conduct dependant on rules and norms of society? Special emphasis is placed on exploring the human body as a cultural phenomenon in context of Icelandic society form the nineteenth century till the present.

Questions are asked on how differing trends in physical training has bearings on people’s bodily experience; how meaning is read into physical appearance and personal conduct; how sense of decency and customs delimit physical behaviour; and how the relation between body and culture is expressed in e.g. national costumes and swimsuits, food diets and table manners, sanitary regulations and bathing habits, eugenics and beauty contests or pacemakers and breast implants.

In this course, students become familiar with contemporary music, explore its origins and roles in society throughout the centuries: Folk and popular music that through cultural transmission has transformed into the “higher” music of religion or elites, and music of marginal groups that has exploded into the mainstream. The cultural role of music as entertainment, as industry, as catalyst for revolt and as a unifying force will be brought to the fore. The history of music collection, processing and publishing will be discussed, as well as stories and legends of the musical world and the material culture of music. Ideas surrounding creativity and the nature of the “creative act” itself will be examined, with regards to copyright and recycling of music.

Rhythm, blues, rap, grindcore, classical, hip-hop, jazz, pop, punk masses, breakbeat, opera and deathmetal.

The legend tradition will be examined in detail in this course, in the light of both earlier and more recent academic theory concerning this subject. The concentration will be placed on Icelandic legends, how they have come about, been passed from person to person, living and developing in the oral tradition. Particular attention will be paid to what these legends tell us about folk belief in Iceland. From this viewpoint, particular attention will be paid to memorats, their source value, and the degree to which the narrative tradition shapes new narratives. Close attention will also be paid to Icelandic migratory legends, their means of transmission, their distribution, and they way in which they have been shaped and influenced by local narrative traditions and beliefs. In this context, attention will also be drawn to individual legendary motifs, and research that has been undertaken into them. 

What is cultural heritage and what purpose does it serve? Why does it always seem to be endangered? How does it tie together the past and the present? What's it got to do with the nation and the state? Historical consciousness? Globalization? Capitalism? Politics? The course will seek to answer these questions with reference to new research in folklore, ethnology, anthropology, art history, sociology, museology, history and archaeology and with a view to understanding what is going on in this expanding field of study.

The course addresses everyday life in pre-industrial Iceland. Emphasis is on the personal and the local environment; the material culture of the turf-house, the personal and social life of farmers and servants, the chores within the farm and household, and everyday consumption. Students will be introduced to research methodologies used to study ways of life in the old Icelandic rural community and the life circle of individuals. In the course the students will be engaging with historical primary sources.

The aim of this survey course is to sample the literary history of the last four millennia by reading a number of world masterpieces from Africa, Asia and Europe. All texts will be read in Icelandic translations. 

Prehistory deals with the cultural history of humankind from the persepctive of material culture, from the first tools of around 2,5 million years ago up to the end of the Iron Age (c. 0-800 AD), i.e. the period for which there are no written sources. This course will cover the basic aspects of prehistory, including chronology and definitions of prehistoric society. In addition, the course will look at different aspects of prehistoric social life such as subsistence patterns, burial customs, craft and technology, trade and livelihood. Emphasis will be placed on human evolution in a global context and on later prehistoric Europe (c. 10.000 BC-800 AD). By the end of the course, the students will be expected to have collated a glossary of terms for prehistoric archaeology and understand the main outlines of prehistoric chronology and European prehistory.

How did people in the Middle Ages understand the world around them?
This workshop introduces students to key methods and theoretical frameworks for exploring medieval worldviews and lived experiences through material culture. Central to this approach is the concept of materiality, which examines how the physical properties of objects shape human perception and interaction with the world. It has been argued that the medieval period was marked by an especially heightened awareness of the power of material things; matter was often understood as alive, with objects functioning as conduits for holy intervention or as protections against illness and disaster. In addition to materiality, the workshop examines medieval ideas about the body and the senses, granting students a deeper understanding of how people experienced their environment.

Living in the contemporary world it is easy to think of the past as something remote and separate from everyday life - whether it is a trip to a museum or even studying archaeology at university, history seems to always be placed at one remove from our everyday life. Something we encounter for fun or interest. The aim of this course is to look at our modern world through an archaeological and historical lens: how are the patterns of our lives today the product of things that happened in the past? This course will show how the past is alive in the present – not as a heritage site or archaeology textbook but as something which still shapes our daily routines and the material world around us. Although the roots of this go back to our biological evolution, arguably most of these effects emerged in the last 500 years.

Description
A survey of Western philosophy in the 17th and 18th Centuries, with emphasis on selected topics in the epistemology and metaphysics of the period, based upon a close reading and comparison of primary texts. Descartes, Hume and Kant are the principal authors discussed.

Teaching
The teaching involves both lectures and discussions. Lectures will give an exposition of the subject and/or of its main topics. Discussions will address more specific topics or questions.

An overview of Icelandic literary history from the beginning to the end of the 19th century. Novelties and changes in Icelandic literature will be placed in context with contemporary currents in European literature.

This course explores the history of China from the mythical Xia dynasty in the third millenium BCE to the beginning of the nineteenth century. It seeks to illuminate the most important factors in the formation of Chinese culture as well as to explain individual events in the political and social development of the Chinese nation. An overview will be provided of the origin and development of the most important Chinese religious and philosophical streams of thought, notably Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism. Influential individuals will be introduced. The interaction and mutual influence between non-Chinese groups and the Chinese nation in the course of history will be emphasised.

The course introduces students to Roman social history. The period from 201 BCE to 180 CE will be emphasized. The main points of Roman history will be briefly discussed, as well as Roman institutions, the Roman social fabric,family life and gender roles, slavery, education, culture, religion, entertainment and daily life. In addition to secondary reading material, some ancient sources will be read in translation (English or Icelandic). No knowledge of Latin is assumed or required.

A historical overview of cinema from its emergence in the late 19th century to it contemporary role. The course will introduce students to influential film movements and styles from around the world, including Soviet Montage, French Impressionism, German Expressionism, classical Hollywood cinema, Italian Neorealism, Japanese Minimalism, the French New Wave, New German cinema, Third cinema, and Hong Kong action cinema. Diverse readings will provide a comprehensive overview supplementing screenings of key films. Particular emphasis will be placed on the aesthetic development of the film medium and its social and cultural relevance.

The main characteristics and historical development of Icelandic art in the last decades of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century will be examined in the light of Icelandic society and the context of foreign art development. Topics include SÚM's legacy in the seventies, the establishment of Gallerí Suðurgata 7 and the Living Art Museum, the characteristics of the Icelandic conceptual art and developmeent of contemporary media, such as photography, installation art, and performance art, the establishment of the Sculptors' Association in Reykjavík and the rise of three-dimensional art, media and more recently the overlap of art, film, and music. Emphasis will be made on approach of emerging artists to visual arts heritage at any given time, e.g. to natural heritage and “national” representation in art. The characteristics of critical art discussion, art education, participation in the Venice Biennale, the operation of galleries, and the establishment of contemporary exhibition groups will also be reviewed

A survey of the development of visual art from the upheaval of Modernism at the beginning of the 20th Century and through the major 20th century progressive movements up to 1960. The main principles, politics and characteristics of Modern art and its impact on later times will be clarified. The relationship between art and politics, philosophy, and societal development will be discussed and thought will be given to the radical reevaluation of the concept of aesthetics in art of the 20th century. How are changed perceptions of time and space reflected in art? How do the above-mentioned art movements disturb the people's general perceptions of the environment and reality? What is "inner" reality? Must art be visible? What is the deifference between visual language, the language we speak, and other forms of sign languege? International art exhibits shown in Iceland will be visited and tied into the course if possible.

This course is a continuation of the course History of the Middle East I, which is however not a prerequisite for this course. It is possible to take both courses or either one. Here we will address the development of the Middle East since 1300, especially its relationship with the West. Among subjects discussed will be the rise of the Ottomans and the Safavids, European colonialism and its effects on Middle Eastern culture and politics, the rise of nationalism and the emergence of modern states, and several conflicts that have shaped and continue shaping the region until this day. Teaching language is Icelandic but reading materials are mostly in English.

The field of Folklore, emerging out of the phenomena collectively referred to as  Modernity, has a complicated and problematic relationship with gender, both in the material that circulates and the subsequent academic treatment of that material. This seminar combines theoretical perspectives from Gender Studies and Folkloristics to better understand the interconnectedness of popular cultural forms, analyses, and the operations of power, specifically gender relations. Beginning with a feminist critique of Folkloristics from within (a historical reference point), we will examine more recent work on the relationship between gender and genre, between the empowering acts of ordinary rituals (so-called women‘s genres), and how the old, debunked Nature/Culture divide, in which women‘s genres were debased and denigrated, may, looked at from a different perspective, suggest alternate approaches to some contemporary global issues.

Teacher of the course: JoAnn Conrad

This course is an introduction to the study of the material culture of everyday life. Students will be get a good glimpse of this multidisciplinary field, with examples drawn from the past as well as the present, and with equal emphasis on the material culture of Iceland and that of other countries. The topics of study will range from clothes and fashion to foodways, from the objects in our daily surroundings to trash and hygiene, from crafts and consumer goods to houses, gardens and the home, and from urban landscapes to museums and exhibits. Along the way, students will gain familiarity with various theoretical concepts and approaches emphasizing for example the human body, gender, consumption, place and space.

An examination will be made of the religious beliefs and practices of people in Scandinavia from the earliest of times until the conversion, material ranging from burial practices to rock carvings, to the written evidence given in the works of Tacitus, Adam of Bremen and Saxo Grammaticus, as well as in early Icelandic works like the Eddic poems and the Kings' sagas. Alongside this discussion of the development and key features of Old Norse religion, some attention will be paid to the concepts of seid and shamanism, especially in connection to their role in early religions. Finally, an examination will be made of the conversion of Scandinavia and how Christian concepts and practices both fitted and contrasted with the previously dominant Old Norse worldview.

Teaching form:
The teaching takes place in the form of lectures and discussion on the material of the lectures.

The course looks at how identities and images of Icelanders and other nations have been shaped and they use traditions in each case. We examine Icelandic experiences and images in relation to neighbouring countries and how narratives, traditions and material culture shape nations, from national museums to midwinter festivals in London, from a wee dram of whiskey (in Scotland) to Viking sagas (in Scandinavia), with a quick stop at Up Helly Aa (in the Shetland Islands) and Olavsvaka (in the Faroe Islands); we look at a fashion show in Nuuk Center (Greenland), Nordic settlements in the New World and then we’ll post it all on social media.

We explore films and music, festivals, games and political spectacles. In particular we will analyse how national images unite and divide different groups of people. In that context we look at men and women, rural and urban communities, mobile people, racism and gender. We’ll study these images as dynamics and ideals, resources and matters of dispute, that are used for various purposes by different people in different places, by demagogues and greens, government institutions and banks, scholars and students.

The course will focus on various cases from the nineteenth century onwards of cultural elements that have been considered adversary to culture and civilisation in Iceland. Ideas, behaviour and artefacts that have been seen to be threats to Icelandic culture or a menace to a sound and healthy cultural life (such as jazz, popular fiction, avant-garde art) will be reflected upon, and the nature of the assumed dangers explored. As part of the discussion, the interconnection between social power and culture will be taken into careful consideration and questions about who defines cultural menace, by what means and for what purpose will be asked. Do such threats have aspects in common and in what ways have definitions been influenced by interests, ideals and moral standards that are subject to change? To what extent have ideas about cultural menace played a role in fashioning and defining Icelandic culture?

To what extent has Icelandic culture been formed through normative ideas about cultivated behaviour and civilisation? To what extent has Icelandic culture been shaped through resistance to foreign mass culture that has been seen to present itself in the Icelandic community in the guise of, for example, Danish dress fashion and American soap-operas?

The objective of the course is to explore how people relate to places in different ways. A variety of places - from private homes to airports, from city-centres to wastelands, form summer resorts to places of worship - will be explored in terms of affect and meaning, accumulated by passing though and dwelling as well as socio-political constructions. What creates and maintains place attachment? How do people relate differently to a place of their youth and place of destination? What constitutes a sense of belonging to a place? How do refugees, migrant workers and other migrants relate to new places and new landscapes and how do they maintain or sever ties to their place of origin. What role does experience, affect, memory, aesthetics, identification and sense of history play in who can claim a place and how? How do social structures, political objectives and conceptual understandings of place condition the meaning and sense of place for individuals and communities?

This course deals with customs and daily life that existed in the rural society of Iceland in earlier centuries (both in the countryside and by the sea). Discussion is made of research methodologies used at home and abroad with regard to material culture and folk customs. Students will come into contact with a wide range of ethnological research, and learn to assess the strengths and weaknesses of different types of source material. Emphasis is placed on assessing the mind set behind popular culture, as students examine the course of life of those individuals who grew up within this society. At the same time, attention will be paid to which methods serve best as a means of researching the customs of these people. Among other things, students will work with unpublished personal sources such as answers to ethnological questionnaires, and diaries.

This course introduces students to some of the basic skills that they will use in the study of history. The special character of history and its relationship with other fields of study will be discussed. The students will be introduced to the sources and methods used in historical research and the writing and presenting of historical work. - Students must register for the course in the beginning of their history study (first or second semester, depending on whether they start in January or September).

This is a core course in the Department of History and the focus will be on modernizing processes during the early modern period. The aim is to give students an overview over the period from the start of the 16th to the end of the 18th century. Topics will include imperialism and global connections, the development of capitalism and slavery, war and state formation, indigenous polities in North America, as well as the start of the Age of Revolutions in the United States, France and Haiti. In other words, the course addresses many aspects related to the shaping of modern society as we know it today.

An overview of the history of Iceland in the period 1500-1800, with a focus on selected themes, based on primary sources. A historiographical view on the period and recent changes and trends will be discussed. Social changes following the reformation will be analyzed, followed by emphasis on witchcraft and religious ideas, means of education, literary culture, policies following the enlightenment, commerce, trade and Iceland´s interaction with the outside world. Students will hand in a assignment based on primary sources.

Introductory course on the history of late medieval Europe. Taught in Icelandic; please see full course description in Icelandic

This introductory course deals with global history from 1815 to the First World War. The connecting theme of the course is the development of democracy in the 19^th century, in a wide sense. Three interwoven issues are emphaised: 1)  Women’s rights and the women’s movement in relation with the right to vote (in general), the abolishment of slavery and social welfare. 2) These are discussed in relation with nationalism and the construction of nation states in relation with who is seen as citizen/subject. 3) And finally, a topic that touches upon the two first: the colonialism of European nations, as well as of the United States and Japan, and the its influence on African and Asian societies.

This course introduces Ancient Greek and Roman historiography, tracing its beginning and development, and discusses its scope, aims and methods. Among authors who will be discussed are Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Polybius, Cato, Sallust, Livy, Plutarch, Suetonius, Tacitus, Ammianus Marcellinus and others. Readings will include excerpts from ancient texts in translation.

This course offers a perspective of the history of Iceland from the ninth to the sixteenth century from a historical and archaeological viewpoint. Among themes which will be explored are the Viking Age and research on this period, the settlement of Iceland and its development, the organization of a new society , identities and economic development, Christianization, political conflict and the introduction of executive power in the thirteenth century. In the latter half of the course the focus is on the Church and its economic, political and cultural influence. This will be discussed in view of the general historiography of the period, technical and material developments and the international context. An emphasis is placed on familiarity with primary sources, both written and archeological. Teaching consists of lectures and discussion classes.

This introductory course deals with international history in the 20th century with an emphasis on the changes in the international system and international politics.  Special attention wil be devoted to several themes: (1) the new state system after the end of World War I; (2) the impact of political ideologies, notably, communism and Nazism/fascism; (3) The origins and nature of World War II and its effects on decolonization and national liberation struggles in Africa and Asia; (4) the ideology of the Cold War and the power politics exercised by the United States and the Soviet Union; (5) geopolitical shifts in the present, especially with respect to strategic competition between the United States and China.

This survey course provides a basis for understanding the economic and social development of Iceland since 1800. It seeks to develop both historical and transferable skills building on the course Making History. The main topics are Iceland‘s international relations; rise and decline of the agricultural economy;  causes and consequences of the industrial revolution; class structure and social conditions; women, men and work; demography and family life; effects of two World Wars on economic and social trends, the Great Depression and economic policy; growth and fluctuations; Europeanization and the international economy; rise of welfare society; industries and regions in the post-1945 period; financialization and the economic crisis of 2008.

The aim of this course is to give students a critical understanding of the historiography of Icelandic politics and culture from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the present. It focuses on the following topics: (i) the origins of the nation state, (ii) democracy (iii) culture and education, (iv) gender, sexuality and class, (v) political parties and social movements and (vi) transnational- and international relations. Emphasis is placed on looking at the history of Iceland in a Nordic, Western and global context. The course provides students with training in reading and discussing primary and secondary sources, as well as in collecting material on and writing short essays about a clearly defined topic.

This compulsory course aims at improving knowledge and skill in the understanding and use of the concepts and theories that are used in history and scholarly study and discussion about societies, culture and politics.

What is known about the long lost medieval Icelandic church buildings? On what source material does the knowledge rest? What was the purpose of these buildings in their contemporanean society? Although there are no remaining medieval church buildings in Iceland, there is, substantial source material to base some knowledge about these churches. Several sites have been excavated and there is also some information in different types of written sources. Much of interior utensils and decoration has been preserved. The course aims at presenting what is known about medieval Icelandic churches and the society that built them and used them. The churches will be studied according to their rank in the church hierarchy: Cathedrals, monastic/larger churches and other types. The outer form will be presented as well as the importance of reuse of building material.

Iceland was for a long time an agrarian society, where agriculture was the dominant occupation from the settlement period up until well into the 20th century. This course aims to examine the development of the agrarian society, with a particular focus on the 19th century and up to the present day. Material culture and tangible objects will be a special focus for students, as the possessions of farmers, farmhands, and museum collections will be used, among other things, to explore farming practices and rural households. The homes of farmers in the past were notable production units where the boundaries between private life and work were blurred. This development will be analyzed to highlight how agricultural practices have changed over time in relation to material culture. The goal of this course is to demonstrate the significant role agriculture played in people’s daily lives and the impact the sector had on the development of society. Students will work with individual objects as well as collections of items, thereby gaining both insight into the history of agriculture in Iceland and training in using material culture as a tool for narrative and research. What was the development of Icelandic farming practices up to the 21st century? What kinds of objects were found in farmers’ homes, and what roles did they serve? How did people organize their daily lives around their material possessions? How can a single object “tell the story” of the past?

This course explores how climate shifts, erosion, and resource scarcity intersected with subsistence strategies and cultural meaning in Iceland and the wider North Atlantic world. Students will analyze saga narratives and legal texts alongside scientific papers, testing how historical sources align (or conflict) with archaeological and environmental data. 

The course provides a solid introduction to the economic history of the West, from the Second Industrial Revolution at the end of the 19th century to the present day. Students will gain an overview of the economic development of Europe and North America during the “long 20th century,” and how economic development and the development of financial markets have influenced the social development of this period.

In the course, students will be introduced to economic and business history as a discipline and to the most important theories, ideas, and concepts used in the field. The focus is on the history of the company and financial markets as institutions and major players in the history of capitalism. While companies and financial markets have a long history, organized financial markets and stock exchanges, along with the large corporations that rely on them, are relatively new. It is not until the second industrial revolution at the end of the 19th century that these phenomena became absolutely central to industrialized market economies.  The course will examine the role of stock exchanges and banking institutions in the emergence of large corporations on both sides of the Atlantic in the late 19th century, especially in the United States and Germany, and the different theories of economists about the role and nature of markets, corporations, and capitalists in that development.

Among other things, the theories of institutional economists such as Thorstein Veblen, Ronald Coase, and Oliver Williamson will be discussed, as well as economic and business historians such as Alexander Gerschenkron, Alfred Chandler, and Richard Tedlow. It will discuss late industrialization and research on the role of investment banks in the industrialization of Germany, controversies over the historical role of "Captains of Industry" and “Robber Barons” in the industrialization of the United States, and the nature and origins of large corporations. It will also discuss the changing role of stock exchanges and international capital markets in the 20th century, especially in light of instability and financial crises. Further, the course will introduce students to the growth of international financial markets and deregulation at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, culminating in the financial crash of 2008.

Saints were central to medieval social, religious, and political life. Indeed, local Nordic saints’ cults mirrored an older continental tradition, emphasizing the connectivity of the Nordic lands to the wider Christian world. As such, the study of saints in the medieval North gives us a unique and important picture of cultural, religious, and literary exchange with medieval Christendom. Although Christianization in Scandinavia and Iceland happened quite late (ninth- to eleventh-centuries), the historical record reflects a Nordic society that participated fully in Christian practices from the continent, while also adapting texts and rituals to fit the local society.
The course will illuminate the narratives of Christianization, sainthood, heroism, and nationalism via the study of saints’ lives. A great focus will be placed on questioning the boundaries of genre, nationalities, and religions in the context of the Middle Ages.

The course is intended to enhance the skills of students in writing about historical matters and communicate historical knowledge through various media. Students will gain practical knowledge and training in presenting historical matters, using text, images, podcasts, film, web content and documentaries. Teaching will include lectures, discussions, field trips, and project work.

This course introduces Ancient Greek and Roman historiography, tracing its beginning and development, and discusses its scope, aims and methods. Among authors who will be discussed are Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Polybius, Cato, Sallust, Livy, Plutarch, Suetonius, Tacitus, Ammianus Marcellinus and others. Readings will include excerpts from ancient texts in translation.

The objective of the course is to examine the fashion and clothes making of Icelanders in the 18th and 19th century from various angles. Research on handicraft and manufacturing will be examined in light of a variety of sources on handicraft, manufacturing and mentality in Iceland in relation to corresponding phenomena elsewhere in the realm of Denmark-Norway at the time. The reading material will be both scholarly work and primary sources. New research will be combined with primary sources, both from archives and museums. Field trips will be an important part of the course and research and analysis on clothes that are preserved. In recent years access has become better to published primary sources, both printed and online. The students will become capable of reading, finding, using and evaluating archival material from the 18th and 19th century and defining research questions in the field.

In today’s society, where there is backlash in human rights, and in some cases women’s previously secured rights have been challenged, it is essential to understand the history of women´s right sand the women’s movement.  This course explores ideas concerning women’s rights from the eighteenth century (and, where relevant, earlier) to the latter half of the twentieth century, examining who articulated these ideas and in what ways. It addresses the struggles of women (and men) for gender equality, the milestones that were achieved, and the obstacles women encountered along the way. Attention will be given to concepts such as feminism, a term that did not emerge until the late nineteenth century, and its various manifestations. The concept, women’s movement, will also be scrutinised. Scholars in the fields of women’s and gender history have increasingly critiqued dominant definitions and questioned which movements deserve recognition within the grand narrative of women’s history. In this context, the usefulness and limitations of the so-called “wave theory” will be discussed, that is, the tendency to liken women’s movements to tidal cycles of ebb and flow: the first wave of feminism/women’s rights, the second wave, and so forth. Although the focus of the course will primarily be on the Western world, efforts will be made to integrate perspectives from other regions, as well as from Iceland, where appropriate.

This course examines the development and transformation of ideological and political conflicts between East and West from 1979—when the Cold War took on a new form—until the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Students explore how ideology shaped the interactions, conflicts, and cooperation between the superpowers during the final years of the Cold War and after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Special emphasis is placed on the end of the Cold War, the impact of Gorbachev’s reforms, the fall of the Soviet Union, and how ideological tensions have continued in the relations between Russia, the United States, China, and Europe in the 21st century.

This course compares Arthurian ideals with Icelandic saga traditions, examining how honor, gender, law, and heroism intersect and diverge between the two cultural spheres. Students read selections from Geoffrey of Monmouth, Chrétien de Troyes, and the Vulgate Cycle alongside saga texts, analyzing what happens when knightly values meet the world of the goðar. The course concludes with a mini-colloquium where students present comparative insights.

This course aims to introduce students to the nature and development of science by examining episodes of its history and by disucssing recent theories concerning the nature, aims, and development of science. A special emphasis will be placed on the history of physical science from Aristotle to Newton, including developments in astronomy during the scientific revolution of the 16th and 17th century. We will also specifically examine the history of Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection. These episodes and many others will be viewed through the lens of various theories of scientific progress, and through recent views about interactions between science and society at large. The course material may change depending on the students’ interest.

In 2026, the United States will mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. This course offers a comprehensive examination of the American Revolution, tracing the principal events that culminated in the founding of the United States—from the crisis of the British Empire in the aftermath of the Seven Years’ War to the adoption of the Constitution and the early years of the new republic. Special attention will be devoted to explaining why some British colonists in North America rose up against imperial authority while others remained loyal to the Crown. Major themes include the historiography of the Revolution and competing interpretations of its causes, as well as the political and intellectual currents that shaped its social and institutional development. The course will address the fundamental tensions within a republic that promised liberty and self-government, yet wielded state power in ways comparable to other empires, all while sustaining a slave society whose prosperity rested on domination and unfreedom. A particular emphasis will be placed on the Revolution’s international context and its global reverberations—from France and Haiti to Norway and India. Finally, the course will consider historical memory, popular culture, and contemporary political debates over the Revolution’s legacy as the 250th anniversary approaches.

Students learn and are trained in the methods of archival research, finding and evaluating sources in archives.  Practical exercises will be assigned.

Introductory course on the history of Rome. Taught in Icelandic; please see full course description in Icelandic.

Medieval pilgrimage texts and travel logs are essential in understanding how medieval people thought of moving between different places and, most importantly, between cultures. The course examines examples of travel writing from various cultures, covering narratives from Scandinavia to the Middle East from 9th to 14th centuries. Not only are these stories full of marvelous details, fantastic people, and riches, but students will also explore detailed guidebooks and diaries full of complaints about foreign laws and food. The course is a journey through literary texts, which will allow students to examine political, social, economic, and cultural aspects across Europe and the Middle East.

This course offers an overview over the history of Ancient Greece from the Minoan period till the time of the Hellenistic Kingdoms.

What is known about the long lost medieval Icelandic church buildings? On what source material does the knowledge rest? What was the purpose of these buildings in their contemporanean society? Although there are no remaining medieval church buildings in Iceland, there is, substantial source material to base some knowledge about these churches. Several sites have been excavated and there is also some information in different types of written sources. Much of interior utensils and decoration has been preserved. The course aims at presenting what is known about medieval Icelandic churches and the society that built them and used them. The churches will be studied according to their rank in the church hierarchy: Cathedrals, monastic/larger churches and other types. The outer form will be presented as well as the importance of reuse of building material.

Iceland was for a long time an agrarian society, where agriculture was the dominant occupation from the settlement period up until well into the 20th century. This course aims to examine the development of the agrarian society, with a particular focus on the 19th century and up to the present day. Material culture and tangible objects will be a special focus for students, as the possessions of farmers, farmhands, and museum collections will be used, among other things, to explore farming practices and rural households. The homes of farmers in the past were notable production units where the boundaries between private life and work were blurred. This development will be analyzed to highlight how agricultural practices have changed over time in relation to material culture. The goal of this course is to demonstrate the significant role agriculture played in people’s daily lives and the impact the sector had on the development of society. Students will work with individual objects as well as collections of items, thereby gaining both insight into the history of agriculture in Iceland and training in using material culture as a tool for narrative and research. What was the development of Icelandic farming practices up to the 21st century? What kinds of objects were found in farmers’ homes, and what roles did they serve? How did people organize their daily lives around their material possessions? How can a single object “tell the story” of the past?

This course explores how climate shifts, erosion, and resource scarcity intersected with subsistence strategies and cultural meaning in Iceland and the wider North Atlantic world. Students will analyze saga narratives and legal texts alongside scientific papers, testing how historical sources align (or conflict) with archaeological and environmental data. 

The course provides a solid introduction to the economic history of the West, from the Second Industrial Revolution at the end of the 19th century to the present day. Students will gain an overview of the economic development of Europe and North America during the “long 20th century,” and how economic development and the development of financial markets have influenced the social development of this period.

In the course, students will be introduced to economic and business history as a discipline and to the most important theories, ideas, and concepts used in the field. The focus is on the history of the company and financial markets as institutions and major players in the history of capitalism. While companies and financial markets have a long history, organized financial markets and stock exchanges, along with the large corporations that rely on them, are relatively new. It is not until the second industrial revolution at the end of the 19th century that these phenomena became absolutely central to industrialized market economies.  The course will examine the role of stock exchanges and banking institutions in the emergence of large corporations on both sides of the Atlantic in the late 19th century, especially in the United States and Germany, and the different theories of economists about the role and nature of markets, corporations, and capitalists in that development.

Among other things, the theories of institutional economists such as Thorstein Veblen, Ronald Coase, and Oliver Williamson will be discussed, as well as economic and business historians such as Alexander Gerschenkron, Alfred Chandler, and Richard Tedlow. It will discuss late industrialization and research on the role of investment banks in the industrialization of Germany, controversies over the historical role of "Captains of Industry" and “Robber Barons” in the industrialization of the United States, and the nature and origins of large corporations. It will also discuss the changing role of stock exchanges and international capital markets in the 20th century, especially in light of instability and financial crises. Further, the course will introduce students to the growth of international financial markets and deregulation at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, culminating in the financial crash of 2008.

Saints were central to medieval social, religious, and political life. Indeed, local Nordic saints’ cults mirrored an older continental tradition, emphasizing the connectivity of the Nordic lands to the wider Christian world. As such, the study of saints in the medieval North gives us a unique and important picture of cultural, religious, and literary exchange with medieval Christendom. Although Christianization in Scandinavia and Iceland happened quite late (ninth- to eleventh-centuries), the historical record reflects a Nordic society that participated fully in Christian practices from the continent, while also adapting texts and rituals to fit the local society.
The course will illuminate the narratives of Christianization, sainthood, heroism, and nationalism via the study of saints’ lives. A great focus will be placed on questioning the boundaries of genre, nationalities, and religions in the context of the Middle Ages.

The course is intended to be, first of all, a very practical overview of the main categories of public sources that are preserved in archives and are accessible in electronic form. All categories have their advantages and disadvantages. The sources were created within some kind of administration and their aim was to gather information about the "population" that is under, preserve it and use the information to strengthen the administration and "create" the facts it needed. to hold to maintain itself. Secondly, the course is an introduction to the development that has taken place in the methodology of solitude in new Icelandic research in history. This is a new perspective on what has been called the unification of history. Thirdly, the course will be an introduction to how the emotions of individuals in the past can be analyzed through public sources and how the ideology of the history of emotions can be used in those analyzes and a new integration of theories about poverty and disability in the past with special emphasis on gender perspectives.

The course analyzes the formation, articulation, and practice of U.S. foreign policy from World War II to the present. It focuses on the hegemonial position of the United States in the international system, its political values, culture, domestic politics, propaganda, and military power. It also explores representations of the “American Empire” during and after the Cold War and its reception abroad through an analysis of the transmission of American ideologies, unilateralist practices, liberalism, mass culture and consumption patterns, and race and gender images. The history of U.S. foreign policy from the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt to that of Donald Trump will be approached by examining how individual presidents shaped America’s global role.  U.S. actions abroad will be analyzed within broader ideological and structural contexts—including the Cold War, capitalism and anti-communism, democracy promotion, imperialism, human rights, international law, and global economic institutions. Special attention will be given to how race, gender, and domestic politics intersect with foreign policy, as well as the evolving role of international organizations and legal norms in shaping American engagement with the world. Attention will be paid to geopolitical and regional approaches, with emphasis on U.S.-European relations, Asia and Africa, and individual states, such as the Soviet Union/Russia, Britain, Germany, France, Vietnam, China, and South Africa during and after the Cold War. Emphasis will also be put on military interventions, including the Korean War, the Vietnam Wars, the wars in the former Yugoslavia, “the war on terror,” and the wars in Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq, Syria, and Ukraine  Finally, ideas about the decline of the “American Empire” will be explored and put within the context of the rise of China. In addition, recent U.S. attempts to challenge the liberal international order it created after World War II and to question the sovereign rights or aspirations (Canada and Greenland) will be analyzed. Various theoretical approaches in History, International Relations, and Cultural Studies, will be used to examine the topic.

This course covers the role of public archives and archiving and record management in the past and present. The importance of the principle of provenance for archives and history. A summary of the history of administration. The activities and legal environment of public archives in Iceland will be discussed and their role in records management in public administration. What organizations are obliged to transfer their records to public archives. The evolution of archiving and records management in the 20th and 21st centuries will be examined. Methods of records managements, old and new. The sorting and cataloguing of archives.

Historical and historiographical survey of major topics in the history of the medieval North, with special emphasis on Iceland and Norway from the Viking Age into the fourteenth century. Topics include: Power, kingship and state; law and feud; kinship, gender and social ties; religious and mental outlook(s); conversion, Christianity and church; economic conditions. Prior knowledge of the “factual” narrative (textbook narrative) is helpful but not necessary.

This course introduces Ancient Greek and Roman historiography, tracing its beginning and development, and discusses its scope, aims and methods. Among authors who will be discussed are Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Polybius, Cato, Sallust, Livy, Plutarch, Suetonius, Tacitus, Ammianus Marcellinus and others. Readings will include excerpts from ancient texts in translation.

The objective of the course is to examine the fashion and clothes making of Icelanders in the 18th and 19th century from various angles. Research on handicraft and manufacturing will be examined in light of a variety of sources on handicraft, manufacturing and mentality in Iceland in relation to corresponding phenomena elsewhere in the realm of Denmark-Norway at the time. The reading material will be both scholarly work and primary sources. New research will be combined with primary sources, both from archives and museums. Field trips will be an important part of the course and research and analysis on clothes that are preserved. In recent years access has become better to published primary sources, both printed and online. The students will become capable of reading, finding, using and evaluating archival material from the 18th and 19th century and defining research questions in the field.

In today’s society, where there is backlash in human rights, and in some cases women’s previously secured rights have been challenged, it is essential to understand the history of women´s right sand the women’s movement.  This course explores ideas concerning women’s rights from the eighteenth century (and, where relevant, earlier) to the latter half of the twentieth century, examining who articulated these ideas and in what ways. It addresses the struggles of women (and men) for gender equality, the milestones that were achieved, and the obstacles women encountered along the way. Attention will be given to concepts such as feminism, a term that did not emerge until the late nineteenth century, and its various manifestations. The concept, women’s movement, will also be scrutinised. Scholars in the fields of women’s and gender history have increasingly critiqued dominant definitions and questioned which movements deserve recognition within the grand narrative of women’s history. In this context, the usefulness and limitations of the so-called “wave theory” will be discussed, that is, the tendency to liken women’s movements to tidal cycles of ebb and flow: the first wave of feminism/women’s rights, the second wave, and so forth. Although the focus of the course will primarily be on the Western world, efforts will be made to integrate perspectives from other regions, as well as from Iceland, where appropriate.

This course examines the development and transformation of ideological and political conflicts between East and West from 1979—when the Cold War took on a new form—until the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Students explore how ideology shaped the interactions, conflicts, and cooperation between the superpowers during the final years of the Cold War and after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Special emphasis is placed on the end of the Cold War, the impact of Gorbachev’s reforms, the fall of the Soviet Union, and how ideological tensions have continued in the relations between Russia, the United States, China, and Europe in the 21st century.

This course compares Arthurian ideals with Icelandic saga traditions, examining how honor, gender, law, and heroism intersect and diverge between the two cultural spheres. Students read selections from Geoffrey of Monmouth, Chrétien de Troyes, and the Vulgate Cycle alongside saga texts, analyzing what happens when knightly values meet the world of the goðar. The course concludes with a mini-colloquium where students present comparative insights.

This course aims to introduce students to the nature and development of science by examining episodes of its history and by disucssing recent theories concerning the nature, aims, and development of science. A special emphasis will be placed on the history of physical science from Aristotle to Newton, including developments in astronomy during the scientific revolution of the 16th and 17th century. We will also specifically examine the history of Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection. These episodes and many others will be viewed through the lens of various theories of scientific progress, and through recent views about interactions between science and society at large. The course material may change depending on the students’ interest.

In 2026, the United States will mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. This course offers a comprehensive examination of the American Revolution, tracing the principal events that culminated in the founding of the United States—from the crisis of the British Empire in the aftermath of the Seven Years’ War to the adoption of the Constitution and the early years of the new republic. Special attention will be devoted to explaining why some British colonists in North America rose up against imperial authority while others remained loyal to the Crown. Major themes include the historiography of the Revolution and competing interpretations of its causes, as well as the political and intellectual currents that shaped its social and institutional development. The course will address the fundamental tensions within a republic that promised liberty and self-government, yet wielded state power in ways comparable to other empires, all while sustaining a slave society whose prosperity rested on domination and unfreedom. A particular emphasis will be placed on the Revolution’s international context and its global reverberations—from France and Haiti to Norway and India. Finally, the course will consider historical memory, popular culture, and contemporary political debates over the Revolution’s legacy as the 250th anniversary approaches.

Students learn and are trained in the methods of archival research, finding and evaluating sources in archives.  Practical exercises will be assigned.

Introductory course on the history of Rome. Taught in Icelandic; please see full course description in Icelandic.

Medieval pilgrimage texts and travel logs are essential in understanding how medieval people thought of moving between different places and, most importantly, between cultures. The course examines examples of travel writing from various cultures, covering narratives from Scandinavia to the Middle East from 9th to 14th centuries. Not only are these stories full of marvelous details, fantastic people, and riches, but students will also explore detailed guidebooks and diaries full of complaints about foreign laws and food. The course is a journey through literary texts, which will allow students to examine political, social, economic, and cultural aspects across Europe and the Middle East.

This course offers an overview over the history of Ancient Greece from the Minoan period till the time of the Hellenistic Kingdoms.

The BA thesis is primarily intended to train students in researching a chosen topic within their field of study and presenting their findings in a well-structured academic text. Students write a BA thesis on a research topic of their own choice in consultation with their supervisor. The course coordinator assists students in selecting a supervisor if needed. Students are encouraged to meet with their supervisor and prepare an initial outline of the research project before the thesis semester begins.

The final thesis should demonstrate the student’s ability to work independently and academically, present material logically and systematically, analyse sources, and make use of scholarly resources (e.g., handbooks, dictionaries, or comparable online resources).

Students are encouraged to use the services of the University of Iceland Centre for Writing [link: https://ritver.hi.is/is], which offers support for academic writing. At the Centre for Writing, students can book consultations and receive advice on any issues related to academic essays, reports, and other written assignments.

Students are also advised to familiarise themselves with the University of Iceland guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence: https://gervigreind.hi.is/ 

See detailed rules regarding BA theses at the School of Humanities (in Icelandic only): https://ugla.hi.is/kerfi/view/page.php?sid=3544 

For further information see guidelines for essays in history.

The BA thesis is primarily intended to train students in researching a chosen topic within their field of study and presenting their findings in a well-structured academic text. Students write a BA thesis on a research topic of their own choice in consultation with their supervisor. The course coordinator assists students in selecting a supervisor if needed. Students are encouraged to meet with their supervisor and prepare an initial outline of the research project before the thesis semester begins.

The final thesis should demonstrate the student’s ability to work independently and academically, present material logically and systematically, analyse sources, and make use of scholarly resources (e.g., handbooks, dictionaries, or comparable online resources).

Students are encouraged to use the services of the University of Iceland Centre for Writing [link: https://ritver.hi.is/is], which offers support for academic writing. At the Centre for Writing, students can book consultations and receive advice on any issues related to academic essays, reports, and other written assignments.

Students are also advised to familiarise themselves with the University of Iceland guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence: https://gervigreind.hi.is/ 

See detailed rules regarding BA theses at the School of Humanities (in Icelandic only): https://ugla.hi.is/kerfi/view/page.php?sid=3544 

For further information see guidelines for essays in history.

The BA thesis is primarily intended to train students in researching a chosen topic within their field of study and presenting their findings in a well-structured academic text. Students write a BA thesis on a research topic of their own choice in consultation with their supervisor. The course coordinator assists students in selecting a supervisor if needed. Students are encouraged to meet with their supervisor and prepare an initial outline of the research project before the thesis semester begins.

The final thesis should demonstrate the student’s ability to work independently and academically, present material logically and systematically, analyse sources, and make use of scholarly resources (e.g., handbooks, dictionaries, or comparable online resources).

Students are encouraged to use the services of the University of Iceland Centre for Writing [link: https://ritver.hi.is/is], which offers support for academic writing. At the Centre for Writing, students can book consultations and receive advice on any issues related to academic essays, reports, and other written assignments.

Students are also advised to familiarise themselves with the University of Iceland guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence: https://gervigreind.hi.is/ 

See detailed rules regarding BA theses at the School of Humanities (in Icelandic only): https://ugla.hi.is/kerfi/view/page.php?sid=3544 

For further information see guidelines for essays in history.

In this course we will examine the role of folkloristic material in modern western society, examining in particular its presence in the media, films and the internet, as well as in the oral and practical tradition. Among other things, an examination will be made of modern migratory legends and the modern role of fairy tales, belief and prejudice, games and festivals, graffiti and jokes, and all sort of other modern customs and traditions. The aim is to increase our understanding of the popular basis of modern culture and extend our conciousness of all the "trivial" which has such a central role to play in shaping our attitudes within society and our views with regard to our fellow people. Reference will be made to recent and modern research work that has been undertaken in folkloristics, cultural studies and related subjects.

This course delves into the transformative events of early 20th-century Russia, beginning with the collapse of the tsarist regime and the revolution of 1917. It examines the creation of a new society after the devastation of the Civil War (1918–1921) and traces the evolving political landscape of the 1920s. Key topics include the Bolshevik regime’s efforts to control industry and food production, debates over the revolution’s direction, and the emergence of “new people” as a result of revolutionary changes. The course also explores the global impact of Communism, including the role of the Communist International, before turning to Stalin’s rise to power. Students will look at Stalin’s totalitarian rule, the changes caused by industrialization and collectivization in the early 1930s, and their profound consequences. Finally, the course investigates Stalin’s reign of terror, focusing on the Great Purges and the extensive prison camp system (the Gulag).

In this course, we examine how places in cities, rural areas, and the wilderness acquire meaning for individuals and groups. We explore how both personal memories and cultural memory shape perceptions and understanding of the landscape. We consider how place names, stories, and legends—such as those about elf churches, cursed spots, and past events—influence the value and meaning of places, as well as how emplaced experiences and memories tend to stick to locations. Why do some places become sacred sites, while others remain merely spaces people pass through on their way elsewhere? Why do people feel at ease in some places but experience discomfort or fear in others? How do individuals form connections to places during short visits or longer stays? Does it matter whether one is a newcomer or a native? What does it mean to feel a sense of belonging or to consider a particular place home? How refugees and other immigrants form attachment to the places where they settle and how they maintain or sever ties with the places they leave behind. What does it mean for people to have been forced to leave their homes due to wars or natural disasters, facing uncertainty about whether they can return? Attention will be given to how discourse and social dynamics shape people-place relationships, as well as the role of experience, perception, memories, aesthetics, and diverse narratives in giving meaning to place, forming place attachment, and defining who can lay claim to a place—and how.

This is a basic composition course. Writing skills will be honed through regular assignments, lectures, class discussions and workshops.Approaches to writing research papers will be addressed, such as choosing and narrowing a topic, structure, and sources. Register, style, spelling, punctuation, and resources for writers will be discussed. Students write essays and papers of various kinds and get regular feedback from peers and teachers. Course assessment is based on written assignments and class participation. The course can only be passed if all assignments are turned in.

Overview and introduction to the aims and methods of archaeology. What is archaeology? The history of the discipline is discussed, its ideological base and its relationship with other disciplines. How are material remains used to shed light on social structure, the environment, economy and trade, religion and ideology, development and change?

This class focuses on foods and foodways as a way to better understand past societies. We will examine the role of food in human evolution, address how archaeologists use multiple data sources to reconstruct past foodways, and assess how these data can be integrated and interpreted through a series of case studies. “Food” includes both meat and plant sources, and we will discuss studies of each and their contributions to the understanding of past societies’ food habits. Various food processing technologies, like ceramics and lithics, are also important for deciphering foodways, and we will examine the ways archaeologists gain information from them. The course will cover a wide variety of geographic and temporal areas, and will present an overview of foods and foodways across time and space.

The aim of this course is to provide a general background to theoretical archaeology in Europe and North America. The course will look at how theory is involved in all aspects of archaeological work and explore the key themes and major schools of social theory which have been influential in archaeology as well as theories of contemporary relevance today.

The course aims to give the students an insight into the main theories, concepts, topics, and principles of macroeconomics and macroeconomic activity. The course stresses both the analytical content and applied usefulness of the topics covered and how they relate to various current economic issues at home and abroad. A sound knowledge of macroeconomics prepares students for various other economics courses, and for life.

A survey of ancient philosophy, based upon a close reading of primary texts from the works of the Presocratics, Plato and Aristotle, and their Hellenistic successors. The primary aim is to offer an overview of the development of ancient philosophy. A secondary aim is to offer an insight into the importance of the history of philosophy for philosophy, and deepen the students' competence in reading philosophical works from the ancient world. At the completion of the course, the students should be acquainted with the main periods and individual thinkers of ancient philosophy, their views and arguments. They should be able to give an account of these views, support it with references to the primary sources, and compare the views of different philosophers. Further, they should have gained an insight into the importance of the history of philosophy for philosophy and the historical origins of classical philosophical problems.

The aim of this course is to show students the importance of critical thinking by introducing its main concepts and methods as well as different understandings of the notion. Furthermore, the aim is to train students in critical thinking and argumentation, both in a philosophical and an everyday context. Special emphasis will be placed on analysing arguments. The relationship between critical thinking and ethics will be thoroughly examined.

The teaching involves both lectures and discussion sessions. Assignments will primarily be aimed at practical tasks relevant to everyday experiences.

In this course, we discuss a few selected contemporary issues in the field of social and political philosophy. We will discuss and analyse key concepts of relevance for a good society, such as liberty, equality, justice and democracy with a special reference to Icelandic society. 

In this course, 19th and 20th century ideas that had fundamental effects on Western philosophy and intellectual history, will be examined. These are socially transformative ideas such as freedom, secularism, equality, resistance, the relation between the individual and society, ideas concerning existence and the soul, oppression, injustice, the national state and capitalism. Perhaps last but not least ideas about history, time and evolution of humanity and the planet. 

Each week a new thinker or idea that transformed Western intellectual history is introduced and engaged with. Thinkers such as G.W.F. Hegel, Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, Rosa Luxembourg and Emma Goldman are analysed and influential isms such as phenomenology, neoliberalism or postructuralism. The aim is to read these thinkers and isms in accordance with the zeitgeist of the historical period they belong to (to the extent that we, people in the 21st century can “read” zeitgeists of older periods). At the same time the aim is to dig deep into original texts and to acquire multi-dimensional understanding of the ideas. Important part of the course is also to look at these themes in relation to the present times and the issues happening at the moment in Western societies and all around the globe. 

This course is an introduction to the history of Ancient Greek civilization, with an emphasis on Ancient Greek culture and world view, from earliest times to the Roman period.

In the course the main works of Western art from the early renaissance to the early 19. century. Geographically, the focus is on works of art from Italy and Spain, France, the Netherlands, Germany and England. Main methods and schools, academies and manifestations of art in religious, political and social contexts will be discussed. Painting, sculpture, architecture, the artisanal works and printmaking will be discussed. Efforts will be made to examine the extent to which art reflects society, how imagery reflects the life and worldview of people in different periods. Different approaches to time and space at any given time will be discussed, changes in the symbolic image of the body, the status and social role of the artist, and the interactions of art and institutions of power. In connection with these issues, key works of each period will be taken for detailed interpretation and their distribution history discussed.

A survey of Icelandic art from 1860 to 1970. The course will look at the origins of Icelandic modern art, selected Icelandic artists and factors influencing the Icelandic art scene, influence from foreign art ideas and movements, attempts at definging "national" Icelandic art, government support and influence on the development of visual art, the tension between proponents of "national" art and "non-national" art as well as between "expressive"art and " conceptual" forms of art presentation, local art education and the characteristics of art critic as it appeared in the printed media. An attempt will be made to evaluate characteristics of Icelandic visual art in relation to foreign developments and changes in Icelandic society and history.

A general course in the field of legal theory and statutory interpretation which also provides for a brief account of chosen topics in  Icelandic legal history. The first part of the course deals with the concept of law, origins and sources of legal rules and their interrelationship, as well as general principles of the rule of law. Major developments of the Icelandic legal system from the settlement of Iceland in the ninth century to the present are briefly discussed. The second part consists of a comprehensive elaboration of the general principles and ideas forming part of the theory of statutory interpretation as well as providing for a detailed overview of generally accepted methods in interpretation of legal texts. The aim of the course is to provide an account of the doctrine of the sources of law and legal methods in the Icelandic legal system.

This course surveys the history of the Middle East from ancient times to the medieval period. Topics include the emergence of Egypt and Sumerians and other peoples of the so-called 'cradle of civilization'. Special emphasis will be on the emergence of Islam in the seventh century, and ascent of the Islamic empire in the following centuries. Among the subjects discussed are the prophet Muhammad and his successors, the creation of the Quran, the Caliphates of the Ummayyads and the Abassids and the 'golden age' of Islam. Teaching language is Icelandic but reading materials are mostly in English.

This class surveys the history, society and archaeology of Viking Age Iceland. We will read parts of medieval Icelandic sagas, the Eddas and Skaldic poetry, and modern historical, anthropological and literary studies will be discussed. We will explore the ways in which Icelandic society evolved throughout the Viking Age (ca. 790–1100 AD) in its interrelation with different cultural spheres, and dive into aspects of everyday life, politics, belief systems, ship building and traveling.

A regular focus of this class will be on saga literature (Fornaldarsögur, Íslendingasögur, Konungasögur), as this literature is our main source for interpreting archaeological findings, on the one hand, for exploring later medieval ideas of the Viking Age, on the other hand. With that said, the source value of written artifacts for Viking Age Iceland will be discussed, and this even includes a closer look at modern popular and academic reception, where different sources are regularly mingled without any distinct source criticism. Last but not least, we will discuss the so-called Vikings and their so-called age in the light of recent populist movements, and scholarly reactions to it.

This course examines events and transformations in Soviet history from the late 1930s to the collapse of the Soviet Union. It begins with an exploration of World War II and the victory over Nazi Germany, focusing on its profound impact on the Soviet Union, and the USSR’s shifting international and domestic position after the war. The origins and key causes of the Cold War are analyzed, alongside the establishment of Communist regimes in Eastern Europe, social developments, and Stalinist governance. The course then investigates the Khrushchev and Brezhnev eras, highlighting political changes and social tensions following Stalin’s death. Gorbachev’s reforms under perestroika are studied carefully, culminating in an analysis of the Soviet Union’s dissolution. Finally, students will explore the post-Soviet landscape, with a brief discussion of the former Soviet republics and Russia’s policies toward them, focusing on the invasion of Ukraine, the annexation of Crimea and recent signs of aggression against Georgia and Moldova.

The course starts with a general introduction to political science, covering different analytical approaches (e.g. systems approach, functional approach, power approach), decision-making and policy formation (e.g. Simon, Lindblom, Richardson, et al.), comparative government (e.g. the nation state, cleavages, forms of government), political socialization and political culture. The latter part of the course concentrates more heavily on the Icelandic political system, covering the main features of the development of the political system in the 19th and 20th centuries (e.g. nationalism, cleavages, major periods of the politics of independence and modern politics), the constitution, political parties and elections (e.g. development of the franchise and electoral system, participation, party system, organization, voting behaviour), the legislature (Althingi), and the executive (e.g. president, government and the coalition system, the bureaucracy, relations to interest organizations, policy-making and local government).

The course is intended to introduce students to different theories and subjects within international politics, with a particular emphasis on the changing nature of international politics after the end of the Cold War. The course begins by addressing the nature of the international system, the state and its role within the system. The basic theories of international politics are introduced, as are the main branches within the field, such as international political economy and international security. International organizations, such as the United Nations, and their role are discussed. The latter part of the course is dedicated to the issues of international politics and covers among other things the environment, the role of non-governmental organizations, human rights, and more.

In the course, students are:
1) introduced to the basic theories of international politics, providing them with the basis for understanding contemporary political events
2) trained in analyzing critically concepts and theories relating to globalizations
3) introduced to the relationship between international events and theories of international politics

This class introduces students to political issues and developments in the 20th century that helped shape present day politics. Issues covered in the class include negotiations that resulted in a sovereign statehood for Iceland in 1918; the development of the Icelandic party system; the electoral system and conflicts relating to it; the establishment of a republic in 1944; the Cod Wars and conflicts over the management of the fisheries; key conflicts on foreign policy including membership in NATO and EEA; factors influencing the formation and termination of coalition governments. Students are also introduced to the main characteristics of the Icelandic economy and the key macroeconomic tools used by governments in the past.

The Arctic is expected to become more important in the coming decades as climate change makes natural resources and transport routes more accessible creating threats to fragile ecosystems and societies as well as economic opportunities. Satellite data collected since 1979 shows that both the thickness of the ice in the Arctic and range of sea ice have decreased substantially, especially during the summer months. The melting of the ice facilitates natural resource exploration in the high north. U.S. Geological Survey estimates from 2008 suggest that 13 percent of the world's undiscovered oil and 30 percent of undiscovered natural gas reserves are located in the Arctic Circle. Moreover, the retreating and thinning of the ice opens up new trade routes.

The Arctic Circle Assembly is designed to increase participation in Arctic dialogue and strengthen the international focus on the future of the Arctic. The Arctic Circle Assembly will contain sessions on a wide variety of topics, such as:

• Sea ice melt and extreme weather
• Polar law: treaties and agreements
• The role and rights of indigenous peoples
• Security in the Arctic
• Shipping and transportation infrastructure
• The prospects and risks of oil and gas drilling
• Clean energy achievements and sustainable development
• Arctic resources
• Human rights and gender equality
• Business cooperation in the Arctic
• The role of Asian and European countries in the Arctic
• Greenland in the new Arctic
• Fisheries and ecosystem management
• The science of ice: global research cooperation
• Arctic tourism
• Arctic identity and cultures
• The ice-dependent world: the Arctic and the Himalayas
• Politics in the Arctic

This course enables and relies on the participation of UoI graduate and advanced undergraduate students in the Arctic Circle Assembly conference in Harpa, Reykjavik. Students are required to attend the Arctic Circle Assembly. Students have to attend one class shortly before the Assembly and one class shortly after the Assembly.

Arctic Circle Assembly,  October 16 - 18th 2025 in Harpa, Reykjavík.  Attendance at the Assembly is mandatory as well as attendance in one pre (14th October), and one post Assembly session. 

Students need to pay the student registration fee to the conference, but receive a discount. 

Climate change is a global issue and one of the more challenging environmental problems of the present and near future. Since 1992, there have been many meetings and agreements under the auspices of the United Nations.

This course will cover the topic of climate change from several angles. Starting with the basic evidence and science behind climate change and modeling of future scenarios, then through impacts and vulnerability to efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Issues such as climate refugees, gender aspects and negotiations are addressed.

Grading is based on writing assignments, short quizzes, course participation and presentations, in addition to group assignments where mitigation, future scenarios and basic processes are examined further. Students taking this course generally have very different backgrounds, and you will have a chance to learn about climate change from different viewpoints.

This course provides an introduction to the study of folk narrative as a particular genre within the overall field of folkloristics. Students will be introduced to the main theories concerning the origins, features and distribution of folk tales, their role in society, their collection, methods of classification and means of preservation. Among others, students will be introduced to the work of Antti Aarne, Inger M. Boberg, Bruno Bettleheim, Linda Dégh, Stith Thompson, Timothy Tangherlini and Alan Dundes. Particular attention will be laid to the main forms of oral narrative, particular attention being paid to the form and analysis of legends and fairy tales from the viewpoint of the main arguments concerning these aspects of study, among others the work of Algirdas Greimas, Bengt Holbek, Max Lüthi, Axel Olrik and Vladimir Propp.

The course explores the human body from an ethnological and cultural historical perspective. Different attitudes to the body are studied as they appear in ideas about the relations between mind and body, attitudes towards cleanliness and body care, physical appearance, moral conduct etc. To what extent are ideas on physical beauty and health determined by society? How has emerging knowledge and practice in life and health sciences influenced the ways in which the body is perceived? How is bodily conduct dependant on rules and norms of society? Special emphasis is placed on exploring the human body as a cultural phenomenon in context of Icelandic society form the nineteenth century till the present.

Questions are asked on how differing trends in physical training has bearings on people’s bodily experience; how meaning is read into physical appearance and personal conduct; how sense of decency and customs delimit physical behaviour; and how the relation between body and culture is expressed in e.g. national costumes and swimsuits, food diets and table manners, sanitary regulations and bathing habits, eugenics and beauty contests or pacemakers and breast implants.

In this course, students become familiar with contemporary music, explore its origins and roles in society throughout the centuries: Folk and popular music that through cultural transmission has transformed into the “higher” music of religion or elites, and music of marginal groups that has exploded into the mainstream. The cultural role of music as entertainment, as industry, as catalyst for revolt and as a unifying force will be brought to the fore. The history of music collection, processing and publishing will be discussed, as well as stories and legends of the musical world and the material culture of music. Ideas surrounding creativity and the nature of the “creative act” itself will be examined, with regards to copyright and recycling of music.

Rhythm, blues, rap, grindcore, classical, hip-hop, jazz, pop, punk masses, breakbeat, opera and deathmetal.

The legend tradition will be examined in detail in this course, in the light of both earlier and more recent academic theory concerning this subject. The concentration will be placed on Icelandic legends, how they have come about, been passed from person to person, living and developing in the oral tradition. Particular attention will be paid to what these legends tell us about folk belief in Iceland. From this viewpoint, particular attention will be paid to memorats, their source value, and the degree to which the narrative tradition shapes new narratives. Close attention will also be paid to Icelandic migratory legends, their means of transmission, their distribution, and they way in which they have been shaped and influenced by local narrative traditions and beliefs. In this context, attention will also be drawn to individual legendary motifs, and research that has been undertaken into them. 

What is cultural heritage and what purpose does it serve? Why does it always seem to be endangered? How does it tie together the past and the present? What's it got to do with the nation and the state? Historical consciousness? Globalization? Capitalism? Politics? The course will seek to answer these questions with reference to new research in folklore, ethnology, anthropology, art history, sociology, museology, history and archaeology and with a view to understanding what is going on in this expanding field of study.

The course addresses everyday life in pre-industrial Iceland. Emphasis is on the personal and the local environment; the material culture of the turf-house, the personal and social life of farmers and servants, the chores within the farm and household, and everyday consumption. Students will be introduced to research methodologies used to study ways of life in the old Icelandic rural community and the life circle of individuals. In the course the students will be engaging with historical primary sources.

The aim of this survey course is to sample the literary history of the last four millennia by reading a number of world masterpieces from Africa, Asia and Europe. All texts will be read in Icelandic translations. 

Prehistory deals with the cultural history of humankind from the persepctive of material culture, from the first tools of around 2,5 million years ago up to the end of the Iron Age (c. 0-800 AD), i.e. the period for which there are no written sources. This course will cover the basic aspects of prehistory, including chronology and definitions of prehistoric society. In addition, the course will look at different aspects of prehistoric social life such as subsistence patterns, burial customs, craft and technology, trade and livelihood. Emphasis will be placed on human evolution in a global context and on later prehistoric Europe (c. 10.000 BC-800 AD). By the end of the course, the students will be expected to have collated a glossary of terms for prehistoric archaeology and understand the main outlines of prehistoric chronology and European prehistory.

How did people in the Middle Ages understand the world around them?
This workshop introduces students to key methods and theoretical frameworks for exploring medieval worldviews and lived experiences through material culture. Central to this approach is the concept of materiality, which examines how the physical properties of objects shape human perception and interaction with the world. It has been argued that the medieval period was marked by an especially heightened awareness of the power of material things; matter was often understood as alive, with objects functioning as conduits for holy intervention or as protections against illness and disaster. In addition to materiality, the workshop examines medieval ideas about the body and the senses, granting students a deeper understanding of how people experienced their environment.

Living in the contemporary world it is easy to think of the past as something remote and separate from everyday life - whether it is a trip to a museum or even studying archaeology at university, history seems to always be placed at one remove from our everyday life. Something we encounter for fun or interest. The aim of this course is to look at our modern world through an archaeological and historical lens: how are the patterns of our lives today the product of things that happened in the past? This course will show how the past is alive in the present – not as a heritage site or archaeology textbook but as something which still shapes our daily routines and the material world around us. Although the roots of this go back to our biological evolution, arguably most of these effects emerged in the last 500 years.

Description
A survey of Western philosophy in the 17th and 18th Centuries, with emphasis on selected topics in the epistemology and metaphysics of the period, based upon a close reading and comparison of primary texts. Descartes, Hume and Kant are the principal authors discussed.

Teaching
The teaching involves both lectures and discussions. Lectures will give an exposition of the subject and/or of its main topics. Discussions will address more specific topics or questions.

An overview of Icelandic literary history from the beginning to the end of the 19th century. Novelties and changes in Icelandic literature will be placed in context with contemporary currents in European literature.

This course explores the history of China from the mythical Xia dynasty in the third millenium BCE to the beginning of the nineteenth century. It seeks to illuminate the most important factors in the formation of Chinese culture as well as to explain individual events in the political and social development of the Chinese nation. An overview will be provided of the origin and development of the most important Chinese religious and philosophical streams of thought, notably Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism. Influential individuals will be introduced. The interaction and mutual influence between non-Chinese groups and the Chinese nation in the course of history will be emphasised.

The course introduces students to Roman social history. The period from 201 BCE to 180 CE will be emphasized. The main points of Roman history will be briefly discussed, as well as Roman institutions, the Roman social fabric,family life and gender roles, slavery, education, culture, religion, entertainment and daily life. In addition to secondary reading material, some ancient sources will be read in translation (English or Icelandic). No knowledge of Latin is assumed or required.

A historical overview of cinema from its emergence in the late 19th century to it contemporary role. The course will introduce students to influential film movements and styles from around the world, including Soviet Montage, French Impressionism, German Expressionism, classical Hollywood cinema, Italian Neorealism, Japanese Minimalism, the French New Wave, New German cinema, Third cinema, and Hong Kong action cinema. Diverse readings will provide a comprehensive overview supplementing screenings of key films. Particular emphasis will be placed on the aesthetic development of the film medium and its social and cultural relevance.

The main characteristics and historical development of Icelandic art in the last decades of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century will be examined in the light of Icelandic society and the context of foreign art development. Topics include SÚM's legacy in the seventies, the establishment of Gallerí Suðurgata 7 and the Living Art Museum, the characteristics of the Icelandic conceptual art and developmeent of contemporary media, such as photography, installation art, and performance art, the establishment of the Sculptors' Association in Reykjavík and the rise of three-dimensional art, media and more recently the overlap of art, film, and music. Emphasis will be made on approach of emerging artists to visual arts heritage at any given time, e.g. to natural heritage and “national” representation in art. The characteristics of critical art discussion, art education, participation in the Venice Biennale, the operation of galleries, and the establishment of contemporary exhibition groups will also be reviewed

A survey of the development of visual art from the upheaval of Modernism at the beginning of the 20th Century and through the major 20th century progressive movements up to 1960. The main principles, politics and characteristics of Modern art and its impact on later times will be clarified. The relationship between art and politics, philosophy, and societal development will be discussed and thought will be given to the radical reevaluation of the concept of aesthetics in art of the 20th century. How are changed perceptions of time and space reflected in art? How do the above-mentioned art movements disturb the people's general perceptions of the environment and reality? What is "inner" reality? Must art be visible? What is the deifference between visual language, the language we speak, and other forms of sign languege? International art exhibits shown in Iceland will be visited and tied into the course if possible.

This course is a continuation of the course History of the Middle East I, which is however not a prerequisite for this course. It is possible to take both courses or either one. Here we will address the development of the Middle East since 1300, especially its relationship with the West. Among subjects discussed will be the rise of the Ottomans and the Safavids, European colonialism and its effects on Middle Eastern culture and politics, the rise of nationalism and the emergence of modern states, and several conflicts that have shaped and continue shaping the region until this day. Teaching language is Icelandic but reading materials are mostly in English.

The field of Folklore, emerging out of the phenomena collectively referred to as  Modernity, has a complicated and problematic relationship with gender, both in the material that circulates and the subsequent academic treatment of that material. This seminar combines theoretical perspectives from Gender Studies and Folkloristics to better understand the interconnectedness of popular cultural forms, analyses, and the operations of power, specifically gender relations. Beginning with a feminist critique of Folkloristics from within (a historical reference point), we will examine more recent work on the relationship between gender and genre, between the empowering acts of ordinary rituals (so-called women‘s genres), and how the old, debunked Nature/Culture divide, in which women‘s genres were debased and denigrated, may, looked at from a different perspective, suggest alternate approaches to some contemporary global issues.

Teacher of the course: JoAnn Conrad

This course is an introduction to the study of the material culture of everyday life. Students will be get a good glimpse of this multidisciplinary field, with examples drawn from the past as well as the present, and with equal emphasis on the material culture of Iceland and that of other countries. The topics of study will range from clothes and fashion to foodways, from the objects in our daily surroundings to trash and hygiene, from crafts and consumer goods to houses, gardens and the home, and from urban landscapes to museums and exhibits. Along the way, students will gain familiarity with various theoretical concepts and approaches emphasizing for example the human body, gender, consumption, place and space.

An examination will be made of the religious beliefs and practices of people in Scandinavia from the earliest of times until the conversion, material ranging from burial practices to rock carvings, to the written evidence given in the works of Tacitus, Adam of Bremen and Saxo Grammaticus, as well as in early Icelandic works like the Eddic poems and the Kings' sagas. Alongside this discussion of the development and key features of Old Norse religion, some attention will be paid to the concepts of seid and shamanism, especially in connection to their role in early religions. Finally, an examination will be made of the conversion of Scandinavia and how Christian concepts and practices both fitted and contrasted with the previously dominant Old Norse worldview.

Teaching form:
The teaching takes place in the form of lectures and discussion on the material of the lectures.

The course looks at how identities and images of Icelanders and other nations have been shaped and they use traditions in each case. We examine Icelandic experiences and images in relation to neighbouring countries and how narratives, traditions and material culture shape nations, from national museums to midwinter festivals in London, from a wee dram of whiskey (in Scotland) to Viking sagas (in Scandinavia), with a quick stop at Up Helly Aa (in the Shetland Islands) and Olavsvaka (in the Faroe Islands); we look at a fashion show in Nuuk Center (Greenland), Nordic settlements in the New World and then we’ll post it all on social media.

We explore films and music, festivals, games and political spectacles. In particular we will analyse how national images unite and divide different groups of people. In that context we look at men and women, rural and urban communities, mobile people, racism and gender. We’ll study these images as dynamics and ideals, resources and matters of dispute, that are used for various purposes by different people in different places, by demagogues and greens, government institutions and banks, scholars and students.

The course will focus on various cases from the nineteenth century onwards of cultural elements that have been considered adversary to culture and civilisation in Iceland. Ideas, behaviour and artefacts that have been seen to be threats to Icelandic culture or a menace to a sound and healthy cultural life (such as jazz, popular fiction, avant-garde art) will be reflected upon, and the nature of the assumed dangers explored. As part of the discussion, the interconnection between social power and culture will be taken into careful consideration and questions about who defines cultural menace, by what means and for what purpose will be asked. Do such threats have aspects in common and in what ways have definitions been influenced by interests, ideals and moral standards that are subject to change? To what extent have ideas about cultural menace played a role in fashioning and defining Icelandic culture?

To what extent has Icelandic culture been formed through normative ideas about cultivated behaviour and civilisation? To what extent has Icelandic culture been shaped through resistance to foreign mass culture that has been seen to present itself in the Icelandic community in the guise of, for example, Danish dress fashion and American soap-operas?

The objective of the course is to explore how people relate to places in different ways. A variety of places - from private homes to airports, from city-centres to wastelands, form summer resorts to places of worship - will be explored in terms of affect and meaning, accumulated by passing though and dwelling as well as socio-political constructions. What creates and maintains place attachment? How do people relate differently to a place of their youth and place of destination? What constitutes a sense of belonging to a place? How do refugees, migrant workers and other migrants relate to new places and new landscapes and how do they maintain or sever ties to their place of origin. What role does experience, affect, memory, aesthetics, identification and sense of history play in who can claim a place and how? How do social structures, political objectives and conceptual understandings of place condition the meaning and sense of place for individuals and communities?

This course deals with customs and daily life that existed in the rural society of Iceland in earlier centuries (both in the countryside and by the sea). Discussion is made of research methodologies used at home and abroad with regard to material culture and folk customs. Students will come into contact with a wide range of ethnological research, and learn to assess the strengths and weaknesses of different types of source material. Emphasis is placed on assessing the mind set behind popular culture, as students examine the course of life of those individuals who grew up within this society. At the same time, attention will be paid to which methods serve best as a means of researching the customs of these people. Among other things, students will work with unpublished personal sources such as answers to ethnological questionnaires, and diaries.

This course introduces students to some of the basic skills that they will use in the study of history. The special character of history and its relationship with other fields of study will be discussed. The students will be introduced to the sources and methods used in historical research and the writing and presenting of historical work. - Students must register for the course in the beginning of their history study (first or second semester, depending on whether they start in January or September).

This is a core course in the Department of History and the focus will be on modernizing processes during the early modern period. The aim is to give students an overview over the period from the start of the 16th to the end of the 18th century. Topics will include imperialism and global connections, the development of capitalism and slavery, war and state formation, indigenous polities in North America, as well as the start of the Age of Revolutions in the United States, France and Haiti. In other words, the course addresses many aspects related to the shaping of modern society as we know it today.

An overview of the history of Iceland in the period 1500-1800, with a focus on selected themes, based on primary sources. A historiographical view on the period and recent changes and trends will be discussed. Social changes following the reformation will be analyzed, followed by emphasis on witchcraft and religious ideas, means of education, literary culture, policies following the enlightenment, commerce, trade and Iceland´s interaction with the outside world. Students will hand in a assignment based on primary sources.

Introductory course on the history of late medieval Europe. Taught in Icelandic; please see full course description in Icelandic

This introductory course deals with global history from 1815 to the First World War. The connecting theme of the course is the development of democracy in the 19^th century, in a wide sense. Three interwoven issues are emphaised: 1)  Women’s rights and the women’s movement in relation with the right to vote (in general), the abolishment of slavery and social welfare. 2) These are discussed in relation with nationalism and the construction of nation states in relation with who is seen as citizen/subject. 3) And finally, a topic that touches upon the two first: the colonialism of European nations, as well as of the United States and Japan, and the its influence on African and Asian societies.

This course introduces Ancient Greek and Roman historiography, tracing its beginning and development, and discusses its scope, aims and methods. Among authors who will be discussed are Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Polybius, Cato, Sallust, Livy, Plutarch, Suetonius, Tacitus, Ammianus Marcellinus and others. Readings will include excerpts from ancient texts in translation.

This course offers a perspective of the history of Iceland from the ninth to the sixteenth century from a historical and archaeological viewpoint. Among themes which will be explored are the Viking Age and research on this period, the settlement of Iceland and its development, the organization of a new society , identities and economic development, Christianization, political conflict and the introduction of executive power in the thirteenth century. In the latter half of the course the focus is on the Church and its economic, political and cultural influence. This will be discussed in view of the general historiography of the period, technical and material developments and the international context. An emphasis is placed on familiarity with primary sources, both written and archeological. Teaching consists of lectures and discussion classes.

This introductory course deals with international history in the 20th century with an emphasis on the changes in the international system and international politics.  Special attention wil be devoted to several themes: (1) the new state system after the end of World War I; (2) the impact of political ideologies, notably, communism and Nazism/fascism; (3) The origins and nature of World War II and its effects on decolonization and national liberation struggles in Africa and Asia; (4) the ideology of the Cold War and the power politics exercised by the United States and the Soviet Union; (5) geopolitical shifts in the present, especially with respect to strategic competition between the United States and China.

This survey course provides a basis for understanding the economic and social development of Iceland since 1800. It seeks to develop both historical and transferable skills building on the course Making History. The main topics are Iceland‘s international relations; rise and decline of the agricultural economy;  causes and consequences of the industrial revolution; class structure and social conditions; women, men and work; demography and family life; effects of two World Wars on economic and social trends, the Great Depression and economic policy; growth and fluctuations; Europeanization and the international economy; rise of welfare society; industries and regions in the post-1945 period; financialization and the economic crisis of 2008.

The aim of this course is to give students a critical understanding of the historiography of Icelandic politics and culture from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the present. It focuses on the following topics: (i) the origins of the nation state, (ii) democracy (iii) culture and education, (iv) gender, sexuality and class, (v) political parties and social movements and (vi) transnational- and international relations. Emphasis is placed on looking at the history of Iceland in a Nordic, Western and global context. The course provides students with training in reading and discussing primary and secondary sources, as well as in collecting material on and writing short essays about a clearly defined topic.

This compulsory course aims at improving knowledge and skill in the understanding and use of the concepts and theories that are used in history and scholarly study and discussion about societies, culture and politics.

What is known about the long lost medieval Icelandic church buildings? On what source material does the knowledge rest? What was the purpose of these buildings in their contemporanean society? Although there are no remaining medieval church buildings in Iceland, there is, substantial source material to base some knowledge about these churches. Several sites have been excavated and there is also some information in different types of written sources. Much of interior utensils and decoration has been preserved. The course aims at presenting what is known about medieval Icelandic churches and the society that built them and used them. The churches will be studied according to their rank in the church hierarchy: Cathedrals, monastic/larger churches and other types. The outer form will be presented as well as the importance of reuse of building material.

Iceland was for a long time an agrarian society, where agriculture was the dominant occupation from the settlement period up until well into the 20th century. This course aims to examine the development of the agrarian society, with a particular focus on the 19th century and up to the present day. Material culture and tangible objects will be a special focus for students, as the possessions of farmers, farmhands, and museum collections will be used, among other things, to explore farming practices and rural households. The homes of farmers in the past were notable production units where the boundaries between private life and work were blurred. This development will be analyzed to highlight how agricultural practices have changed over time in relation to material culture. The goal of this course is to demonstrate the significant role agriculture played in people’s daily lives and the impact the sector had on the development of society. Students will work with individual objects as well as collections of items, thereby gaining both insight into the history of agriculture in Iceland and training in using material culture as a tool for narrative and research. What was the development of Icelandic farming practices up to the 21st century? What kinds of objects were found in farmers’ homes, and what roles did they serve? How did people organize their daily lives around their material possessions? How can a single object “tell the story” of the past?

This course explores how climate shifts, erosion, and resource scarcity intersected with subsistence strategies and cultural meaning in Iceland and the wider North Atlantic world. Students will analyze saga narratives and legal texts alongside scientific papers, testing how historical sources align (or conflict) with archaeological and environmental data. 

The course provides a solid introduction to the economic history of the West, from the Second Industrial Revolution at the end of the 19th century to the present day. Students will gain an overview of the economic development of Europe and North America during the “long 20th century,” and how economic development and the development of financial markets have influenced the social development of this period.

In the course, students will be introduced to economic and business history as a discipline and to the most important theories, ideas, and concepts used in the field. The focus is on the history of the company and financial markets as institutions and major players in the history of capitalism. While companies and financial markets have a long history, organized financial markets and stock exchanges, along with the large corporations that rely on them, are relatively new. It is not until the second industrial revolution at the end of the 19th century that these phenomena became absolutely central to industrialized market economies.  The course will examine the role of stock exchanges and banking institutions in the emergence of large corporations on both sides of the Atlantic in the late 19th century, especially in the United States and Germany, and the different theories of economists about the role and nature of markets, corporations, and capitalists in that development.

Among other things, the theories of institutional economists such as Thorstein Veblen, Ronald Coase, and Oliver Williamson will be discussed, as well as economic and business historians such as Alexander Gerschenkron, Alfred Chandler, and Richard Tedlow. It will discuss late industrialization and research on the role of investment banks in the industrialization of Germany, controversies over the historical role of "Captains of Industry" and “Robber Barons” in the industrialization of the United States, and the nature and origins of large corporations. It will also discuss the changing role of stock exchanges and international capital markets in the 20th century, especially in light of instability and financial crises. Further, the course will introduce students to the growth of international financial markets and deregulation at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, culminating in the financial crash of 2008.

Saints were central to medieval social, religious, and political life. Indeed, local Nordic saints’ cults mirrored an older continental tradition, emphasizing the connectivity of the Nordic lands to the wider Christian world. As such, the study of saints in the medieval North gives us a unique and important picture of cultural, religious, and literary exchange with medieval Christendom. Although Christianization in Scandinavia and Iceland happened quite late (ninth- to eleventh-centuries), the historical record reflects a Nordic society that participated fully in Christian practices from the continent, while also adapting texts and rituals to fit the local society.
The course will illuminate the narratives of Christianization, sainthood, heroism, and nationalism via the study of saints’ lives. A great focus will be placed on questioning the boundaries of genre, nationalities, and religions in the context of the Middle Ages.

The course is intended to enhance the skills of students in writing about historical matters and communicate historical knowledge through various media. Students will gain practical knowledge and training in presenting historical matters, using text, images, podcasts, film, web content and documentaries. Teaching will include lectures, discussions, field trips, and project work.

This course introduces Ancient Greek and Roman historiography, tracing its beginning and development, and discusses its scope, aims and methods. Among authors who will be discussed are Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Polybius, Cato, Sallust, Livy, Plutarch, Suetonius, Tacitus, Ammianus Marcellinus and others. Readings will include excerpts from ancient texts in translation.

The objective of the course is to examine the fashion and clothes making of Icelanders in the 18th and 19th century from various angles. Research on handicraft and manufacturing will be examined in light of a variety of sources on handicraft, manufacturing and mentality in Iceland in relation to corresponding phenomena elsewhere in the realm of Denmark-Norway at the time. The reading material will be both scholarly work and primary sources. New research will be combined with primary sources, both from archives and museums. Field trips will be an important part of the course and research and analysis on clothes that are preserved. In recent years access has become better to published primary sources, both printed and online. The students will become capable of reading, finding, using and evaluating archival material from the 18th and 19th century and defining research questions in the field.

In today’s society, where there is backlash in human rights, and in some cases women’s previously secured rights have been challenged, it is essential to understand the history of women´s right sand the women’s movement.  This course explores ideas concerning women’s rights from the eighteenth century (and, where relevant, earlier) to the latter half of the twentieth century, examining who articulated these ideas and in what ways. It addresses the struggles of women (and men) for gender equality, the milestones that were achieved, and the obstacles women encountered along the way. Attention will be given to concepts such as feminism, a term that did not emerge until the late nineteenth century, and its various manifestations. The concept, women’s movement, will also be scrutinised. Scholars in the fields of women’s and gender history have increasingly critiqued dominant definitions and questioned which movements deserve recognition within the grand narrative of women’s history. In this context, the usefulness and limitations of the so-called “wave theory” will be discussed, that is, the tendency to liken women’s movements to tidal cycles of ebb and flow: the first wave of feminism/women’s rights, the second wave, and so forth. Although the focus of the course will primarily be on the Western world, efforts will be made to integrate perspectives from other regions, as well as from Iceland, where appropriate.

This course examines the development and transformation of ideological and political conflicts between East and West from 1979—when the Cold War took on a new form—until the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Students explore how ideology shaped the interactions, conflicts, and cooperation between the superpowers during the final years of the Cold War and after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Special emphasis is placed on the end of the Cold War, the impact of Gorbachev’s reforms, the fall of the Soviet Union, and how ideological tensions have continued in the relations between Russia, the United States, China, and Europe in the 21st century.

This course compares Arthurian ideals with Icelandic saga traditions, examining how honor, gender, law, and heroism intersect and diverge between the two cultural spheres. Students read selections from Geoffrey of Monmouth, Chrétien de Troyes, and the Vulgate Cycle alongside saga texts, analyzing what happens when knightly values meet the world of the goðar. The course concludes with a mini-colloquium where students present comparative insights.

This course aims to introduce students to the nature and development of science by examining episodes of its history and by disucssing recent theories concerning the nature, aims, and development of science. A special emphasis will be placed on the history of physical science from Aristotle to Newton, including developments in astronomy during the scientific revolution of the 16th and 17th century. We will also specifically examine the history of Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection. These episodes and many others will be viewed through the lens of various theories of scientific progress, and through recent views about interactions between science and society at large. The course material may change depending on the students’ interest.

In 2026, the United States will mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. This course offers a comprehensive examination of the American Revolution, tracing the principal events that culminated in the founding of the United States—from the crisis of the British Empire in the aftermath of the Seven Years’ War to the adoption of the Constitution and the early years of the new republic. Special attention will be devoted to explaining why some British colonists in North America rose up against imperial authority while others remained loyal to the Crown. Major themes include the historiography of the Revolution and competing interpretations of its causes, as well as the political and intellectual currents that shaped its social and institutional development. The course will address the fundamental tensions within a republic that promised liberty and self-government, yet wielded state power in ways comparable to other empires, all while sustaining a slave society whose prosperity rested on domination and unfreedom. A particular emphasis will be placed on the Revolution’s international context and its global reverberations—from France and Haiti to Norway and India. Finally, the course will consider historical memory, popular culture, and contemporary political debates over the Revolution’s legacy as the 250th anniversary approaches.

Students learn and are trained in the methods of archival research, finding and evaluating sources in archives.  Practical exercises will be assigned.

Introductory course on the history of Rome. Taught in Icelandic; please see full course description in Icelandic.

Medieval pilgrimage texts and travel logs are essential in understanding how medieval people thought of moving between different places and, most importantly, between cultures. The course examines examples of travel writing from various cultures, covering narratives from Scandinavia to the Middle East from 9th to 14th centuries. Not only are these stories full of marvelous details, fantastic people, and riches, but students will also explore detailed guidebooks and diaries full of complaints about foreign laws and food. The course is a journey through literary texts, which will allow students to examine political, social, economic, and cultural aspects across Europe and the Middle East.

This course offers an overview over the history of Ancient Greece from the Minoan period till the time of the Hellenistic Kingdoms.

What is known about the long lost medieval Icelandic church buildings? On what source material does the knowledge rest? What was the purpose of these buildings in their contemporanean society? Although there are no remaining medieval church buildings in Iceland, there is, substantial source material to base some knowledge about these churches. Several sites have been excavated and there is also some information in different types of written sources. Much of interior utensils and decoration has been preserved. The course aims at presenting what is known about medieval Icelandic churches and the society that built them and used them. The churches will be studied according to their rank in the church hierarchy: Cathedrals, monastic/larger churches and other types. The outer form will be presented as well as the importance of reuse of building material.

Iceland was for a long time an agrarian society, where agriculture was the dominant occupation from the settlement period up until well into the 20th century. This course aims to examine the development of the agrarian society, with a particular focus on the 19th century and up to the present day. Material culture and tangible objects will be a special focus for students, as the possessions of farmers, farmhands, and museum collections will be used, among other things, to explore farming practices and rural households. The homes of farmers in the past were notable production units where the boundaries between private life and work were blurred. This development will be analyzed to highlight how agricultural practices have changed over time in relation to material culture. The goal of this course is to demonstrate the significant role agriculture played in people’s daily lives and the impact the sector had on the development of society. Students will work with individual objects as well as collections of items, thereby gaining both insight into the history of agriculture in Iceland and training in using material culture as a tool for narrative and research. What was the development of Icelandic farming practices up to the 21st century? What kinds of objects were found in farmers’ homes, and what roles did they serve? How did people organize their daily lives around their material possessions? How can a single object “tell the story” of the past?

This course explores how climate shifts, erosion, and resource scarcity intersected with subsistence strategies and cultural meaning in Iceland and the wider North Atlantic world. Students will analyze saga narratives and legal texts alongside scientific papers, testing how historical sources align (or conflict) with archaeological and environmental data. 

The course provides a solid introduction to the economic history of the West, from the Second Industrial Revolution at the end of the 19th century to the present day. Students will gain an overview of the economic development of Europe and North America during the “long 20th century,” and how economic development and the development of financial markets have influenced the social development of this period.

In the course, students will be introduced to economic and business history as a discipline and to the most important theories, ideas, and concepts used in the field. The focus is on the history of the company and financial markets as institutions and major players in the history of capitalism. While companies and financial markets have a long history, organized financial markets and stock exchanges, along with the large corporations that rely on them, are relatively new. It is not until the second industrial revolution at the end of the 19th century that these phenomena became absolutely central to industrialized market economies.  The course will examine the role of stock exchanges and banking institutions in the emergence of large corporations on both sides of the Atlantic in the late 19th century, especially in the United States and Germany, and the different theories of economists about the role and nature of markets, corporations, and capitalists in that development.

Among other things, the theories of institutional economists such as Thorstein Veblen, Ronald Coase, and Oliver Williamson will be discussed, as well as economic and business historians such as Alexander Gerschenkron, Alfred Chandler, and Richard Tedlow. It will discuss late industrialization and research on the role of investment banks in the industrialization of Germany, controversies over the historical role of "Captains of Industry" and “Robber Barons” in the industrialization of the United States, and the nature and origins of large corporations. It will also discuss the changing role of stock exchanges and international capital markets in the 20th century, especially in light of instability and financial crises. Further, the course will introduce students to the growth of international financial markets and deregulation at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, culminating in the financial crash of 2008.

Saints were central to medieval social, religious, and political life. Indeed, local Nordic saints’ cults mirrored an older continental tradition, emphasizing the connectivity of the Nordic lands to the wider Christian world. As such, the study of saints in the medieval North gives us a unique and important picture of cultural, religious, and literary exchange with medieval Christendom. Although Christianization in Scandinavia and Iceland happened quite late (ninth- to eleventh-centuries), the historical record reflects a Nordic society that participated fully in Christian practices from the continent, while also adapting texts and rituals to fit the local society.
The course will illuminate the narratives of Christianization, sainthood, heroism, and nationalism via the study of saints’ lives. A great focus will be placed on questioning the boundaries of genre, nationalities, and religions in the context of the Middle Ages.

The course is intended to be, first of all, a very practical overview of the main categories of public sources that are preserved in archives and are accessible in electronic form. All categories have their advantages and disadvantages. The sources were created within some kind of administration and their aim was to gather information about the "population" that is under, preserve it and use the information to strengthen the administration and "create" the facts it needed. to hold to maintain itself. Secondly, the course is an introduction to the development that has taken place in the methodology of solitude in new Icelandic research in history. This is a new perspective on what has been called the unification of history. Thirdly, the course will be an introduction to how the emotions of individuals in the past can be analyzed through public sources and how the ideology of the history of emotions can be used in those analyzes and a new integration of theories about poverty and disability in the past with special emphasis on gender perspectives.

The course analyzes the formation, articulation, and practice of U.S. foreign policy from World War II to the present. It focuses on the hegemonial position of the United States in the international system, its political values, culture, domestic politics, propaganda, and military power. It also explores representations of the “American Empire” during and after the Cold War and its reception abroad through an analysis of the transmission of American ideologies, unilateralist practices, liberalism, mass culture and consumption patterns, and race and gender images. The history of U.S. foreign policy from the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt to that of Donald Trump will be approached by examining how individual presidents shaped America’s global role.  U.S. actions abroad will be analyzed within broader ideological and structural contexts—including the Cold War, capitalism and anti-communism, democracy promotion, imperialism, human rights, international law, and global economic institutions. Special attention will be given to how race, gender, and domestic politics intersect with foreign policy, as well as the evolving role of international organizations and legal norms in shaping American engagement with the world. Attention will be paid to geopolitical and regional approaches, with emphasis on U.S.-European relations, Asia and Africa, and individual states, such as the Soviet Union/Russia, Britain, Germany, France, Vietnam, China, and South Africa during and after the Cold War. Emphasis will also be put on military interventions, including the Korean War, the Vietnam Wars, the wars in the former Yugoslavia, “the war on terror,” and the wars in Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq, Syria, and Ukraine  Finally, ideas about the decline of the “American Empire” will be explored and put within the context of the rise of China. In addition, recent U.S. attempts to challenge the liberal international order it created after World War II and to question the sovereign rights or aspirations (Canada and Greenland) will be analyzed. Various theoretical approaches in History, International Relations, and Cultural Studies, will be used to examine the topic.

This course covers the role of public archives and archiving and record management in the past and present. The importance of the principle of provenance for archives and history. A summary of the history of administration. The activities and legal environment of public archives in Iceland will be discussed and their role in records management in public administration. What organizations are obliged to transfer their records to public archives. The evolution of archiving and records management in the 20th and 21st centuries will be examined. Methods of records managements, old and new. The sorting and cataloguing of archives.

Historical and historiographical survey of major topics in the history of the medieval North, with special emphasis on Iceland and Norway from the Viking Age into the fourteenth century. Topics include: Power, kingship and state; law and feud; kinship, gender and social ties; religious and mental outlook(s); conversion, Christianity and church; economic conditions. Prior knowledge of the “factual” narrative (textbook narrative) is helpful but not necessary.

This course introduces Ancient Greek and Roman historiography, tracing its beginning and development, and discusses its scope, aims and methods. Among authors who will be discussed are Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Polybius, Cato, Sallust, Livy, Plutarch, Suetonius, Tacitus, Ammianus Marcellinus and others. Readings will include excerpts from ancient texts in translation.

The objective of the course is to examine the fashion and clothes making of Icelanders in the 18th and 19th century from various angles. Research on handicraft and manufacturing will be examined in light of a variety of sources on handicraft, manufacturing and mentality in Iceland in relation to corresponding phenomena elsewhere in the realm of Denmark-Norway at the time. The reading material will be both scholarly work and primary sources. New research will be combined with primary sources, both from archives and museums. Field trips will be an important part of the course and research and analysis on clothes that are preserved. In recent years access has become better to published primary sources, both printed and online. The students will become capable of reading, finding, using and evaluating archival material from the 18th and 19th century and defining research questions in the field.

In today’s society, where there is backlash in human rights, and in some cases women’s previously secured rights have been challenged, it is essential to understand the history of women´s right sand the women’s movement.  This course explores ideas concerning women’s rights from the eighteenth century (and, where relevant, earlier) to the latter half of the twentieth century, examining who articulated these ideas and in what ways. It addresses the struggles of women (and men) for gender equality, the milestones that were achieved, and the obstacles women encountered along the way. Attention will be given to concepts such as feminism, a term that did not emerge until the late nineteenth century, and its various manifestations. The concept, women’s movement, will also be scrutinised. Scholars in the fields of women’s and gender history have increasingly critiqued dominant definitions and questioned which movements deserve recognition within the grand narrative of women’s history. In this context, the usefulness and limitations of the so-called “wave theory” will be discussed, that is, the tendency to liken women’s movements to tidal cycles of ebb and flow: the first wave of feminism/women’s rights, the second wave, and so forth. Although the focus of the course will primarily be on the Western world, efforts will be made to integrate perspectives from other regions, as well as from Iceland, where appropriate.

This course examines the development and transformation of ideological and political conflicts between East and West from 1979—when the Cold War took on a new form—until the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Students explore how ideology shaped the interactions, conflicts, and cooperation between the superpowers during the final years of the Cold War and after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Special emphasis is placed on the end of the Cold War, the impact of Gorbachev’s reforms, the fall of the Soviet Union, and how ideological tensions have continued in the relations between Russia, the United States, China, and Europe in the 21st century.

This course compares Arthurian ideals with Icelandic saga traditions, examining how honor, gender, law, and heroism intersect and diverge between the two cultural spheres. Students read selections from Geoffrey of Monmouth, Chrétien de Troyes, and the Vulgate Cycle alongside saga texts, analyzing what happens when knightly values meet the world of the goðar. The course concludes with a mini-colloquium where students present comparative insights.

This course aims to introduce students to the nature and development of science by examining episodes of its history and by disucssing recent theories concerning the nature, aims, and development of science. A special emphasis will be placed on the history of physical science from Aristotle to Newton, including developments in astronomy during the scientific revolution of the 16th and 17th century. We will also specifically examine the history of Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection. These episodes and many others will be viewed through the lens of various theories of scientific progress, and through recent views about interactions between science and society at large. The course material may change depending on the students’ interest.

In 2026, the United States will mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. This course offers a comprehensive examination of the American Revolution, tracing the principal events that culminated in the founding of the United States—from the crisis of the British Empire in the aftermath of the Seven Years’ War to the adoption of the Constitution and the early years of the new republic. Special attention will be devoted to explaining why some British colonists in North America rose up against imperial authority while others remained loyal to the Crown. Major themes include the historiography of the Revolution and competing interpretations of its causes, as well as the political and intellectual currents that shaped its social and institutional development. The course will address the fundamental tensions within a republic that promised liberty and self-government, yet wielded state power in ways comparable to other empires, all while sustaining a slave society whose prosperity rested on domination and unfreedom. A particular emphasis will be placed on the Revolution’s international context and its global reverberations—from France and Haiti to Norway and India. Finally, the course will consider historical memory, popular culture, and contemporary political debates over the Revolution’s legacy as the 250th anniversary approaches.

Students learn and are trained in the methods of archival research, finding and evaluating sources in archives.  Practical exercises will be assigned.