This seminar engages with theories on culture, narrative, and mediation. Active class participation is required.

All MA students in English are required to complete this seminar where they discuss relevant approaches to theory and research, their own research projects, preparing to introduce their findings at conferences and whorkshops, in Iceland or abroad. Evaluation is by participation: 2 short assignments and a presentation of a paper related to the student's coursework or final essay.

This course concerns the diverse connections between culture and language, as seen from the perspective of cultural history, social sciences and linguistics. Ancient and modern world languages will be introduced and their origins, influence and effects investigated. Written and spoken language will be discussed: what sorts of things are written, why and how? Rules and alternate perspectives on the nature of langauge will be considered, raising the question of how we understand man with respect to thought and language.

You are the perfect candidate if you have a burning desire to write fiction or poetry, and enjoy reading good books.

Aims include:

1. To sharpen awareness and improve skills through exercises in writing, and especially through revision

2. To provide practical criticism of work-in-progress in a workshop setting, along with advice about revisions and improvisation.

In addition to invoking the muse, students will learn practical writing skills such as organization, structure, characterization and dialogue. The course will also involve the examination of the work of key novel and short story writers, and poets. Throughout the course, students will develop their own work as well as improving their critical skills. Students will complete a short story or a small collection of poems by the end of the course.

Attendance requirement is 100% - you must attend one 1-hour presentation and one 2-hour workshop session per week. Not suitable for distance students.

Students who fulfil the prerequisites will be signed up. Sign up is on first come first served bases and there are 6 seats reserved for MA students and 6 seats reserved for BA students. Any unfilled seats for the course on August 30th will be offered to students on the waiting list. 

Jane Austen may be a recognizable staple of classic English literature in the 21^st century, but her mass popularity is a fairly recent development. This course will go back to Austen’s beginnings and investigate her as a female pioneer that she was, offering new, refreshing insight into some of her most beloved works, and reframing her importance through a feminist lens. The critical analysis will focus primarily on the late 20^th/early 21^st century reception and (re)framing of Austen’s work; we will investigate Austen’s role in the creation of the chick-lit and rom-com genres, and her overall influence on modern (post-) feminist literature.

What does Sunset Boulevard, double entendres, self-censorship, the Coen Brothers, and #metoo have in common? They all reveal that Hollywood is not quite the fantasy it poses to be.

A very real place and industry within Los Angeles, California, Hollywood has led in film production since the beginning of narrative film, yet its magic is created within the bland and sometimes devastating concrete lots, sound stages and offices of producers and agents.

This course aims to explore the reality of Hollywood and how it has functioned over time, to examine and critique its presentation and reputation through film and media. The course includes critical viewings of films that are based on both the myth and reality of Hollywood as well as critical readings on historical context, news/gossip, and the history of American narrative film.

Only 35 seats are available for ENS352M. Once the course is filled please contact Nikkita (nhp1@hi.is) to be added onto a waiting list in case a spot opens up.

This course provides an overview of different theoretical ways to approach videogames. Individual learning will be fostered through selected texts, in-class and online discussion, and the practical application of the theories studied. Students will explore current issues in game studies from the perspective of the humanities and the use of narratology and other literary theories for the scholarly study of videogames as texts.

This course focuses on examining how the Tudors and the Tudor period are presented in 21st century fiction and film. Special emphasis is placed on examining 21st century portrayals of Henry VIII and his daughter Elizabeth I.

This research project is linked to the course ENS505G - The Tudor Period as Presented in Contemporary Literature and Films. Students in the course ENS022G are encouraged to attend the lectures in ENS505G. 

Please note that students who have previously completed ENS505G cannot take this course.

What does it mean for a word to have meaning? We use words to talk about the world around us and one tradition in linguistics, growing out of philosophy, anchors meaning in the real-world phenomena that we talk about. But words often represent a perspective or way of thinking about the world. Another tradition, allied with cognitive psychology, therefore characterises meaning in terms of our concepts and ideas about the world around us. It turns out however that one of the most important inputs into forming concepts is in fact our linguistic system itself. A third tradition therefore emphasises the dynamic potential of language for creating meanings. This tradition is rooted in the linguistic tradition of structuralism but also lies behind the success of current large language models of generative AI. In this course, we explore different approaches to the analysis of meaning and what they tell us about the relation between mind and language.

This course covers the nature of vocabulary acquisition: how vocabulary develops, is learned and taught. Various factors will be analyzed in detail, including, the role of pronunciation, word frequency, various learning strategies for vocabulary growth and considerable attention will be drawn to current research methodology in Vocabulary Acquisition. Students will review research as well as conduct a mini study.

Taught on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10 am (2. and 3. year students only)

This is an overview course that introduces major theories of second language acquisition and how they influence language instruction. We will examine research on the cognitive, linguistic, individual, social and educational factors that affect the language learning process and language attainment. The role of input on language learning will be examined as well as the development of reading and writing skills in a second language. 

Utilizing cartoons, jokes and comedy sketches to illustrate linguistic concepts, this course seeks to facilitate the understanding of these concepts. The course covers all the basic topics relating to the study of human language, including communication systems, sounds, words, phrases, sentences, language use, discourse, child language acquisition, and language variation and change. The unsual feature of this course is the use examples of humor, jokes and irony, which are often based on ambiguity. The goal is to make it easier to appreciate ambiguous information so common in language.

Recent years have seen an increased focus on data collection and statistical analysis within the humanities. This is particularly apparent in growing branches such as psycholinguistics, cognitive literary studies and experimental philosophy, to name a few. The push towards quantitative methods occurs at a time where the validity and reliability of well-established statistical methods are called into question in other fields, with increased demands of replicability and open access as well as data protection and responsibility. In this course, students explore the value of quantitative methods in their field while getting training in the collection and analysis of data. A diverse set of research methods will be introduced, ranging from surveys to corpus analysis and experiments in which participants’ response to stimuli (such as words, texts or audio-visual materials) is quantified. Basic concepts in statistics will be reviewed, enabling students to know the difference between descriptive and inferential statistics, understand statistical significance and interpret visual representations of data in graphs. The course will be largely practical and students are expected to apply their knowledge of data collection and analysis under the instructor’s guidance. Students will work on a project within their own discipline but will also explore the possibility of cross-disciplinary work. Open source tools such as R Studio will be used for all assignments but no prior knowledge of the software or statistics in general is required. The course is suitable for all students within the humanities who want to collect quantitative data to answer interesting questions and could therefore be a useful preparation for a BA or MA project.

This course looks at the ways in which women of history (in a broad sense) have been rewritten in historical fiction, focusing on some key texts published since 2000. It examines various aspects of the project of (re-)making space for women in an otherwise mostly male-dominated history, and how this challenges stereotypical classifications of women such as angels, virgins, witches and whores. Theories and criticism relating to the topic will be studied alongside the set texts, with focus on readings of the historical novel as feminist, revisionist and postmodern counter-narratives that question and challenge written history.

NB. This is not formally a distance course but students interested in taking it without attending on-site classes are encouraged to contact the teacher regarding possible arrangements.

This is an overview course that introduces major research methods in second language acquisition and teaching. Qualitative and quantitative research methods will be explored and their role in interpreting second language development. Student will examine real studies, develop a research plan, and conduct a pilot study. 

An important tradition in linguistics proposes that the patterns in which the arguments of a verb appear in the syntax are partially conditioned by the semantics of the verb. For instance, agents are always subjects, and verbs of externally caused change of state in English generally allow both transitive and intransitive uses. This course evaluates the evidence for this position and the theoretical tools that linguistics have used to capture the relevant generalisations.

Deborah Eisenberg’s post-9/11 short story “Twilight of the Superheroes” opens with an imaginary conversation between the protagonist and his hypothetical future grandchildren. He recounts the story of Y2K, “The year two-thousand! The new millennium!” when some were convinced the world would end. Ultimately, nothing happened; “It was a miracle. Over the face of the earth, from east to west and back again, nothing catastrophic happened at all” (38). That “miracle” was short-lived. The 21st century has been one of crisis and catastrophe, especially in the United States. In this course, students will read narratives that engage with contemporary crises, particularly 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the 2008 financial collapse, racially motivated violence against Black people, and the Covid-19 pandemic. The course uses literature to emphasize the web of connections linking these crises to one another—for instance, how post-9/11 racial profiling impacted rescue efforts during Hurricane Katrina, and how in turn Hurricane Katrina underscored systemic racial inequalities that came to a head during the Black Lives Matter movement.  Readings will include works by Jonathan Safran Foer, Khaled Hosseini, Dave Eggers, Jesmyn Ward, Michael Lewis, Celeste Ng, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Brit Bennett, and Gary Shteyngart, among others. Students will study and utilize relevant literary theory, including trauma theory, feminist theory, critical race theory, postmodernism, cultural studies, and new sincerity. 

As the internet has become an ever greater presence in our lives, it has become necessary to understand how this global connectivity has affected our society and culture. This course seeks to give students an understanding of their online lives and the forces that move them when they engage with social media. We will examine how the media has adapted to the online world, and how these two avenues of information shape each other. Students will be expected to reflect on their relationship with social media, and discuss their experiences in the digital landscape and their thoughts on the role social media plays in society. In this course, we will engage with material that examines the formation of social media, the dissemination of information across media, human behaviors both on-and offline, and the influence of social media on social and political movements. Students will learn to engage critically with online sources and gain insight into the internet as a field of academic research. They will learn about communication and sociological theories, critical media theory, and theories on moral panics, online radicalisation and internet antagonism. We will explore the often hidden parts of the online world, deeply embedded in pop culture, disinformation and conspiratorial thinking.

This course seeks to investigate the enigmatic and charismatic figure of the detective in detective fiction as well as some of the common tropes in literary works of this kind. Often eccentric and wonderfully witty, the character of the professional or amateur sleuth is one that has charmed and delighted readers since its invention. The detective, along with the subgenre named after this persona, has attracted legions of fans and enthusiasts who are drawn to mysteries and who are eager to solve puzzles or riddles, alongside their favourite private investigator.

Frequently followed by a well-meaning but clueless sidekick, the detective imparts his knowledge and findings to his assistant and to the audience alike, shedding light on the darkest and most baffling cases, much to the awe and excitement of those in his midst.

The European intellectual tradition is characterized by the strong links between academia and society. Many of the most important European thinkers of the 19th and 20th Centuries worked outside of the universities – and many of those who did pursue an ordinary academic career also were public commentators frequently intervening in political discussion of the day and in some cases gaining considerable influence. In this course we present a selection of European thinkers who have been important both as scholars and as public intellectuals. We read and discuss samples of their work and look at critical discussion of their ideas. We also reflect on the time and place of the "European" – to what extent their work is quinessentially Eurocentric and to what extent awareness of cultural contingency emerges.

This class will focus on film and television adaptations, with scripts derived from short stories, canonical works, popular and pulp fiction, as well as graphic novels and comics.

In this course we will focus on various literary works and corresponding adaptation theories relating to film adaptations and current television series. Key issues and concepts in this course  will be taught in relation to Modernism/Postmodernism and Origin/Intertextual play in Adaptation Theory and Cinema semiotics.

Course requirement:
Apart from the obligatory course text Adaptations and Appropriation by Julie Sanders, we will read significant articles on adaptation as well as selected short stories (provided by the tutor) that have undergone the transition process and been adapted to into films. Students are encouraged to participate in discussions in class.

All MA students in English are required to complete this seminar where they discuss relevant approaches to theory and research, their own research projects, preparing to introduce their findings at conferences and whorkshops, in Iceland or abroad. Evaluation is by participation: 2 short assignments and a presentation of a paper related to the student's coursework or final essay.

You are the perfect candidate if you have a burning desire to write fiction or poetry, and enjoy reading good books.

Aims include:

1. To sharpen awareness and improve skills through exercises in writing, and especially through revision

2. To provide practical criticism of work-in-progress in a workshop setting, along with advice about revisions and improvisation.

In addition to invoking the muse, students will learn practical writing skills such as organization, structure, characterization and dialogue. The course will also involve the examination of the work of key novel and short story writers, and poets. Throughout the course, students will develop their own work as well as improving their critical skills. Students will complete a short story or a small collection of poems by the end of the course.

Attendance requirement is 100% - you must attend one 1-hour presentation and one 2-hour workshop session per week. Not suitable for distance students.

Students who fulfil the prerequisites will be signed up. Sign up is on first come first served bases and there are 6 seats reserved for MA students and 6 seats reserved for BA students. Any unfilled seats for the course on August 30th will be offered to students on the waiting list. 

Jane Austen may be a recognizable staple of classic English literature in the 21^st century, but her mass popularity is a fairly recent development. This course will go back to Austen’s beginnings and investigate her as a female pioneer that she was, offering new, refreshing insight into some of her most beloved works, and reframing her importance through a feminist lens. The critical analysis will focus primarily on the late 20^th/early 21^st century reception and (re)framing of Austen’s work; we will investigate Austen’s role in the creation of the chick-lit and rom-com genres, and her overall influence on modern (post-) feminist literature.

What does Sunset Boulevard, double entendres, self-censorship, the Coen Brothers, and #metoo have in common? They all reveal that Hollywood is not quite the fantasy it poses to be.

A very real place and industry within Los Angeles, California, Hollywood has led in film production since the beginning of narrative film, yet its magic is created within the bland and sometimes devastating concrete lots, sound stages and offices of producers and agents.

This course aims to explore the reality of Hollywood and how it has functioned over time, to examine and critique its presentation and reputation through film and media. The course includes critical viewings of films that are based on both the myth and reality of Hollywood as well as critical readings on historical context, news/gossip, and the history of American narrative film.

Only 35 seats are available for ENS352M. Once the course is filled please contact Nikkita (nhp1@hi.is) to be added onto a waiting list in case a spot opens up.

This course provides an overview of different theoretical ways to approach videogames. Individual learning will be fostered through selected texts, in-class and online discussion, and the practical application of the theories studied. Students will explore current issues in game studies from the perspective of the humanities and the use of narratology and other literary theories for the scholarly study of videogames as texts.

This course focuses on examining how the Tudors and the Tudor period are presented in 21st century fiction and film. Special emphasis is placed on examining 21st century portrayals of Henry VIII and his daughter Elizabeth I.

This research project is linked to the course ENS505G - The Tudor Period as Presented in Contemporary Literature and Films. Students in the course ENS022G are encouraged to attend the lectures in ENS505G. 

Please note that students who have previously completed ENS505G cannot take this course.

What does it mean for a word to have meaning? We use words to talk about the world around us and one tradition in linguistics, growing out of philosophy, anchors meaning in the real-world phenomena that we talk about. But words often represent a perspective or way of thinking about the world. Another tradition, allied with cognitive psychology, therefore characterises meaning in terms of our concepts and ideas about the world around us. It turns out however that one of the most important inputs into forming concepts is in fact our linguistic system itself. A third tradition therefore emphasises the dynamic potential of language for creating meanings. This tradition is rooted in the linguistic tradition of structuralism but also lies behind the success of current large language models of generative AI. In this course, we explore different approaches to the analysis of meaning and what they tell us about the relation between mind and language.

This course covers the nature of vocabulary acquisition: how vocabulary develops, is learned and taught. Various factors will be analyzed in detail, including, the role of pronunciation, word frequency, various learning strategies for vocabulary growth and considerable attention will be drawn to current research methodology in Vocabulary Acquisition. Students will review research as well as conduct a mini study.

Taught on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10 am (2. and 3. year students only)

This is an overview course that introduces major theories of second language acquisition and how they influence language instruction. We will examine research on the cognitive, linguistic, individual, social and educational factors that affect the language learning process and language attainment. The role of input on language learning will be examined as well as the development of reading and writing skills in a second language. 

MA-thesis in English.

Utilizing cartoons, jokes and comedy sketches to illustrate linguistic concepts, this course seeks to facilitate the understanding of these concepts. The course covers all the basic topics relating to the study of human language, including communication systems, sounds, words, phrases, sentences, language use, discourse, child language acquisition, and language variation and change. The unsual feature of this course is the use examples of humor, jokes and irony, which are often based on ambiguity. The goal is to make it easier to appreciate ambiguous information so common in language.

Recent years have seen an increased focus on data collection and statistical analysis within the humanities. This is particularly apparent in growing branches such as psycholinguistics, cognitive literary studies and experimental philosophy, to name a few. The push towards quantitative methods occurs at a time where the validity and reliability of well-established statistical methods are called into question in other fields, with increased demands of replicability and open access as well as data protection and responsibility. In this course, students explore the value of quantitative methods in their field while getting training in the collection and analysis of data. A diverse set of research methods will be introduced, ranging from surveys to corpus analysis and experiments in which participants’ response to stimuli (such as words, texts or audio-visual materials) is quantified. Basic concepts in statistics will be reviewed, enabling students to know the difference between descriptive and inferential statistics, understand statistical significance and interpret visual representations of data in graphs. The course will be largely practical and students are expected to apply their knowledge of data collection and analysis under the instructor’s guidance. Students will work on a project within their own discipline but will also explore the possibility of cross-disciplinary work. Open source tools such as R Studio will be used for all assignments but no prior knowledge of the software or statistics in general is required. The course is suitable for all students within the humanities who want to collect quantitative data to answer interesting questions and could therefore be a useful preparation for a BA or MA project.

This course looks at the ways in which women of history (in a broad sense) have been rewritten in historical fiction, focusing on some key texts published since 2000. It examines various aspects of the project of (re-)making space for women in an otherwise mostly male-dominated history, and how this challenges stereotypical classifications of women such as angels, virgins, witches and whores. Theories and criticism relating to the topic will be studied alongside the set texts, with focus on readings of the historical novel as feminist, revisionist and postmodern counter-narratives that question and challenge written history.

NB. This is not formally a distance course but students interested in taking it without attending on-site classes are encouraged to contact the teacher regarding possible arrangements.

This is an overview course that introduces major research methods in second language acquisition and teaching. Qualitative and quantitative research methods will be explored and their role in interpreting second language development. Student will examine real studies, develop a research plan, and conduct a pilot study. 

An important tradition in linguistics proposes that the patterns in which the arguments of a verb appear in the syntax are partially conditioned by the semantics of the verb. For instance, agents are always subjects, and verbs of externally caused change of state in English generally allow both transitive and intransitive uses. This course evaluates the evidence for this position and the theoretical tools that linguistics have used to capture the relevant generalisations.

Deborah Eisenberg’s post-9/11 short story “Twilight of the Superheroes” opens with an imaginary conversation between the protagonist and his hypothetical future grandchildren. He recounts the story of Y2K, “The year two-thousand! The new millennium!” when some were convinced the world would end. Ultimately, nothing happened; “It was a miracle. Over the face of the earth, from east to west and back again, nothing catastrophic happened at all” (38). That “miracle” was short-lived. The 21st century has been one of crisis and catastrophe, especially in the United States. In this course, students will read narratives that engage with contemporary crises, particularly 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the 2008 financial collapse, racially motivated violence against Black people, and the Covid-19 pandemic. The course uses literature to emphasize the web of connections linking these crises to one another—for instance, how post-9/11 racial profiling impacted rescue efforts during Hurricane Katrina, and how in turn Hurricane Katrina underscored systemic racial inequalities that came to a head during the Black Lives Matter movement.  Readings will include works by Jonathan Safran Foer, Khaled Hosseini, Dave Eggers, Jesmyn Ward, Michael Lewis, Celeste Ng, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Brit Bennett, and Gary Shteyngart, among others. Students will study and utilize relevant literary theory, including trauma theory, feminist theory, critical race theory, postmodernism, cultural studies, and new sincerity. 

As the internet has become an ever greater presence in our lives, it has become necessary to understand how this global connectivity has affected our society and culture. This course seeks to give students an understanding of their online lives and the forces that move them when they engage with social media. We will examine how the media has adapted to the online world, and how these two avenues of information shape each other. Students will be expected to reflect on their relationship with social media, and discuss their experiences in the digital landscape and their thoughts on the role social media plays in society. In this course, we will engage with material that examines the formation of social media, the dissemination of information across media, human behaviors both on-and offline, and the influence of social media on social and political movements. Students will learn to engage critically with online sources and gain insight into the internet as a field of academic research. They will learn about communication and sociological theories, critical media theory, and theories on moral panics, online radicalisation and internet antagonism. We will explore the often hidden parts of the online world, deeply embedded in pop culture, disinformation and conspiratorial thinking.

This course seeks to investigate the enigmatic and charismatic figure of the detective in detective fiction as well as some of the common tropes in literary works of this kind. Often eccentric and wonderfully witty, the character of the professional or amateur sleuth is one that has charmed and delighted readers since its invention. The detective, along with the subgenre named after this persona, has attracted legions of fans and enthusiasts who are drawn to mysteries and who are eager to solve puzzles or riddles, alongside their favourite private investigator.

Frequently followed by a well-meaning but clueless sidekick, the detective imparts his knowledge and findings to his assistant and to the audience alike, shedding light on the darkest and most baffling cases, much to the awe and excitement of those in his midst.

The European intellectual tradition is characterized by the strong links between academia and society. Many of the most important European thinkers of the 19th and 20th Centuries worked outside of the universities – and many of those who did pursue an ordinary academic career also were public commentators frequently intervening in political discussion of the day and in some cases gaining considerable influence. In this course we present a selection of European thinkers who have been important both as scholars and as public intellectuals. We read and discuss samples of their work and look at critical discussion of their ideas. We also reflect on the time and place of the "European" – to what extent their work is quinessentially Eurocentric and to what extent awareness of cultural contingency emerges.

This class will focus on film and television adaptations, with scripts derived from short stories, canonical works, popular and pulp fiction, as well as graphic novels and comics.

In this course we will focus on various literary works and corresponding adaptation theories relating to film adaptations and current television series. Key issues and concepts in this course  will be taught in relation to Modernism/Postmodernism and Origin/Intertextual play in Adaptation Theory and Cinema semiotics.

Course requirement:
Apart from the obligatory course text Adaptations and Appropriation by Julie Sanders, we will read significant articles on adaptation as well as selected short stories (provided by the tutor) that have undergone the transition process and been adapted to into films. Students are encouraged to participate in discussions in class.

MA-thesis in English.

In the courses Communication channels I and Communication channels II, the basics of methods for the dissemination of cultural material in the humanities and social sciences are presented. Communication channels I is in the fall semester, while Communication channels II is in the spring semester. 

In Communication channels I, the students are working with a) text and images in the first half of the semester and b) short documentaries in the second half of the course. Each subject weighs 50% in the course. Concerning a) Students will receive training in article writing and discourse analysis on the one hand and use of images and image analysis on the other.  Concerning b) Students work on making short documentaries. It includes basic training in screenwriting, shooting and editing, and students work in groups on a documentary, according to a specific theme. 

There are no exams in the course. Instead, students work on projects, individual and group projects. They are the following:

1. Analysis of texts and images
2. An article with an image on a specific theme for publication, about 800 words.
3. A group project where students work on a short documentary that is shown at the end of the course. Emphasis is placed on common themes and group work in the course. The course is not taught remotely.

In the course Communication channels II during the spring semester the students work with the following communication methods: a) oral presentation and b) exhibitions of cultural and historical material. Digital communication will be integrated into both aspects.

The students will work with the basics of oral presentation and practice in smaller and larger groups. Basic issues regarding the organization of conferences and seminars and their management will also be reviewed and a conference is held where all students present their projects. Digital communication will also be integrated into this section. Following is a section about exhibitions with connection to digital communication. The basics of exhibitions and different ways of presentation will be discussed.  The basics of digital communication will be covered, what are the main channels, advantages and disadvantages, and what rules apply to the presentation of texts on the web.

There are no exams in the course. Instead, students work on projects, individual and group projects. They are the following:

1. Lecture at a conference and other projects in that context
2. Exhibition analysis and a practical project in connection with exhibitions organized by the City History Museum (Borgarsögusafn)
3. Digital communication will be integrated into both aspects. Emphasis is placed on common themes and group work in the course.

The course is not taught remotely.

This seminar engages with theories on culture, narrative, and mediation. Active class participation is required.

All MA students in English are required to complete this seminar where they discuss relevant approaches to theory and research, their own research projects, preparing to introduce their findings at conferences and whorkshops, in Iceland or abroad. Evaluation is by participation: 2 short assignments and a presentation of a paper related to the student's coursework or final essay.

This course concerns the diverse connections between culture and language, as seen from the perspective of cultural history, social sciences and linguistics. Ancient and modern world languages will be introduced and their origins, influence and effects investigated. Written and spoken language will be discussed: what sorts of things are written, why and how? Rules and alternate perspectives on the nature of langauge will be considered, raising the question of how we understand man with respect to thought and language.

You are the perfect candidate if you have a burning desire to write fiction or poetry, and enjoy reading good books.

Aims include:

1. To sharpen awareness and improve skills through exercises in writing, and especially through revision

2. To provide practical criticism of work-in-progress in a workshop setting, along with advice about revisions and improvisation.

In addition to invoking the muse, students will learn practical writing skills such as organization, structure, characterization and dialogue. The course will also involve the examination of the work of key novel and short story writers, and poets. Throughout the course, students will develop their own work as well as improving their critical skills. Students will complete a short story or a small collection of poems by the end of the course.

Attendance requirement is 100% - you must attend one 1-hour presentation and one 2-hour workshop session per week. Not suitable for distance students.

Students who fulfil the prerequisites will be signed up. Sign up is on first come first served bases and there are 6 seats reserved for MA students and 6 seats reserved for BA students. Any unfilled seats for the course on August 30th will be offered to students on the waiting list. 

Jane Austen may be a recognizable staple of classic English literature in the 21^st century, but her mass popularity is a fairly recent development. This course will go back to Austen’s beginnings and investigate her as a female pioneer that she was, offering new, refreshing insight into some of her most beloved works, and reframing her importance through a feminist lens. The critical analysis will focus primarily on the late 20^th/early 21^st century reception and (re)framing of Austen’s work; we will investigate Austen’s role in the creation of the chick-lit and rom-com genres, and her overall influence on modern (post-) feminist literature.

What does Sunset Boulevard, double entendres, self-censorship, the Coen Brothers, and #metoo have in common? They all reveal that Hollywood is not quite the fantasy it poses to be.

A very real place and industry within Los Angeles, California, Hollywood has led in film production since the beginning of narrative film, yet its magic is created within the bland and sometimes devastating concrete lots, sound stages and offices of producers and agents.

This course aims to explore the reality of Hollywood and how it has functioned over time, to examine and critique its presentation and reputation through film and media. The course includes critical viewings of films that are based on both the myth and reality of Hollywood as well as critical readings on historical context, news/gossip, and the history of American narrative film.

Only 35 seats are available for ENS352M. Once the course is filled please contact Nikkita (nhp1@hi.is) to be added onto a waiting list in case a spot opens up.

This course provides an overview of different theoretical ways to approach videogames. Individual learning will be fostered through selected texts, in-class and online discussion, and the practical application of the theories studied. Students will explore current issues in game studies from the perspective of the humanities and the use of narratology and other literary theories for the scholarly study of videogames as texts.

This course focuses on examining how the Tudors and the Tudor period are presented in 21st century fiction and film. Special emphasis is placed on examining 21st century portrayals of Henry VIII and his daughter Elizabeth I.

This research project is linked to the course ENS505G - The Tudor Period as Presented in Contemporary Literature and Films. Students in the course ENS022G are encouraged to attend the lectures in ENS505G. 

Please note that students who have previously completed ENS505G cannot take this course.

What does it mean for a word to have meaning? We use words to talk about the world around us and one tradition in linguistics, growing out of philosophy, anchors meaning in the real-world phenomena that we talk about. But words often represent a perspective or way of thinking about the world. Another tradition, allied with cognitive psychology, therefore characterises meaning in terms of our concepts and ideas about the world around us. It turns out however that one of the most important inputs into forming concepts is in fact our linguistic system itself. A third tradition therefore emphasises the dynamic potential of language for creating meanings. This tradition is rooted in the linguistic tradition of structuralism but also lies behind the success of current large language models of generative AI. In this course, we explore different approaches to the analysis of meaning and what they tell us about the relation between mind and language.

This course covers the nature of vocabulary acquisition: how vocabulary develops, is learned and taught. Various factors will be analyzed in detail, including, the role of pronunciation, word frequency, various learning strategies for vocabulary growth and considerable attention will be drawn to current research methodology in Vocabulary Acquisition. Students will review research as well as conduct a mini study.

Taught on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10 am (2. and 3. year students only)

This is an overview course that introduces major theories of second language acquisition and how they influence language instruction. We will examine research on the cognitive, linguistic, individual, social and educational factors that affect the language learning process and language attainment. The role of input on language learning will be examined as well as the development of reading and writing skills in a second language. 

Utilizing cartoons, jokes and comedy sketches to illustrate linguistic concepts, this course seeks to facilitate the understanding of these concepts. The course covers all the basic topics relating to the study of human language, including communication systems, sounds, words, phrases, sentences, language use, discourse, child language acquisition, and language variation and change. The unsual feature of this course is the use examples of humor, jokes and irony, which are often based on ambiguity. The goal is to make it easier to appreciate ambiguous information so common in language.

Recent years have seen an increased focus on data collection and statistical analysis within the humanities. This is particularly apparent in growing branches such as psycholinguistics, cognitive literary studies and experimental philosophy, to name a few. The push towards quantitative methods occurs at a time where the validity and reliability of well-established statistical methods are called into question in other fields, with increased demands of replicability and open access as well as data protection and responsibility. In this course, students explore the value of quantitative methods in their field while getting training in the collection and analysis of data. A diverse set of research methods will be introduced, ranging from surveys to corpus analysis and experiments in which participants’ response to stimuli (such as words, texts or audio-visual materials) is quantified. Basic concepts in statistics will be reviewed, enabling students to know the difference between descriptive and inferential statistics, understand statistical significance and interpret visual representations of data in graphs. The course will be largely practical and students are expected to apply their knowledge of data collection and analysis under the instructor’s guidance. Students will work on a project within their own discipline but will also explore the possibility of cross-disciplinary work. Open source tools such as R Studio will be used for all assignments but no prior knowledge of the software or statistics in general is required. The course is suitable for all students within the humanities who want to collect quantitative data to answer interesting questions and could therefore be a useful preparation for a BA or MA project.

This course looks at the ways in which women of history (in a broad sense) have been rewritten in historical fiction, focusing on some key texts published since 2000. It examines various aspects of the project of (re-)making space for women in an otherwise mostly male-dominated history, and how this challenges stereotypical classifications of women such as angels, virgins, witches and whores. Theories and criticism relating to the topic will be studied alongside the set texts, with focus on readings of the historical novel as feminist, revisionist and postmodern counter-narratives that question and challenge written history.

NB. This is not formally a distance course but students interested in taking it without attending on-site classes are encouraged to contact the teacher regarding possible arrangements.

This is an overview course that introduces major research methods in second language acquisition and teaching. Qualitative and quantitative research methods will be explored and their role in interpreting second language development. Student will examine real studies, develop a research plan, and conduct a pilot study. 

An important tradition in linguistics proposes that the patterns in which the arguments of a verb appear in the syntax are partially conditioned by the semantics of the verb. For instance, agents are always subjects, and verbs of externally caused change of state in English generally allow both transitive and intransitive uses. This course evaluates the evidence for this position and the theoretical tools that linguistics have used to capture the relevant generalisations.

Deborah Eisenberg’s post-9/11 short story “Twilight of the Superheroes” opens with an imaginary conversation between the protagonist and his hypothetical future grandchildren. He recounts the story of Y2K, “The year two-thousand! The new millennium!” when some were convinced the world would end. Ultimately, nothing happened; “It was a miracle. Over the face of the earth, from east to west and back again, nothing catastrophic happened at all” (38). That “miracle” was short-lived. The 21st century has been one of crisis and catastrophe, especially in the United States. In this course, students will read narratives that engage with contemporary crises, particularly 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the 2008 financial collapse, racially motivated violence against Black people, and the Covid-19 pandemic. The course uses literature to emphasize the web of connections linking these crises to one another—for instance, how post-9/11 racial profiling impacted rescue efforts during Hurricane Katrina, and how in turn Hurricane Katrina underscored systemic racial inequalities that came to a head during the Black Lives Matter movement.  Readings will include works by Jonathan Safran Foer, Khaled Hosseini, Dave Eggers, Jesmyn Ward, Michael Lewis, Celeste Ng, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Brit Bennett, and Gary Shteyngart, among others. Students will study and utilize relevant literary theory, including trauma theory, feminist theory, critical race theory, postmodernism, cultural studies, and new sincerity. 

As the internet has become an ever greater presence in our lives, it has become necessary to understand how this global connectivity has affected our society and culture. This course seeks to give students an understanding of their online lives and the forces that move them when they engage with social media. We will examine how the media has adapted to the online world, and how these two avenues of information shape each other. Students will be expected to reflect on their relationship with social media, and discuss their experiences in the digital landscape and their thoughts on the role social media plays in society. In this course, we will engage with material that examines the formation of social media, the dissemination of information across media, human behaviors both on-and offline, and the influence of social media on social and political movements. Students will learn to engage critically with online sources and gain insight into the internet as a field of academic research. They will learn about communication and sociological theories, critical media theory, and theories on moral panics, online radicalisation and internet antagonism. We will explore the often hidden parts of the online world, deeply embedded in pop culture, disinformation and conspiratorial thinking.

This course seeks to investigate the enigmatic and charismatic figure of the detective in detective fiction as well as some of the common tropes in literary works of this kind. Often eccentric and wonderfully witty, the character of the professional or amateur sleuth is one that has charmed and delighted readers since its invention. The detective, along with the subgenre named after this persona, has attracted legions of fans and enthusiasts who are drawn to mysteries and who are eager to solve puzzles or riddles, alongside their favourite private investigator.

Frequently followed by a well-meaning but clueless sidekick, the detective imparts his knowledge and findings to his assistant and to the audience alike, shedding light on the darkest and most baffling cases, much to the awe and excitement of those in his midst.

The European intellectual tradition is characterized by the strong links between academia and society. Many of the most important European thinkers of the 19th and 20th Centuries worked outside of the universities – and many of those who did pursue an ordinary academic career also were public commentators frequently intervening in political discussion of the day and in some cases gaining considerable influence. In this course we present a selection of European thinkers who have been important both as scholars and as public intellectuals. We read and discuss samples of their work and look at critical discussion of their ideas. We also reflect on the time and place of the "European" – to what extent their work is quinessentially Eurocentric and to what extent awareness of cultural contingency emerges.

This class will focus on film and television adaptations, with scripts derived from short stories, canonical works, popular and pulp fiction, as well as graphic novels and comics.

In this course we will focus on various literary works and corresponding adaptation theories relating to film adaptations and current television series. Key issues and concepts in this course  will be taught in relation to Modernism/Postmodernism and Origin/Intertextual play in Adaptation Theory and Cinema semiotics.

Course requirement:
Apart from the obligatory course text Adaptations and Appropriation by Julie Sanders, we will read significant articles on adaptation as well as selected short stories (provided by the tutor) that have undergone the transition process and been adapted to into films. Students are encouraged to participate in discussions in class.

All MA students in English are required to complete this seminar where they discuss relevant approaches to theory and research, their own research projects, preparing to introduce their findings at conferences and whorkshops, in Iceland or abroad. Evaluation is by participation: 2 short assignments and a presentation of a paper related to the student's coursework or final essay.

You are the perfect candidate if you have a burning desire to write fiction or poetry, and enjoy reading good books.

Aims include:

1. To sharpen awareness and improve skills through exercises in writing, and especially through revision

2. To provide practical criticism of work-in-progress in a workshop setting, along with advice about revisions and improvisation.

In addition to invoking the muse, students will learn practical writing skills such as organization, structure, characterization and dialogue. The course will also involve the examination of the work of key novel and short story writers, and poets. Throughout the course, students will develop their own work as well as improving their critical skills. Students will complete a short story or a small collection of poems by the end of the course.

Attendance requirement is 100% - you must attend one 1-hour presentation and one 2-hour workshop session per week. Not suitable for distance students.

Students who fulfil the prerequisites will be signed up. Sign up is on first come first served bases and there are 6 seats reserved for MA students and 6 seats reserved for BA students. Any unfilled seats for the course on August 30th will be offered to students on the waiting list. 

Jane Austen may be a recognizable staple of classic English literature in the 21^st century, but her mass popularity is a fairly recent development. This course will go back to Austen’s beginnings and investigate her as a female pioneer that she was, offering new, refreshing insight into some of her most beloved works, and reframing her importance through a feminist lens. The critical analysis will focus primarily on the late 20^th/early 21^st century reception and (re)framing of Austen’s work; we will investigate Austen’s role in the creation of the chick-lit and rom-com genres, and her overall influence on modern (post-) feminist literature.

What does Sunset Boulevard, double entendres, self-censorship, the Coen Brothers, and #metoo have in common? They all reveal that Hollywood is not quite the fantasy it poses to be.

A very real place and industry within Los Angeles, California, Hollywood has led in film production since the beginning of narrative film, yet its magic is created within the bland and sometimes devastating concrete lots, sound stages and offices of producers and agents.

This course aims to explore the reality of Hollywood and how it has functioned over time, to examine and critique its presentation and reputation through film and media. The course includes critical viewings of films that are based on both the myth and reality of Hollywood as well as critical readings on historical context, news/gossip, and the history of American narrative film.

Only 35 seats are available for ENS352M. Once the course is filled please contact Nikkita (nhp1@hi.is) to be added onto a waiting list in case a spot opens up.

This course provides an overview of different theoretical ways to approach videogames. Individual learning will be fostered through selected texts, in-class and online discussion, and the practical application of the theories studied. Students will explore current issues in game studies from the perspective of the humanities and the use of narratology and other literary theories for the scholarly study of videogames as texts.

This course focuses on examining how the Tudors and the Tudor period are presented in 21st century fiction and film. Special emphasis is placed on examining 21st century portrayals of Henry VIII and his daughter Elizabeth I.

This research project is linked to the course ENS505G - The Tudor Period as Presented in Contemporary Literature and Films. Students in the course ENS022G are encouraged to attend the lectures in ENS505G. 

Please note that students who have previously completed ENS505G cannot take this course.

What does it mean for a word to have meaning? We use words to talk about the world around us and one tradition in linguistics, growing out of philosophy, anchors meaning in the real-world phenomena that we talk about. But words often represent a perspective or way of thinking about the world. Another tradition, allied with cognitive psychology, therefore characterises meaning in terms of our concepts and ideas about the world around us. It turns out however that one of the most important inputs into forming concepts is in fact our linguistic system itself. A third tradition therefore emphasises the dynamic potential of language for creating meanings. This tradition is rooted in the linguistic tradition of structuralism but also lies behind the success of current large language models of generative AI. In this course, we explore different approaches to the analysis of meaning and what they tell us about the relation between mind and language.

This course covers the nature of vocabulary acquisition: how vocabulary develops, is learned and taught. Various factors will be analyzed in detail, including, the role of pronunciation, word frequency, various learning strategies for vocabulary growth and considerable attention will be drawn to current research methodology in Vocabulary Acquisition. Students will review research as well as conduct a mini study.

Taught on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10 am (2. and 3. year students only)

This is an overview course that introduces major theories of second language acquisition and how they influence language instruction. We will examine research on the cognitive, linguistic, individual, social and educational factors that affect the language learning process and language attainment. The role of input on language learning will be examined as well as the development of reading and writing skills in a second language. 

MA-thesis in English.

Utilizing cartoons, jokes and comedy sketches to illustrate linguistic concepts, this course seeks to facilitate the understanding of these concepts. The course covers all the basic topics relating to the study of human language, including communication systems, sounds, words, phrases, sentences, language use, discourse, child language acquisition, and language variation and change. The unsual feature of this course is the use examples of humor, jokes and irony, which are often based on ambiguity. The goal is to make it easier to appreciate ambiguous information so common in language.

Recent years have seen an increased focus on data collection and statistical analysis within the humanities. This is particularly apparent in growing branches such as psycholinguistics, cognitive literary studies and experimental philosophy, to name a few. The push towards quantitative methods occurs at a time where the validity and reliability of well-established statistical methods are called into question in other fields, with increased demands of replicability and open access as well as data protection and responsibility. In this course, students explore the value of quantitative methods in their field while getting training in the collection and analysis of data. A diverse set of research methods will be introduced, ranging from surveys to corpus analysis and experiments in which participants’ response to stimuli (such as words, texts or audio-visual materials) is quantified. Basic concepts in statistics will be reviewed, enabling students to know the difference between descriptive and inferential statistics, understand statistical significance and interpret visual representations of data in graphs. The course will be largely practical and students are expected to apply their knowledge of data collection and analysis under the instructor’s guidance. Students will work on a project within their own discipline but will also explore the possibility of cross-disciplinary work. Open source tools such as R Studio will be used for all assignments but no prior knowledge of the software or statistics in general is required. The course is suitable for all students within the humanities who want to collect quantitative data to answer interesting questions and could therefore be a useful preparation for a BA or MA project.

This course looks at the ways in which women of history (in a broad sense) have been rewritten in historical fiction, focusing on some key texts published since 2000. It examines various aspects of the project of (re-)making space for women in an otherwise mostly male-dominated history, and how this challenges stereotypical classifications of women such as angels, virgins, witches and whores. Theories and criticism relating to the topic will be studied alongside the set texts, with focus on readings of the historical novel as feminist, revisionist and postmodern counter-narratives that question and challenge written history.

NB. This is not formally a distance course but students interested in taking it without attending on-site classes are encouraged to contact the teacher regarding possible arrangements.

This is an overview course that introduces major research methods in second language acquisition and teaching. Qualitative and quantitative research methods will be explored and their role in interpreting second language development. Student will examine real studies, develop a research plan, and conduct a pilot study. 

An important tradition in linguistics proposes that the patterns in which the arguments of a verb appear in the syntax are partially conditioned by the semantics of the verb. For instance, agents are always subjects, and verbs of externally caused change of state in English generally allow both transitive and intransitive uses. This course evaluates the evidence for this position and the theoretical tools that linguistics have used to capture the relevant generalisations.

Deborah Eisenberg’s post-9/11 short story “Twilight of the Superheroes” opens with an imaginary conversation between the protagonist and his hypothetical future grandchildren. He recounts the story of Y2K, “The year two-thousand! The new millennium!” when some were convinced the world would end. Ultimately, nothing happened; “It was a miracle. Over the face of the earth, from east to west and back again, nothing catastrophic happened at all” (38). That “miracle” was short-lived. The 21st century has been one of crisis and catastrophe, especially in the United States. In this course, students will read narratives that engage with contemporary crises, particularly 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the 2008 financial collapse, racially motivated violence against Black people, and the Covid-19 pandemic. The course uses literature to emphasize the web of connections linking these crises to one another—for instance, how post-9/11 racial profiling impacted rescue efforts during Hurricane Katrina, and how in turn Hurricane Katrina underscored systemic racial inequalities that came to a head during the Black Lives Matter movement.  Readings will include works by Jonathan Safran Foer, Khaled Hosseini, Dave Eggers, Jesmyn Ward, Michael Lewis, Celeste Ng, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Brit Bennett, and Gary Shteyngart, among others. Students will study and utilize relevant literary theory, including trauma theory, feminist theory, critical race theory, postmodernism, cultural studies, and new sincerity. 

As the internet has become an ever greater presence in our lives, it has become necessary to understand how this global connectivity has affected our society and culture. This course seeks to give students an understanding of their online lives and the forces that move them when they engage with social media. We will examine how the media has adapted to the online world, and how these two avenues of information shape each other. Students will be expected to reflect on their relationship with social media, and discuss their experiences in the digital landscape and their thoughts on the role social media plays in society. In this course, we will engage with material that examines the formation of social media, the dissemination of information across media, human behaviors both on-and offline, and the influence of social media on social and political movements. Students will learn to engage critically with online sources and gain insight into the internet as a field of academic research. They will learn about communication and sociological theories, critical media theory, and theories on moral panics, online radicalisation and internet antagonism. We will explore the often hidden parts of the online world, deeply embedded in pop culture, disinformation and conspiratorial thinking.

This course seeks to investigate the enigmatic and charismatic figure of the detective in detective fiction as well as some of the common tropes in literary works of this kind. Often eccentric and wonderfully witty, the character of the professional or amateur sleuth is one that has charmed and delighted readers since its invention. The detective, along with the subgenre named after this persona, has attracted legions of fans and enthusiasts who are drawn to mysteries and who are eager to solve puzzles or riddles, alongside their favourite private investigator.

Frequently followed by a well-meaning but clueless sidekick, the detective imparts his knowledge and findings to his assistant and to the audience alike, shedding light on the darkest and most baffling cases, much to the awe and excitement of those in his midst.

The European intellectual tradition is characterized by the strong links between academia and society. Many of the most important European thinkers of the 19th and 20th Centuries worked outside of the universities – and many of those who did pursue an ordinary academic career also were public commentators frequently intervening in political discussion of the day and in some cases gaining considerable influence. In this course we present a selection of European thinkers who have been important both as scholars and as public intellectuals. We read and discuss samples of their work and look at critical discussion of their ideas. We also reflect on the time and place of the "European" – to what extent their work is quinessentially Eurocentric and to what extent awareness of cultural contingency emerges.

This class will focus on film and television adaptations, with scripts derived from short stories, canonical works, popular and pulp fiction, as well as graphic novels and comics.

In this course we will focus on various literary works and corresponding adaptation theories relating to film adaptations and current television series. Key issues and concepts in this course  will be taught in relation to Modernism/Postmodernism and Origin/Intertextual play in Adaptation Theory and Cinema semiotics.

Course requirement:
Apart from the obligatory course text Adaptations and Appropriation by Julie Sanders, we will read significant articles on adaptation as well as selected short stories (provided by the tutor) that have undergone the transition process and been adapted to into films. Students are encouraged to participate in discussions in class.

MA-thesis in English.

In the courses Communication channels I and Communication channels II, the basics of methods for the dissemination of cultural material in the humanities and social sciences are presented. Communication channels I is in the fall semester, while Communication channels II is in the spring semester. 

In Communication channels I, the students are working with a) text and images in the first half of the semester and b) short documentaries in the second half of the course. Each subject weighs 50% in the course. Concerning a) Students will receive training in article writing and discourse analysis on the one hand and use of images and image analysis on the other.  Concerning b) Students work on making short documentaries. It includes basic training in screenwriting, shooting and editing, and students work in groups on a documentary, according to a specific theme. 

There are no exams in the course. Instead, students work on projects, individual and group projects. They are the following:

1. Analysis of texts and images
2. An article with an image on a specific theme for publication, about 800 words.
3. A group project where students work on a short documentary that is shown at the end of the course. Emphasis is placed on common themes and group work in the course. The course is not taught remotely.

In the course Communication channels II during the spring semester the students work with the following communication methods: a) oral presentation and b) exhibitions of cultural and historical material. Digital communication will be integrated into both aspects.

The students will work with the basics of oral presentation and practice in smaller and larger groups. Basic issues regarding the organization of conferences and seminars and their management will also be reviewed and a conference is held where all students present their projects. Digital communication will also be integrated into this section. Following is a section about exhibitions with connection to digital communication. The basics of exhibitions and different ways of presentation will be discussed.  The basics of digital communication will be covered, what are the main channels, advantages and disadvantages, and what rules apply to the presentation of texts on the web.

There are no exams in the course. Instead, students work on projects, individual and group projects. They are the following:

1. Lecture at a conference and other projects in that context
2. Exhibition analysis and a practical project in connection with exhibitions organized by the City History Museum (Borgarsögusafn)
3. Digital communication will be integrated into both aspects. Emphasis is placed on common themes and group work in the course.

The course is not taught remotely.

This seminar engages with theories on culture, narrative, and mediation. Active class participation is required.

All MA students in English are required to complete this seminar where they discuss relevant approaches to theory and research, their own research projects, preparing to introduce their findings at conferences and whorkshops, in Iceland or abroad. Evaluation is by participation: 2 short assignments and a presentation of a paper related to the student's coursework or final essay.

This course concerns the diverse connections between culture and language, as seen from the perspective of cultural history, social sciences and linguistics. Ancient and modern world languages will be introduced and their origins, influence and effects investigated. Written and spoken language will be discussed: what sorts of things are written, why and how? Rules and alternate perspectives on the nature of langauge will be considered, raising the question of how we understand man with respect to thought and language.

You are the perfect candidate if you have a burning desire to write fiction or poetry, and enjoy reading good books.

Aims include:

1. To sharpen awareness and improve skills through exercises in writing, and especially through revision

2. To provide practical criticism of work-in-progress in a workshop setting, along with advice about revisions and improvisation.

In addition to invoking the muse, students will learn practical writing skills such as organization, structure, characterization and dialogue. The course will also involve the examination of the work of key novel and short story writers, and poets. Throughout the course, students will develop their own work as well as improving their critical skills. Students will complete a short story or a small collection of poems by the end of the course.

Attendance requirement is 100% - you must attend one 1-hour presentation and one 2-hour workshop session per week. Not suitable for distance students.

Students who fulfil the prerequisites will be signed up. Sign up is on first come first served bases and there are 6 seats reserved for MA students and 6 seats reserved for BA students. Any unfilled seats for the course on August 30th will be offered to students on the waiting list. 

Jane Austen may be a recognizable staple of classic English literature in the 21^st century, but her mass popularity is a fairly recent development. This course will go back to Austen’s beginnings and investigate her as a female pioneer that she was, offering new, refreshing insight into some of her most beloved works, and reframing her importance through a feminist lens. The critical analysis will focus primarily on the late 20^th/early 21^st century reception and (re)framing of Austen’s work; we will investigate Austen’s role in the creation of the chick-lit and rom-com genres, and her overall influence on modern (post-) feminist literature.

What does Sunset Boulevard, double entendres, self-censorship, the Coen Brothers, and #metoo have in common? They all reveal that Hollywood is not quite the fantasy it poses to be.

A very real place and industry within Los Angeles, California, Hollywood has led in film production since the beginning of narrative film, yet its magic is created within the bland and sometimes devastating concrete lots, sound stages and offices of producers and agents.

This course aims to explore the reality of Hollywood and how it has functioned over time, to examine and critique its presentation and reputation through film and media. The course includes critical viewings of films that are based on both the myth and reality of Hollywood as well as critical readings on historical context, news/gossip, and the history of American narrative film.

Only 35 seats are available for ENS352M. Once the course is filled please contact Nikkita (nhp1@hi.is) to be added onto a waiting list in case a spot opens up.

This course provides an overview of different theoretical ways to approach videogames. Individual learning will be fostered through selected texts, in-class and online discussion, and the practical application of the theories studied. Students will explore current issues in game studies from the perspective of the humanities and the use of narratology and other literary theories for the scholarly study of videogames as texts.

This course focuses on examining how the Tudors and the Tudor period are presented in 21st century fiction and film. Special emphasis is placed on examining 21st century portrayals of Henry VIII and his daughter Elizabeth I.

This research project is linked to the course ENS505G - The Tudor Period as Presented in Contemporary Literature and Films. Students in the course ENS022G are encouraged to attend the lectures in ENS505G. 

Please note that students who have previously completed ENS505G cannot take this course.

What does it mean for a word to have meaning? We use words to talk about the world around us and one tradition in linguistics, growing out of philosophy, anchors meaning in the real-world phenomena that we talk about. But words often represent a perspective or way of thinking about the world. Another tradition, allied with cognitive psychology, therefore characterises meaning in terms of our concepts and ideas about the world around us. It turns out however that one of the most important inputs into forming concepts is in fact our linguistic system itself. A third tradition therefore emphasises the dynamic potential of language for creating meanings. This tradition is rooted in the linguistic tradition of structuralism but also lies behind the success of current large language models of generative AI. In this course, we explore different approaches to the analysis of meaning and what they tell us about the relation between mind and language.

This course covers the nature of vocabulary acquisition: how vocabulary develops, is learned and taught. Various factors will be analyzed in detail, including, the role of pronunciation, word frequency, various learning strategies for vocabulary growth and considerable attention will be drawn to current research methodology in Vocabulary Acquisition. Students will review research as well as conduct a mini study.

Taught on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10 am (2. and 3. year students only)

This is an overview course that introduces major theories of second language acquisition and how they influence language instruction. We will examine research on the cognitive, linguistic, individual, social and educational factors that affect the language learning process and language attainment. The role of input on language learning will be examined as well as the development of reading and writing skills in a second language. 

Utilizing cartoons, jokes and comedy sketches to illustrate linguistic concepts, this course seeks to facilitate the understanding of these concepts. The course covers all the basic topics relating to the study of human language, including communication systems, sounds, words, phrases, sentences, language use, discourse, child language acquisition, and language variation and change. The unsual feature of this course is the use examples of humor, jokes and irony, which are often based on ambiguity. The goal is to make it easier to appreciate ambiguous information so common in language.

Recent years have seen an increased focus on data collection and statistical analysis within the humanities. This is particularly apparent in growing branches such as psycholinguistics, cognitive literary studies and experimental philosophy, to name a few. The push towards quantitative methods occurs at a time where the validity and reliability of well-established statistical methods are called into question in other fields, with increased demands of replicability and open access as well as data protection and responsibility. In this course, students explore the value of quantitative methods in their field while getting training in the collection and analysis of data. A diverse set of research methods will be introduced, ranging from surveys to corpus analysis and experiments in which participants’ response to stimuli (such as words, texts or audio-visual materials) is quantified. Basic concepts in statistics will be reviewed, enabling students to know the difference between descriptive and inferential statistics, understand statistical significance and interpret visual representations of data in graphs. The course will be largely practical and students are expected to apply their knowledge of data collection and analysis under the instructor’s guidance. Students will work on a project within their own discipline but will also explore the possibility of cross-disciplinary work. Open source tools such as R Studio will be used for all assignments but no prior knowledge of the software or statistics in general is required. The course is suitable for all students within the humanities who want to collect quantitative data to answer interesting questions and could therefore be a useful preparation for a BA or MA project.

This course looks at the ways in which women of history (in a broad sense) have been rewritten in historical fiction, focusing on some key texts published since 2000. It examines various aspects of the project of (re-)making space for women in an otherwise mostly male-dominated history, and how this challenges stereotypical classifications of women such as angels, virgins, witches and whores. Theories and criticism relating to the topic will be studied alongside the set texts, with focus on readings of the historical novel as feminist, revisionist and postmodern counter-narratives that question and challenge written history.

NB. This is not formally a distance course but students interested in taking it without attending on-site classes are encouraged to contact the teacher regarding possible arrangements.

This is an overview course that introduces major research methods in second language acquisition and teaching. Qualitative and quantitative research methods will be explored and their role in interpreting second language development. Student will examine real studies, develop a research plan, and conduct a pilot study. 

An important tradition in linguistics proposes that the patterns in which the arguments of a verb appear in the syntax are partially conditioned by the semantics of the verb. For instance, agents are always subjects, and verbs of externally caused change of state in English generally allow both transitive and intransitive uses. This course evaluates the evidence for this position and the theoretical tools that linguistics have used to capture the relevant generalisations.

Deborah Eisenberg’s post-9/11 short story “Twilight of the Superheroes” opens with an imaginary conversation between the protagonist and his hypothetical future grandchildren. He recounts the story of Y2K, “The year two-thousand! The new millennium!” when some were convinced the world would end. Ultimately, nothing happened; “It was a miracle. Over the face of the earth, from east to west and back again, nothing catastrophic happened at all” (38). That “miracle” was short-lived. The 21st century has been one of crisis and catastrophe, especially in the United States. In this course, students will read narratives that engage with contemporary crises, particularly 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the 2008 financial collapse, racially motivated violence against Black people, and the Covid-19 pandemic. The course uses literature to emphasize the web of connections linking these crises to one another—for instance, how post-9/11 racial profiling impacted rescue efforts during Hurricane Katrina, and how in turn Hurricane Katrina underscored systemic racial inequalities that came to a head during the Black Lives Matter movement.  Readings will include works by Jonathan Safran Foer, Khaled Hosseini, Dave Eggers, Jesmyn Ward, Michael Lewis, Celeste Ng, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Brit Bennett, and Gary Shteyngart, among others. Students will study and utilize relevant literary theory, including trauma theory, feminist theory, critical race theory, postmodernism, cultural studies, and new sincerity. 

As the internet has become an ever greater presence in our lives, it has become necessary to understand how this global connectivity has affected our society and culture. This course seeks to give students an understanding of their online lives and the forces that move them when they engage with social media. We will examine how the media has adapted to the online world, and how these two avenues of information shape each other. Students will be expected to reflect on their relationship with social media, and discuss their experiences in the digital landscape and their thoughts on the role social media plays in society. In this course, we will engage with material that examines the formation of social media, the dissemination of information across media, human behaviors both on-and offline, and the influence of social media on social and political movements. Students will learn to engage critically with online sources and gain insight into the internet as a field of academic research. They will learn about communication and sociological theories, critical media theory, and theories on moral panics, online radicalisation and internet antagonism. We will explore the often hidden parts of the online world, deeply embedded in pop culture, disinformation and conspiratorial thinking.

This course seeks to investigate the enigmatic and charismatic figure of the detective in detective fiction as well as some of the common tropes in literary works of this kind. Often eccentric and wonderfully witty, the character of the professional or amateur sleuth is one that has charmed and delighted readers since its invention. The detective, along with the subgenre named after this persona, has attracted legions of fans and enthusiasts who are drawn to mysteries and who are eager to solve puzzles or riddles, alongside their favourite private investigator.

Frequently followed by a well-meaning but clueless sidekick, the detective imparts his knowledge and findings to his assistant and to the audience alike, shedding light on the darkest and most baffling cases, much to the awe and excitement of those in his midst.

The European intellectual tradition is characterized by the strong links between academia and society. Many of the most important European thinkers of the 19th and 20th Centuries worked outside of the universities – and many of those who did pursue an ordinary academic career also were public commentators frequently intervening in political discussion of the day and in some cases gaining considerable influence. In this course we present a selection of European thinkers who have been important both as scholars and as public intellectuals. We read and discuss samples of their work and look at critical discussion of their ideas. We also reflect on the time and place of the "European" – to what extent their work is quinessentially Eurocentric and to what extent awareness of cultural contingency emerges.

This class will focus on film and television adaptations, with scripts derived from short stories, canonical works, popular and pulp fiction, as well as graphic novels and comics.

In this course we will focus on various literary works and corresponding adaptation theories relating to film adaptations and current television series. Key issues and concepts in this course  will be taught in relation to Modernism/Postmodernism and Origin/Intertextual play in Adaptation Theory and Cinema semiotics.

Course requirement:
Apart from the obligatory course text Adaptations and Appropriation by Julie Sanders, we will read significant articles on adaptation as well as selected short stories (provided by the tutor) that have undergone the transition process and been adapted to into films. Students are encouraged to participate in discussions in class.

All MA students in English are required to complete this seminar where they discuss relevant approaches to theory and research, their own research projects, preparing to introduce their findings at conferences and whorkshops, in Iceland or abroad. Evaluation is by participation: 2 short assignments and a presentation of a paper related to the student's coursework or final essay.

You are the perfect candidate if you have a burning desire to write fiction or poetry, and enjoy reading good books.

Aims include:

1. To sharpen awareness and improve skills through exercises in writing, and especially through revision

2. To provide practical criticism of work-in-progress in a workshop setting, along with advice about revisions and improvisation.

In addition to invoking the muse, students will learn practical writing skills such as organization, structure, characterization and dialogue. The course will also involve the examination of the work of key novel and short story writers, and poets. Throughout the course, students will develop their own work as well as improving their critical skills. Students will complete a short story or a small collection of poems by the end of the course.

Attendance requirement is 100% - you must attend one 1-hour presentation and one 2-hour workshop session per week. Not suitable for distance students.

Students who fulfil the prerequisites will be signed up. Sign up is on first come first served bases and there are 6 seats reserved for MA students and 6 seats reserved for BA students. Any unfilled seats for the course on August 30th will be offered to students on the waiting list. 

Jane Austen may be a recognizable staple of classic English literature in the 21^st century, but her mass popularity is a fairly recent development. This course will go back to Austen’s beginnings and investigate her as a female pioneer that she was, offering new, refreshing insight into some of her most beloved works, and reframing her importance through a feminist lens. The critical analysis will focus primarily on the late 20^th/early 21^st century reception and (re)framing of Austen’s work; we will investigate Austen’s role in the creation of the chick-lit and rom-com genres, and her overall influence on modern (post-) feminist literature.

What does Sunset Boulevard, double entendres, self-censorship, the Coen Brothers, and #metoo have in common? They all reveal that Hollywood is not quite the fantasy it poses to be.

A very real place and industry within Los Angeles, California, Hollywood has led in film production since the beginning of narrative film, yet its magic is created within the bland and sometimes devastating concrete lots, sound stages and offices of producers and agents.

This course aims to explore the reality of Hollywood and how it has functioned over time, to examine and critique its presentation and reputation through film and media. The course includes critical viewings of films that are based on both the myth and reality of Hollywood as well as critical readings on historical context, news/gossip, and the history of American narrative film.

Only 35 seats are available for ENS352M. Once the course is filled please contact Nikkita (nhp1@hi.is) to be added onto a waiting list in case a spot opens up.

This course provides an overview of different theoretical ways to approach videogames. Individual learning will be fostered through selected texts, in-class and online discussion, and the practical application of the theories studied. Students will explore current issues in game studies from the perspective of the humanities and the use of narratology and other literary theories for the scholarly study of videogames as texts.

This course focuses on examining how the Tudors and the Tudor period are presented in 21st century fiction and film. Special emphasis is placed on examining 21st century portrayals of Henry VIII and his daughter Elizabeth I.

This research project is linked to the course ENS505G - The Tudor Period as Presented in Contemporary Literature and Films. Students in the course ENS022G are encouraged to attend the lectures in ENS505G. 

Please note that students who have previously completed ENS505G cannot take this course.

What does it mean for a word to have meaning? We use words to talk about the world around us and one tradition in linguistics, growing out of philosophy, anchors meaning in the real-world phenomena that we talk about. But words often represent a perspective or way of thinking about the world. Another tradition, allied with cognitive psychology, therefore characterises meaning in terms of our concepts and ideas about the world around us. It turns out however that one of the most important inputs into forming concepts is in fact our linguistic system itself. A third tradition therefore emphasises the dynamic potential of language for creating meanings. This tradition is rooted in the linguistic tradition of structuralism but also lies behind the success of current large language models of generative AI. In this course, we explore different approaches to the analysis of meaning and what they tell us about the relation between mind and language.

This course covers the nature of vocabulary acquisition: how vocabulary develops, is learned and taught. Various factors will be analyzed in detail, including, the role of pronunciation, word frequency, various learning strategies for vocabulary growth and considerable attention will be drawn to current research methodology in Vocabulary Acquisition. Students will review research as well as conduct a mini study.

Taught on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10 am (2. and 3. year students only)

This is an overview course that introduces major theories of second language acquisition and how they influence language instruction. We will examine research on the cognitive, linguistic, individual, social and educational factors that affect the language learning process and language attainment. The role of input on language learning will be examined as well as the development of reading and writing skills in a second language. 

MA-thesis in English.

Utilizing cartoons, jokes and comedy sketches to illustrate linguistic concepts, this course seeks to facilitate the understanding of these concepts. The course covers all the basic topics relating to the study of human language, including communication systems, sounds, words, phrases, sentences, language use, discourse, child language acquisition, and language variation and change. The unsual feature of this course is the use examples of humor, jokes and irony, which are often based on ambiguity. The goal is to make it easier to appreciate ambiguous information so common in language.

Recent years have seen an increased focus on data collection and statistical analysis within the humanities. This is particularly apparent in growing branches such as psycholinguistics, cognitive literary studies and experimental philosophy, to name a few. The push towards quantitative methods occurs at a time where the validity and reliability of well-established statistical methods are called into question in other fields, with increased demands of replicability and open access as well as data protection and responsibility. In this course, students explore the value of quantitative methods in their field while getting training in the collection and analysis of data. A diverse set of research methods will be introduced, ranging from surveys to corpus analysis and experiments in which participants’ response to stimuli (such as words, texts or audio-visual materials) is quantified. Basic concepts in statistics will be reviewed, enabling students to know the difference between descriptive and inferential statistics, understand statistical significance and interpret visual representations of data in graphs. The course will be largely practical and students are expected to apply their knowledge of data collection and analysis under the instructor’s guidance. Students will work on a project within their own discipline but will also explore the possibility of cross-disciplinary work. Open source tools such as R Studio will be used for all assignments but no prior knowledge of the software or statistics in general is required. The course is suitable for all students within the humanities who want to collect quantitative data to answer interesting questions and could therefore be a useful preparation for a BA or MA project.

This course looks at the ways in which women of history (in a broad sense) have been rewritten in historical fiction, focusing on some key texts published since 2000. It examines various aspects of the project of (re-)making space for women in an otherwise mostly male-dominated history, and how this challenges stereotypical classifications of women such as angels, virgins, witches and whores. Theories and criticism relating to the topic will be studied alongside the set texts, with focus on readings of the historical novel as feminist, revisionist and postmodern counter-narratives that question and challenge written history.

NB. This is not formally a distance course but students interested in taking it without attending on-site classes are encouraged to contact the teacher regarding possible arrangements.

This is an overview course that introduces major research methods in second language acquisition and teaching. Qualitative and quantitative research methods will be explored and their role in interpreting second language development. Student will examine real studies, develop a research plan, and conduct a pilot study. 

An important tradition in linguistics proposes that the patterns in which the arguments of a verb appear in the syntax are partially conditioned by the semantics of the verb. For instance, agents are always subjects, and verbs of externally caused change of state in English generally allow both transitive and intransitive uses. This course evaluates the evidence for this position and the theoretical tools that linguistics have used to capture the relevant generalisations.

Deborah Eisenberg’s post-9/11 short story “Twilight of the Superheroes” opens with an imaginary conversation between the protagonist and his hypothetical future grandchildren. He recounts the story of Y2K, “The year two-thousand! The new millennium!” when some were convinced the world would end. Ultimately, nothing happened; “It was a miracle. Over the face of the earth, from east to west and back again, nothing catastrophic happened at all” (38). That “miracle” was short-lived. The 21st century has been one of crisis and catastrophe, especially in the United States. In this course, students will read narratives that engage with contemporary crises, particularly 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the 2008 financial collapse, racially motivated violence against Black people, and the Covid-19 pandemic. The course uses literature to emphasize the web of connections linking these crises to one another—for instance, how post-9/11 racial profiling impacted rescue efforts during Hurricane Katrina, and how in turn Hurricane Katrina underscored systemic racial inequalities that came to a head during the Black Lives Matter movement.  Readings will include works by Jonathan Safran Foer, Khaled Hosseini, Dave Eggers, Jesmyn Ward, Michael Lewis, Celeste Ng, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Brit Bennett, and Gary Shteyngart, among others. Students will study and utilize relevant literary theory, including trauma theory, feminist theory, critical race theory, postmodernism, cultural studies, and new sincerity. 

As the internet has become an ever greater presence in our lives, it has become necessary to understand how this global connectivity has affected our society and culture. This course seeks to give students an understanding of their online lives and the forces that move them when they engage with social media. We will examine how the media has adapted to the online world, and how these two avenues of information shape each other. Students will be expected to reflect on their relationship with social media, and discuss their experiences in the digital landscape and their thoughts on the role social media plays in society. In this course, we will engage with material that examines the formation of social media, the dissemination of information across media, human behaviors both on-and offline, and the influence of social media on social and political movements. Students will learn to engage critically with online sources and gain insight into the internet as a field of academic research. They will learn about communication and sociological theories, critical media theory, and theories on moral panics, online radicalisation and internet antagonism. We will explore the often hidden parts of the online world, deeply embedded in pop culture, disinformation and conspiratorial thinking.

This course seeks to investigate the enigmatic and charismatic figure of the detective in detective fiction as well as some of the common tropes in literary works of this kind. Often eccentric and wonderfully witty, the character of the professional or amateur sleuth is one that has charmed and delighted readers since its invention. The detective, along with the subgenre named after this persona, has attracted legions of fans and enthusiasts who are drawn to mysteries and who are eager to solve puzzles or riddles, alongside their favourite private investigator.

Frequently followed by a well-meaning but clueless sidekick, the detective imparts his knowledge and findings to his assistant and to the audience alike, shedding light on the darkest and most baffling cases, much to the awe and excitement of those in his midst.

The European intellectual tradition is characterized by the strong links between academia and society. Many of the most important European thinkers of the 19th and 20th Centuries worked outside of the universities – and many of those who did pursue an ordinary academic career also were public commentators frequently intervening in political discussion of the day and in some cases gaining considerable influence. In this course we present a selection of European thinkers who have been important both as scholars and as public intellectuals. We read and discuss samples of their work and look at critical discussion of their ideas. We also reflect on the time and place of the "European" – to what extent their work is quinessentially Eurocentric and to what extent awareness of cultural contingency emerges.

This class will focus on film and television adaptations, with scripts derived from short stories, canonical works, popular and pulp fiction, as well as graphic novels and comics.

In this course we will focus on various literary works and corresponding adaptation theories relating to film adaptations and current television series. Key issues and concepts in this course  will be taught in relation to Modernism/Postmodernism and Origin/Intertextual play in Adaptation Theory and Cinema semiotics.

Course requirement:
Apart from the obligatory course text Adaptations and Appropriation by Julie Sanders, we will read significant articles on adaptation as well as selected short stories (provided by the tutor) that have undergone the transition process and been adapted to into films. Students are encouraged to participate in discussions in class.

MA-thesis in English.

In the courses Communication channels I and Communication channels II, the basics of methods for the dissemination of cultural material in the humanities and social sciences are presented. Communication channels I is in the fall semester, while Communication channels II is in the spring semester. 

In Communication channels I, the students are working with a) text and images in the first half of the semester and b) short documentaries in the second half of the course. Each subject weighs 50% in the course. Concerning a) Students will receive training in article writing and discourse analysis on the one hand and use of images and image analysis on the other.  Concerning b) Students work on making short documentaries. It includes basic training in screenwriting, shooting and editing, and students work in groups on a documentary, according to a specific theme. 

There are no exams in the course. Instead, students work on projects, individual and group projects. They are the following:

1. Analysis of texts and images
2. An article with an image on a specific theme for publication, about 800 words.
3. A group project where students work on a short documentary that is shown at the end of the course. Emphasis is placed on common themes and group work in the course. The course is not taught remotely.

In the course Communication channels II during the spring semester the students work with the following communication methods: a) oral presentation and b) exhibitions of cultural and historical material. Digital communication will be integrated into both aspects.

The students will work with the basics of oral presentation and practice in smaller and larger groups. Basic issues regarding the organization of conferences and seminars and their management will also be reviewed and a conference is held where all students present their projects. Digital communication will also be integrated into this section. Following is a section about exhibitions with connection to digital communication. The basics of exhibitions and different ways of presentation will be discussed.  The basics of digital communication will be covered, what are the main channels, advantages and disadvantages, and what rules apply to the presentation of texts on the web.

There are no exams in the course. Instead, students work on projects, individual and group projects. They are the following:

1. Lecture at a conference and other projects in that context
2. Exhibition analysis and a practical project in connection with exhibitions organized by the City History Museum (Borgarsögusafn)
3. Digital communication will be integrated into both aspects. Emphasis is placed on common themes and group work in the course.

The course is not taught remotely.