In a historical context art has been the facet of society where innovation and progressive thinking has been of most value. This forward-looking aspect of art has non-the-less always depended upon its historical precedents—previous art practice. It is in this context that contemporary artists are constantly renewing their previous premises. At the same time contemporary art worlds are by nature complex structures—an increasing mix of different media and influences, where artists of necessity are informed by theoretical, social, political, and economic premises. In accord with that, contemporary cultural premises are in constant flux, dependent upon changes in technology, urbanisation, globalisation, and climate, in addition to a more volatile political field. It is in response to these issues that the nature of artistic practice is constantly changing. For these reasons it is adamant to constantly re-conceptualise the analysis of art and its function in society, where novel ideas and definitions, such as the 'Anthropocene' and the 'posthuman', can be utilised to understand better the situation of art in human society. In this course we re-examine the theoretical premises of contemporary art practice via research of the field of art—historical and contemporary—through research based on the interplay of art with diverse fields of study: history, philosophy, literature, media and film studies, anthropology, political theory, geography, sociology.

The course lays the foundation for the active work of curators for practical work in the field of art and museums. We work in an interdisciplinary and critical way with concepts and theories that relate to the work of curators in the field of contemporary art. Students work in teams and set up an exhibition in collaboration with art students or artists. Students will apply knowledge and methods to practical issues, work on preparation, design, text writing and preparation of promotional material in connection with an exhibition. The course is partly run in collaboration with the Master's program in art at the University of Iceland, and students will have the opportunity to collaborate with the University of Iceland Art Museum and other recognised art museums.

In recent decades, theoretical contexts of art historiography and art criticism have been thoroughly reexamined. New theories, new data and digital technologies have led to a drastic change in research questions and approaches. Critical concepts such as intersectionality, inclusion, sustainability, social activism, and environment have led to new methodologies and different perspectives. In this course, these approaches will be discussed though reading the latest research in the field of art and cultural history. Ideas about the global artworlds and its cultural and political connections will be examined in detail, a variety of topics will be discussed and dissected in writing.

MA-thesis 

MA-thesis 

The sensations of smell and taste are crucial dimensions of the work of several contemporary artists and serve a variety of purposes in artistic practice. In this course we will consider the foundations of art history on the basis of a sensory hierarchy, in which vision and hearing has traditionally been prioritized over the sensations of touch, smell and taste. We will discuss how this hierarchy converges with the distinction of humans from animals and with the hierarchical classification of the human sexes and races within the western philosophical tradition. Students will be introduced to new theories within aesthetics and art theory that seek to reveal and analyse the historical, political and philosophical basis of this hierarchy and its continued effect in the present. In this context, we will examine the work of artists who directly or indirectly mobilize the sensations of smell and taste in their practice and consider the role of the olfactory and the gustatory in artistic practice from the 20th century to the present moment.

The aim of the course is to provide students with a more comprehensive and deeper insight into the different theoretical approaches within the humanities. In the course, the main theories that have influenced theoretical discussion in the humanities over the last decades will be presented and discussed, and the students are taught how to apply them in their own research.

Training in various aspects of the writing and editing of scientific texts. Various kinds of texts (non-fiction) examined and evaluated. Training in reviewing and commenting on scientific texts and in other aspects of editorial work. The main emphasis will be on the writing of articles, but other kinds of texts will also be considered, both shorter (conference abstracts, reviews) and longer (theses, books), as well as research proposals. Discussion of guidelines for the preparation of manuscripts. Types of plagiarism and how to avoid them and find them. Texts on different subjects will be used as examples, especially writings in linguistics, literature and history. The book Skrifaðu bæði skýrt og rétt will be used as a textbook (Höskuldur Þráinsson 2015).

This course is open to students of many MA programmes in the School of Humanities, cf. the regulations of the individual subjects. Students in the MA programmes in Icelandic literature, Icelandic linguistics, Icelandic studies and Icelandic teaching can take the course as part of the MA course requirements in Icelandic literature or Icelandic linguistics. Students in the MA programme in Icelandic teaching can, however, not have this course as the only linguistics or literature course in their MA.

The course provides an introduction to experimental film and film theory within the context of fine art. Various epochs and the critical responses that they provoked are defined and analysed. We look at different theoretical frameworks, such as Modernism, Humanism, Structuralism, Postmodernism, and the Anti-Aesthetic and make use of works by authors such as Kant, Nietzsche, Marx, Lacan, Bazin, Baudrillard, McLuhan and Jameson in order to analyse these. This theoretical framework provides a lens to interpret avant-garde cinema and fine art movements beginning with the emergence of expressionism. The course seeks to interpret the role of individualism via mass media as we explore various artists and filmmakers whose works are relevant in the context of this theoretical framework. Emphasis is placed on the viewing of time-based media that illustrate the various theories presented during the course, with a focus being on artists and filmmakers who have embraced these ideologies within their practice.

We will discuss religious motives in European fine art from early christianity up to the present. The importance of the christian churches for art history will be our subject matter, both in terms of the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. Special focus will be on the changes that occurred with the renaissance, the reformation, and the age of enlightenment. The we will examine the effects of the secularisation of art and the origins of modern art in late 19thcentury and early 20th century. We will also deal with the various art movements that appeared in the late 20th century and their relationship with christianity as wells as other religions, such as japanese and chinese.

The the aim of the individual practice based research work is to become familiar with reserch and mediation in a museum, a gallery or other art institution, such as the University of Iceland Art Collection. It can also be carried out within an art institution abroad.

The the aim of the individual practice based research work is to become familiar with reserch and mediation in a museum, a gallery or other art institution, such as the University of Iceland Art Collection. It can also be carried out within an art institution abroad.

Modernism and postmodernism constitute perhaps the central artistic movements of the 20th century – it is even possible to see the century as divided between the periods associated with the twin aesthetic concepts. The invention of cinema itself harks back to the tumultous area of technological change and social upheavals that brought about the revolutionary artistic movements of the first decades of the century, while the development of the medium of film is no less closely aligned with the process of globalization, dizzying forms of cultural change and rapid pace of technological progress that constitute the postmodern condition. These connections between the medium of film and modernism and postmodernism demarcate the central research questions addressed in the class.

Among the themes and issues tackled in the class is how even the most radical avant garde artists found the „attractions“ of cinema hard to resist, these involving the range between experimental films and the works of Charlie Chaplin. Modernist critiques of cinema will however not be ignored, and these include the portrayal of mainstream Hollywood as a „culture industry“. Questions will be asked about the radical aesthetic reconfiguration of modernism as it moved between media to film, and in that context the class will be looking at Italian Neo-realism and the French New Wave. Next, the class will turn to the role of cinema in the development of the society of spectacle, paying attention to the suddenly troublesome and contested existence of the concept of „truth“ in postmodern times, nostalgia as a mode, the emergence of simulacra and the threat that notions of intertextuality and remediation pose to notions of originality and the „integrity“ of the work of art. Among films screened in the class will be Modern Times (Chaplin, 1936), Diary of a Country Priest (Bresson, 1951), Umberto D. (De Sica, 1952), Videodrome (Cronenberg, 1982), Blue Velvet (Lynch, 1986) and The Matrix (Wachowskis, 1999). Among the scholars to be read in the class are David Bordwell, Owen Hatherley, Jean-François Lyotard and Mark Fisher.

This seminar deals with the cultural milieu of Bohemianism, focusing on the various mythological guises of the Bohemian. Idlers and workaholics, aristocrats and outcasts, hedonists and ascetics, drunkards and teetotallers, misunderstood geniuses and scapegraces, all find their place in this history. The main aspect linking these different images is the position at the margin of bourgeois culture and the seminar aims to arrive at an understanding of the role of this counter-cultural milieu. The main emphasis is on the image of the Bohemian in modern European literature, but students will also deal with manifestations of Bohemia in film, visual art, advertising and other media from the mid-19th century to the present day.

The course is run in cooperation with the state radio station: RÚV - Rás 1. Discussion will take place into the presentation of radio/audio material, various examples being examined. Attention will be given to the nature of audio communication and the possibilities of audio communication in the present media environment. Attention is also paid to concept development, interview techniques, recording techniques, dramaturgy and editing, accentuating sustainability and self-reliance. All students will complete a final project involving the making of radio programmes.

The course reviews cultural studies on the whole and focuses on its value as a radical form of social and cultural criticism. Texts of key authors from the 19th Century and until recent years are discussed with the very concept of culture as a central issue and the question of its meaning for critical reflexion on society, history and contemporaneity. The interpellation of cultural criticism and the study of culture is scrutinized and the way in which this relationship is central for cultural studies. This conflict, which can be felt in older and recent texts has for the last decades been a fertile gound for the humanities in general and characterizes their connection to cultural politics. Concepts such as ideology, power, hegemony, gender and discourse play a central role in the discussion.

Constant technological development and emphasis on digital solutions has brought about frequent and numerous changes in the role of the webmaster. In this course, Efforts will be made to provide students with good insight into the main aspects of the webmaster's work. The writings of experts and scholars will be examined, and students will be introduced to the necessary tools and equipment. Professionals in the field will visit and share their experience with students.

The job of a web editor is often integrated with general web management. Students get a good insight into web editing and writing for digital media. The main aspects that a webmaster / web editor needs to be able to master will be discussed, such as information architecture, writing for the web, presentation of images, fundamentals in web design, accessibility, usability, security, analytics, content management systems (CMS), and basic web interface technology.

Students set up their own websites and use a CMS of their choice, e.g., WordPress or Wix, which are both available in free versions, and some of the assignments are submitted on there. In this way, students gain training in setting up a simple website. Particular attention is drawn to the fact that instruction in the use of the CMS is not part of the course. Those who have no or limited experience, in the use of CMS, are advised that YouTube has numerous videos where you can learn about the systems, from the basics to much more complex aspects that are expected in this course.

Performance Studies is the study of how humans create meaning and identity through shared activities ranging from traditional ritual and religion to storytelling and the arts as well as sports, stand-up comedy, festivals, masking traditions, civic ceremonies, political action and protest, dinner parties, and the virtual world. The course introduces students to theories about the wide range of semiotics involved in performance, from spoken text, to costume and appearance, expression and gesture, gender, social contexts, timing and use of space, as well as audience reception.

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

This course focuses on socially and politically engaged art in the current condition of warfare and environmental crisis, polarisation, crumbling welfare states, European disintegration, artificial scarcity of resources and job opportunities, resurgent nationalism and the rise of neo-fascism as a convincing socio-political discourse. Of particular interest in the course is the importance of infrastructure as a contemporary political category and the attempts of artists to affect and change existing infrastructures — and create new ones. This focus includes theoretical attention to Marina Vishmidt‘s formulation of infrastructural critique and ruangrupa‘s curation of Documenta 15 in 2022.

The beginning of the 21st century has seen profound changes to the social and economic organization of societies that are to a large extent based on technological advances. Yet, in opposition to the early 20th century's avant-garde, the 21st does not show the same tendency for grandiose statements about revolutionary movements within art. There are however a few artistic tendencies that have been articulated as aesthetic movements of the 21st century, among them the Post-digital aesthetic that addresses the prevalence of digital culture and how it has altered the production and perception of works even of those artists who do not directly relate their works to the influence of contemporary technology. To address this shift in the conditions of art production, we will contemplate the Post-digital aesthetic and compare it with the associated or even competing terms of Post-internet art and the New Aesthetic. We will also compare manifestos such the "Accelerationist Manifesto" and the "Cyberspace Manifesto" with traditional avant-garde manifestos of Futurism. This will help students to formulate a critical stance towards possible continuities within avant-garde traditions and the complexities involved in addressing an evolving aesthetic of the 21st century.

The course discusses the philosophical and theoretical foundations of gender studies, and the critical and interdisciplinary content of the field. The representation and meaning of sex and gender in language, culture, history, science, and society is explored. The analytical perspective of the field is presented, as is its relationship with methodology. Students are trained in applying theoretical concepts and methods independently and critically.

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

The the aim of the individual practice based research work is to become familiar with reserch and mediation in a museum, a gallery or other art institution, such as the University of Iceland Art Collection. It can also be carried out within an art institution abroad.

The the aim of the individual practice based research work is to become familiar with reserch and mediation in a museum, a gallery or other art institution, such as the University of Iceland Art Collection. It can also be carried out within an art institution abroad.

By focusing on folk tales, literature and other relevant sources, the course discusses the manifestations of nature and the supernatural in Icelandic narrative culture throughout the centuries. Students will learn about the significance, interface, and unclear boundaries of these phenomena and how they have shaped society and the environment as well. Students will thus get to know different ideas about the position of people and (other) animals within, above or "outside" of nature. Through diverse lectures and assignments, topics such as humanity vs. animality, the known world vs. other worlds, and materiality vs. the supernatural, will be discussed from critical points of view. The roles and forms of landscape, organisms, bodies, weather, and natural phenomena in the narrative culture will be explored. The latest research in this broad field will be presented, such as on the representation of earthquakes and celestial bodies, bears, whales, seals, and domestic animals, and on the supernatural creatures of nature and other mythological creatures such as fairies, ghosts, trolls, and berserks. Students will learn how story worlds and folklore have left their mark on the perception of nature, folk traditions, folk customs, and social spaces such as enchanted spots, sacred places and hunted places. We also ask how these narratives appear in folk art and visual art, from previous centuries to the present. Finally, we will explore the significance of nature narratives and the supernatural in the context of the Anthropocene, human perspectives, climate change, and the different statuses of social groups and species

In this course, diverse manifestations of innovation in culture and communication, will be discussed, with focus on digital technology. Emphasis will be placed on the activities and management of organisations that work in communication and the creative industries. The role of innovation and the creative economy, societal innovation, and how to sustain entrepreneurship in projects will be discussed. Opportunities for utilisation will be explored and methods will be introduced to support the discovery, analysis and application of such opportunities. 

An introduction to the collaboration and division of work between an editor and a graphic designer in the creation of printed work with emphasis on the importance of typography. Students will gain insight into the basis of typography and preparation for print as well as learning about the graphic designer's tools in context with principal kinds of print. The course will include readings and discourse on the influence of graphic design on legibility and understanding, as well as discourse on quality, usefulness, aesthetics and practicality in graphic design.

The student will present and hand in a written analysis on a printed good of their own choice and are also encouraged to actively participate in discussions in class. The final project consists of creating your own publishing project and communicate ideas on its editing grahpically and in writing.

The basic types of documentaries will be discussed as well as methods of documentary making, editing and cinematography. Emphasis will be put on practical projects and students will be required to make at least one documentary during the course.

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.

The course deals with interconnections between political radicalism, culture, tradition and power. We will focus on contemporary representations of dissent in particular, look at the discourse of democracy and cultural difference, reactions to and criticism of protest in the Western political tradition and dissent in more repressive political systems. The role of intellectuals and writers will be explored as well as the function of artistic expression and design in transforming cultural and social environments. We will also discuss media and social media discourse in connection with an attempt to understand the various and sometimes contradictory objectives of public institutions. A few points of conflict will be discussed that to some extent expose fundamental conflicts in liberal democratic societies such as questions about the wisdom and ignorance of publics, reactions to climate change, inequality and extreme poverty. Finally corruption and power will be discussed as well as social and cultural expression, the possibilities and limitations of freedom of speech, the use and abuse of information, disinformation, secrecy, fake and “fake news”.

This course examines professionalism, using case studies from museum work in Iceland, from a broad, interdisciplinary theoretical perspectives and debates. This course should therefore appeal to students from a variety of disciplines, including museology, archaeology, art studies, cultural studies, anthropology and folklore. The case studies are related to the variable works of museums, including management, organisation, collection, conservation, research and communication.

Furthermore, methods of assessment will be considered, both from the angle of the museum visitor as well as self-appraisals of the museums themselves (approaches to - and processing of information). The subject of the case studies are variable, including administration, gender considerations, accessibility, conservation of archaeological artefacts, research into visual cultural heritage, freedom of expression, housing and building affairs, gifts to museums and more.

In this course, experts and specialists (from Iceland and abroad), working in museum sector will give talks, sharing their knowledge and their experience. Students will choose one day over the semester, for a one day career day at a museum in Reykjavík, where a member of staff will tell them about the museum‘s main activities and demonstrate basic entry input in their electronic database. Students will work with the staff for the remainder of the day.

The course is taught distance learning, with short, online lectures by teachers and guest-lecturers. It also includes three full day on-campus (or Zoom, should that be needed) lecture days, where students will visit museums around Reykjavík and listen to lectures from a variety of people. Attendance is required during the three day on-campus and Zoom days.

Final grade is based on completing written assignments during the semester, attendance for full-day on-campus/zoom days and the career day.

The societal role of museums will be discussed from several angles: economic, political, cultural, social and last but not least in an international context. Examples of topics that will be discussed in the course are the role of museums in building the concept of the nation; the legal environment of museums; how museums are run; the status and role of the main museums; museums owned and run by local authorities and other museums; the financing of museums, and the policies of authorities regarding museums. Both national and foreign examples will be taken. 

Work format

Teaching will take the form of lectures and discussions.

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

In a historical context art has been the facet of society where innovation and progressive thinking has been of most value. This forward-looking aspect of art has non-the-less always depended upon its historical precedents—previous art practice. It is in this context that contemporary artists are constantly renewing their previous premises. At the same time contemporary art worlds are by nature complex structures—an increasing mix of different media and influences, where artists of necessity are informed by theoretical, social, political, and economic premises. In accord with that, contemporary cultural premises are in constant flux, dependent upon changes in technology, urbanisation, globalisation, and climate, in addition to a more volatile political field. It is in response to these issues that the nature of artistic practice is constantly changing. For these reasons it is adamant to constantly re-conceptualise the analysis of art and its function in society, where novel ideas and definitions, such as the 'Anthropocene' and the 'posthuman', can be utilised to understand better the situation of art in human society. In this course we re-examine the theoretical premises of contemporary art practice via research of the field of art—historical and contemporary—through research based on the interplay of art with diverse fields of study: history, philosophy, literature, media and film studies, anthropology, political theory, geography, sociology.

The course lays the foundation for the active work of curators for practical work in the field of art and museums. We work in an interdisciplinary and critical way with concepts and theories that relate to the work of curators in the field of contemporary art. Students work in teams and set up an exhibition in collaboration with art students or artists. Students will apply knowledge and methods to practical issues, work on preparation, design, text writing and preparation of promotional material in connection with an exhibition. The course is partly run in collaboration with the Master's program in art at the University of Iceland, and students will have the opportunity to collaborate with the University of Iceland Art Museum and other recognised art museums.

In recent decades, theoretical contexts of art historiography and art criticism have been thoroughly reexamined. New theories, new data and digital technologies have led to a drastic change in research questions and approaches. Critical concepts such as intersectionality, inclusion, sustainability, social activism, and environment have led to new methodologies and different perspectives. In this course, these approaches will be discussed though reading the latest research in the field of art and cultural history. Ideas about the global artworlds and its cultural and political connections will be examined in detail, a variety of topics will be discussed and dissected in writing.

MA-thesis 

MA-thesis 

The sensations of smell and taste are crucial dimensions of the work of several contemporary artists and serve a variety of purposes in artistic practice. In this course we will consider the foundations of art history on the basis of a sensory hierarchy, in which vision and hearing has traditionally been prioritized over the sensations of touch, smell and taste. We will discuss how this hierarchy converges with the distinction of humans from animals and with the hierarchical classification of the human sexes and races within the western philosophical tradition. Students will be introduced to new theories within aesthetics and art theory that seek to reveal and analyse the historical, political and philosophical basis of this hierarchy and its continued effect in the present. In this context, we will examine the work of artists who directly or indirectly mobilize the sensations of smell and taste in their practice and consider the role of the olfactory and the gustatory in artistic practice from the 20th century to the present moment.

The aim of the course is to provide students with a more comprehensive and deeper insight into the different theoretical approaches within the humanities. In the course, the main theories that have influenced theoretical discussion in the humanities over the last decades will be presented and discussed, and the students are taught how to apply them in their own research.

Training in various aspects of the writing and editing of scientific texts. Various kinds of texts (non-fiction) examined and evaluated. Training in reviewing and commenting on scientific texts and in other aspects of editorial work. The main emphasis will be on the writing of articles, but other kinds of texts will also be considered, both shorter (conference abstracts, reviews) and longer (theses, books), as well as research proposals. Discussion of guidelines for the preparation of manuscripts. Types of plagiarism and how to avoid them and find them. Texts on different subjects will be used as examples, especially writings in linguistics, literature and history. The book Skrifaðu bæði skýrt og rétt will be used as a textbook (Höskuldur Þráinsson 2015).

This course is open to students of many MA programmes in the School of Humanities, cf. the regulations of the individual subjects. Students in the MA programmes in Icelandic literature, Icelandic linguistics, Icelandic studies and Icelandic teaching can take the course as part of the MA course requirements in Icelandic literature or Icelandic linguistics. Students in the MA programme in Icelandic teaching can, however, not have this course as the only linguistics or literature course in their MA.

The course provides an introduction to experimental film and film theory within the context of fine art. Various epochs and the critical responses that they provoked are defined and analysed. We look at different theoretical frameworks, such as Modernism, Humanism, Structuralism, Postmodernism, and the Anti-Aesthetic and make use of works by authors such as Kant, Nietzsche, Marx, Lacan, Bazin, Baudrillard, McLuhan and Jameson in order to analyse these. This theoretical framework provides a lens to interpret avant-garde cinema and fine art movements beginning with the emergence of expressionism. The course seeks to interpret the role of individualism via mass media as we explore various artists and filmmakers whose works are relevant in the context of this theoretical framework. Emphasis is placed on the viewing of time-based media that illustrate the various theories presented during the course, with a focus being on artists and filmmakers who have embraced these ideologies within their practice.

We will discuss religious motives in European fine art from early christianity up to the present. The importance of the christian churches for art history will be our subject matter, both in terms of the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. Special focus will be on the changes that occurred with the renaissance, the reformation, and the age of enlightenment. The we will examine the effects of the secularisation of art and the origins of modern art in late 19thcentury and early 20th century. We will also deal with the various art movements that appeared in the late 20th century and their relationship with christianity as wells as other religions, such as japanese and chinese.

The the aim of the individual practice based research work is to become familiar with reserch and mediation in a museum, a gallery or other art institution, such as the University of Iceland Art Collection. It can also be carried out within an art institution abroad.

The the aim of the individual practice based research work is to become familiar with reserch and mediation in a museum, a gallery or other art institution, such as the University of Iceland Art Collection. It can also be carried out within an art institution abroad.

Modernism and postmodernism constitute perhaps the central artistic movements of the 20th century – it is even possible to see the century as divided between the periods associated with the twin aesthetic concepts. The invention of cinema itself harks back to the tumultous area of technological change and social upheavals that brought about the revolutionary artistic movements of the first decades of the century, while the development of the medium of film is no less closely aligned with the process of globalization, dizzying forms of cultural change and rapid pace of technological progress that constitute the postmodern condition. These connections between the medium of film and modernism and postmodernism demarcate the central research questions addressed in the class.

Among the themes and issues tackled in the class is how even the most radical avant garde artists found the „attractions“ of cinema hard to resist, these involving the range between experimental films and the works of Charlie Chaplin. Modernist critiques of cinema will however not be ignored, and these include the portrayal of mainstream Hollywood as a „culture industry“. Questions will be asked about the radical aesthetic reconfiguration of modernism as it moved between media to film, and in that context the class will be looking at Italian Neo-realism and the French New Wave. Next, the class will turn to the role of cinema in the development of the society of spectacle, paying attention to the suddenly troublesome and contested existence of the concept of „truth“ in postmodern times, nostalgia as a mode, the emergence of simulacra and the threat that notions of intertextuality and remediation pose to notions of originality and the „integrity“ of the work of art. Among films screened in the class will be Modern Times (Chaplin, 1936), Diary of a Country Priest (Bresson, 1951), Umberto D. (De Sica, 1952), Videodrome (Cronenberg, 1982), Blue Velvet (Lynch, 1986) and The Matrix (Wachowskis, 1999). Among the scholars to be read in the class are David Bordwell, Owen Hatherley, Jean-François Lyotard and Mark Fisher.

This seminar deals with the cultural milieu of Bohemianism, focusing on the various mythological guises of the Bohemian. Idlers and workaholics, aristocrats and outcasts, hedonists and ascetics, drunkards and teetotallers, misunderstood geniuses and scapegraces, all find their place in this history. The main aspect linking these different images is the position at the margin of bourgeois culture and the seminar aims to arrive at an understanding of the role of this counter-cultural milieu. The main emphasis is on the image of the Bohemian in modern European literature, but students will also deal with manifestations of Bohemia in film, visual art, advertising and other media from the mid-19th century to the present day.

The course is run in cooperation with the state radio station: RÚV - Rás 1. Discussion will take place into the presentation of radio/audio material, various examples being examined. Attention will be given to the nature of audio communication and the possibilities of audio communication in the present media environment. Attention is also paid to concept development, interview techniques, recording techniques, dramaturgy and editing, accentuating sustainability and self-reliance. All students will complete a final project involving the making of radio programmes.

The course reviews cultural studies on the whole and focuses on its value as a radical form of social and cultural criticism. Texts of key authors from the 19th Century and until recent years are discussed with the very concept of culture as a central issue and the question of its meaning for critical reflexion on society, history and contemporaneity. The interpellation of cultural criticism and the study of culture is scrutinized and the way in which this relationship is central for cultural studies. This conflict, which can be felt in older and recent texts has for the last decades been a fertile gound for the humanities in general and characterizes their connection to cultural politics. Concepts such as ideology, power, hegemony, gender and discourse play a central role in the discussion.

Constant technological development and emphasis on digital solutions has brought about frequent and numerous changes in the role of the webmaster. In this course, Efforts will be made to provide students with good insight into the main aspects of the webmaster's work. The writings of experts and scholars will be examined, and students will be introduced to the necessary tools and equipment. Professionals in the field will visit and share their experience with students.

The job of a web editor is often integrated with general web management. Students get a good insight into web editing and writing for digital media. The main aspects that a webmaster / web editor needs to be able to master will be discussed, such as information architecture, writing for the web, presentation of images, fundamentals in web design, accessibility, usability, security, analytics, content management systems (CMS), and basic web interface technology.

Students set up their own websites and use a CMS of their choice, e.g., WordPress or Wix, which are both available in free versions, and some of the assignments are submitted on there. In this way, students gain training in setting up a simple website. Particular attention is drawn to the fact that instruction in the use of the CMS is not part of the course. Those who have no or limited experience, in the use of CMS, are advised that YouTube has numerous videos where you can learn about the systems, from the basics to much more complex aspects that are expected in this course.

Performance Studies is the study of how humans create meaning and identity through shared activities ranging from traditional ritual and religion to storytelling and the arts as well as sports, stand-up comedy, festivals, masking traditions, civic ceremonies, political action and protest, dinner parties, and the virtual world. The course introduces students to theories about the wide range of semiotics involved in performance, from spoken text, to costume and appearance, expression and gesture, gender, social contexts, timing and use of space, as well as audience reception.

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

This course focuses on socially and politically engaged art in the current condition of warfare and environmental crisis, polarisation, crumbling welfare states, European disintegration, artificial scarcity of resources and job opportunities, resurgent nationalism and the rise of neo-fascism as a convincing socio-political discourse. Of particular interest in the course is the importance of infrastructure as a contemporary political category and the attempts of artists to affect and change existing infrastructures — and create new ones. This focus includes theoretical attention to Marina Vishmidt‘s formulation of infrastructural critique and ruangrupa‘s curation of Documenta 15 in 2022.

The beginning of the 21st century has seen profound changes to the social and economic organization of societies that are to a large extent based on technological advances. Yet, in opposition to the early 20th century's avant-garde, the 21st does not show the same tendency for grandiose statements about revolutionary movements within art. There are however a few artistic tendencies that have been articulated as aesthetic movements of the 21st century, among them the Post-digital aesthetic that addresses the prevalence of digital culture and how it has altered the production and perception of works even of those artists who do not directly relate their works to the influence of contemporary technology. To address this shift in the conditions of art production, we will contemplate the Post-digital aesthetic and compare it with the associated or even competing terms of Post-internet art and the New Aesthetic. We will also compare manifestos such the "Accelerationist Manifesto" and the "Cyberspace Manifesto" with traditional avant-garde manifestos of Futurism. This will help students to formulate a critical stance towards possible continuities within avant-garde traditions and the complexities involved in addressing an evolving aesthetic of the 21st century.

The course discusses the philosophical and theoretical foundations of gender studies, and the critical and interdisciplinary content of the field. The representation and meaning of sex and gender in language, culture, history, science, and society is explored. The analytical perspective of the field is presented, as is its relationship with methodology. Students are trained in applying theoretical concepts and methods independently and critically.

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

The the aim of the individual practice based research work is to become familiar with reserch and mediation in a museum, a gallery or other art institution, such as the University of Iceland Art Collection. It can also be carried out within an art institution abroad.

The the aim of the individual practice based research work is to become familiar with reserch and mediation in a museum, a gallery or other art institution, such as the University of Iceland Art Collection. It can also be carried out within an art institution abroad.

By focusing on folk tales, literature and other relevant sources, the course discusses the manifestations of nature and the supernatural in Icelandic narrative culture throughout the centuries. Students will learn about the significance, interface, and unclear boundaries of these phenomena and how they have shaped society and the environment as well. Students will thus get to know different ideas about the position of people and (other) animals within, above or "outside" of nature. Through diverse lectures and assignments, topics such as humanity vs. animality, the known world vs. other worlds, and materiality vs. the supernatural, will be discussed from critical points of view. The roles and forms of landscape, organisms, bodies, weather, and natural phenomena in the narrative culture will be explored. The latest research in this broad field will be presented, such as on the representation of earthquakes and celestial bodies, bears, whales, seals, and domestic animals, and on the supernatural creatures of nature and other mythological creatures such as fairies, ghosts, trolls, and berserks. Students will learn how story worlds and folklore have left their mark on the perception of nature, folk traditions, folk customs, and social spaces such as enchanted spots, sacred places and hunted places. We also ask how these narratives appear in folk art and visual art, from previous centuries to the present. Finally, we will explore the significance of nature narratives and the supernatural in the context of the Anthropocene, human perspectives, climate change, and the different statuses of social groups and species

In this course, diverse manifestations of innovation in culture and communication, will be discussed, with focus on digital technology. Emphasis will be placed on the activities and management of organisations that work in communication and the creative industries. The role of innovation and the creative economy, societal innovation, and how to sustain entrepreneurship in projects will be discussed. Opportunities for utilisation will be explored and methods will be introduced to support the discovery, analysis and application of such opportunities. 

An introduction to the collaboration and division of work between an editor and a graphic designer in the creation of printed work with emphasis on the importance of typography. Students will gain insight into the basis of typography and preparation for print as well as learning about the graphic designer's tools in context with principal kinds of print. The course will include readings and discourse on the influence of graphic design on legibility and understanding, as well as discourse on quality, usefulness, aesthetics and practicality in graphic design.

The student will present and hand in a written analysis on a printed good of their own choice and are also encouraged to actively participate in discussions in class. The final project consists of creating your own publishing project and communicate ideas on its editing grahpically and in writing.

The basic types of documentaries will be discussed as well as methods of documentary making, editing and cinematography. Emphasis will be put on practical projects and students will be required to make at least one documentary during the course.

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.

The course deals with interconnections between political radicalism, culture, tradition and power. We will focus on contemporary representations of dissent in particular, look at the discourse of democracy and cultural difference, reactions to and criticism of protest in the Western political tradition and dissent in more repressive political systems. The role of intellectuals and writers will be explored as well as the function of artistic expression and design in transforming cultural and social environments. We will also discuss media and social media discourse in connection with an attempt to understand the various and sometimes contradictory objectives of public institutions. A few points of conflict will be discussed that to some extent expose fundamental conflicts in liberal democratic societies such as questions about the wisdom and ignorance of publics, reactions to climate change, inequality and extreme poverty. Finally corruption and power will be discussed as well as social and cultural expression, the possibilities and limitations of freedom of speech, the use and abuse of information, disinformation, secrecy, fake and “fake news”.

This course examines professionalism, using case studies from museum work in Iceland, from a broad, interdisciplinary theoretical perspectives and debates. This course should therefore appeal to students from a variety of disciplines, including museology, archaeology, art studies, cultural studies, anthropology and folklore. The case studies are related to the variable works of museums, including management, organisation, collection, conservation, research and communication.

Furthermore, methods of assessment will be considered, both from the angle of the museum visitor as well as self-appraisals of the museums themselves (approaches to - and processing of information). The subject of the case studies are variable, including administration, gender considerations, accessibility, conservation of archaeological artefacts, research into visual cultural heritage, freedom of expression, housing and building affairs, gifts to museums and more.

In this course, experts and specialists (from Iceland and abroad), working in museum sector will give talks, sharing their knowledge and their experience. Students will choose one day over the semester, for a one day career day at a museum in Reykjavík, where a member of staff will tell them about the museum‘s main activities and demonstrate basic entry input in their electronic database. Students will work with the staff for the remainder of the day.

The course is taught distance learning, with short, online lectures by teachers and guest-lecturers. It also includes three full day on-campus (or Zoom, should that be needed) lecture days, where students will visit museums around Reykjavík and listen to lectures from a variety of people. Attendance is required during the three day on-campus and Zoom days.

Final grade is based on completing written assignments during the semester, attendance for full-day on-campus/zoom days and the career day.

The societal role of museums will be discussed from several angles: economic, political, cultural, social and last but not least in an international context. Examples of topics that will be discussed in the course are the role of museums in building the concept of the nation; the legal environment of museums; how museums are run; the status and role of the main museums; museums owned and run by local authorities and other museums; the financing of museums, and the policies of authorities regarding museums. Both national and foreign examples will be taken. 

Work format

Teaching will take the form of lectures and discussions.

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

In a historical context art has been the facet of society where innovation and progressive thinking has been of most value. This forward-looking aspect of art has non-the-less always depended upon its historical precedents—previous art practice. It is in this context that contemporary artists are constantly renewing their previous premises. At the same time contemporary art worlds are by nature complex structures—an increasing mix of different media and influences, where artists of necessity are informed by theoretical, social, political, and economic premises. In accord with that, contemporary cultural premises are in constant flux, dependent upon changes in technology, urbanisation, globalisation, and climate, in addition to a more volatile political field. It is in response to these issues that the nature of artistic practice is constantly changing. For these reasons it is adamant to constantly re-conceptualise the analysis of art and its function in society, where novel ideas and definitions, such as the 'Anthropocene' and the 'posthuman', can be utilised to understand better the situation of art in human society. In this course we re-examine the theoretical premises of contemporary art practice via research of the field of art—historical and contemporary—through research based on the interplay of art with diverse fields of study: history, philosophy, literature, media and film studies, anthropology, political theory, geography, sociology.

The course lays the foundation for the active work of curators for practical work in the field of art and museums. We work in an interdisciplinary and critical way with concepts and theories that relate to the work of curators in the field of contemporary art. Students work in teams and set up an exhibition in collaboration with art students or artists. Students will apply knowledge and methods to practical issues, work on preparation, design, text writing and preparation of promotional material in connection with an exhibition. The course is partly run in collaboration with the Master's program in art at the University of Iceland, and students will have the opportunity to collaborate with the University of Iceland Art Museum and other recognised art museums.

In recent decades, theoretical contexts of art historiography and art criticism have been thoroughly reexamined. New theories, new data and digital technologies have led to a drastic change in research questions and approaches. Critical concepts such as intersectionality, inclusion, sustainability, social activism, and environment have led to new methodologies and different perspectives. In this course, these approaches will be discussed though reading the latest research in the field of art and cultural history. Ideas about the global artworlds and its cultural and political connections will be examined in detail, a variety of topics will be discussed and dissected in writing.

MA-thesis 

MA-thesis 

The sensations of smell and taste are crucial dimensions of the work of several contemporary artists and serve a variety of purposes in artistic practice. In this course we will consider the foundations of art history on the basis of a sensory hierarchy, in which vision and hearing has traditionally been prioritized over the sensations of touch, smell and taste. We will discuss how this hierarchy converges with the distinction of humans from animals and with the hierarchical classification of the human sexes and races within the western philosophical tradition. Students will be introduced to new theories within aesthetics and art theory that seek to reveal and analyse the historical, political and philosophical basis of this hierarchy and its continued effect in the present. In this context, we will examine the work of artists who directly or indirectly mobilize the sensations of smell and taste in their practice and consider the role of the olfactory and the gustatory in artistic practice from the 20th century to the present moment.

The aim of the course is to provide students with a more comprehensive and deeper insight into the different theoretical approaches within the humanities. In the course, the main theories that have influenced theoretical discussion in the humanities over the last decades will be presented and discussed, and the students are taught how to apply them in their own research.

Training in various aspects of the writing and editing of scientific texts. Various kinds of texts (non-fiction) examined and evaluated. Training in reviewing and commenting on scientific texts and in other aspects of editorial work. The main emphasis will be on the writing of articles, but other kinds of texts will also be considered, both shorter (conference abstracts, reviews) and longer (theses, books), as well as research proposals. Discussion of guidelines for the preparation of manuscripts. Types of plagiarism and how to avoid them and find them. Texts on different subjects will be used as examples, especially writings in linguistics, literature and history. The book Skrifaðu bæði skýrt og rétt will be used as a textbook (Höskuldur Þráinsson 2015).

This course is open to students of many MA programmes in the School of Humanities, cf. the regulations of the individual subjects. Students in the MA programmes in Icelandic literature, Icelandic linguistics, Icelandic studies and Icelandic teaching can take the course as part of the MA course requirements in Icelandic literature or Icelandic linguistics. Students in the MA programme in Icelandic teaching can, however, not have this course as the only linguistics or literature course in their MA.

The course provides an introduction to experimental film and film theory within the context of fine art. Various epochs and the critical responses that they provoked are defined and analysed. We look at different theoretical frameworks, such as Modernism, Humanism, Structuralism, Postmodernism, and the Anti-Aesthetic and make use of works by authors such as Kant, Nietzsche, Marx, Lacan, Bazin, Baudrillard, McLuhan and Jameson in order to analyse these. This theoretical framework provides a lens to interpret avant-garde cinema and fine art movements beginning with the emergence of expressionism. The course seeks to interpret the role of individualism via mass media as we explore various artists and filmmakers whose works are relevant in the context of this theoretical framework. Emphasis is placed on the viewing of time-based media that illustrate the various theories presented during the course, with a focus being on artists and filmmakers who have embraced these ideologies within their practice.

We will discuss religious motives in European fine art from early christianity up to the present. The importance of the christian churches for art history will be our subject matter, both in terms of the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. Special focus will be on the changes that occurred with the renaissance, the reformation, and the age of enlightenment. The we will examine the effects of the secularisation of art and the origins of modern art in late 19thcentury and early 20th century. We will also deal with the various art movements that appeared in the late 20th century and their relationship with christianity as wells as other religions, such as japanese and chinese.

The the aim of the individual practice based research work is to become familiar with reserch and mediation in a museum, a gallery or other art institution, such as the University of Iceland Art Collection. It can also be carried out within an art institution abroad.

The the aim of the individual practice based research work is to become familiar with reserch and mediation in a museum, a gallery or other art institution, such as the University of Iceland Art Collection. It can also be carried out within an art institution abroad.

Modernism and postmodernism constitute perhaps the central artistic movements of the 20th century – it is even possible to see the century as divided between the periods associated with the twin aesthetic concepts. The invention of cinema itself harks back to the tumultous area of technological change and social upheavals that brought about the revolutionary artistic movements of the first decades of the century, while the development of the medium of film is no less closely aligned with the process of globalization, dizzying forms of cultural change and rapid pace of technological progress that constitute the postmodern condition. These connections between the medium of film and modernism and postmodernism demarcate the central research questions addressed in the class.

Among the themes and issues tackled in the class is how even the most radical avant garde artists found the „attractions“ of cinema hard to resist, these involving the range between experimental films and the works of Charlie Chaplin. Modernist critiques of cinema will however not be ignored, and these include the portrayal of mainstream Hollywood as a „culture industry“. Questions will be asked about the radical aesthetic reconfiguration of modernism as it moved between media to film, and in that context the class will be looking at Italian Neo-realism and the French New Wave. Next, the class will turn to the role of cinema in the development of the society of spectacle, paying attention to the suddenly troublesome and contested existence of the concept of „truth“ in postmodern times, nostalgia as a mode, the emergence of simulacra and the threat that notions of intertextuality and remediation pose to notions of originality and the „integrity“ of the work of art. Among films screened in the class will be Modern Times (Chaplin, 1936), Diary of a Country Priest (Bresson, 1951), Umberto D. (De Sica, 1952), Videodrome (Cronenberg, 1982), Blue Velvet (Lynch, 1986) and The Matrix (Wachowskis, 1999). Among the scholars to be read in the class are David Bordwell, Owen Hatherley, Jean-François Lyotard and Mark Fisher.

This seminar deals with the cultural milieu of Bohemianism, focusing on the various mythological guises of the Bohemian. Idlers and workaholics, aristocrats and outcasts, hedonists and ascetics, drunkards and teetotallers, misunderstood geniuses and scapegraces, all find their place in this history. The main aspect linking these different images is the position at the margin of bourgeois culture and the seminar aims to arrive at an understanding of the role of this counter-cultural milieu. The main emphasis is on the image of the Bohemian in modern European literature, but students will also deal with manifestations of Bohemia in film, visual art, advertising and other media from the mid-19th century to the present day.

The course is run in cooperation with the state radio station: RÚV - Rás 1. Discussion will take place into the presentation of radio/audio material, various examples being examined. Attention will be given to the nature of audio communication and the possibilities of audio communication in the present media environment. Attention is also paid to concept development, interview techniques, recording techniques, dramaturgy and editing, accentuating sustainability and self-reliance. All students will complete a final project involving the making of radio programmes.

The course reviews cultural studies on the whole and focuses on its value as a radical form of social and cultural criticism. Texts of key authors from the 19th Century and until recent years are discussed with the very concept of culture as a central issue and the question of its meaning for critical reflexion on society, history and contemporaneity. The interpellation of cultural criticism and the study of culture is scrutinized and the way in which this relationship is central for cultural studies. This conflict, which can be felt in older and recent texts has for the last decades been a fertile gound for the humanities in general and characterizes their connection to cultural politics. Concepts such as ideology, power, hegemony, gender and discourse play a central role in the discussion.

Constant technological development and emphasis on digital solutions has brought about frequent and numerous changes in the role of the webmaster. In this course, Efforts will be made to provide students with good insight into the main aspects of the webmaster's work. The writings of experts and scholars will be examined, and students will be introduced to the necessary tools and equipment. Professionals in the field will visit and share their experience with students.

The job of a web editor is often integrated with general web management. Students get a good insight into web editing and writing for digital media. The main aspects that a webmaster / web editor needs to be able to master will be discussed, such as information architecture, writing for the web, presentation of images, fundamentals in web design, accessibility, usability, security, analytics, content management systems (CMS), and basic web interface technology.

Students set up their own websites and use a CMS of their choice, e.g., WordPress or Wix, which are both available in free versions, and some of the assignments are submitted on there. In this way, students gain training in setting up a simple website. Particular attention is drawn to the fact that instruction in the use of the CMS is not part of the course. Those who have no or limited experience, in the use of CMS, are advised that YouTube has numerous videos where you can learn about the systems, from the basics to much more complex aspects that are expected in this course.

Performance Studies is the study of how humans create meaning and identity through shared activities ranging from traditional ritual and religion to storytelling and the arts as well as sports, stand-up comedy, festivals, masking traditions, civic ceremonies, political action and protest, dinner parties, and the virtual world. The course introduces students to theories about the wide range of semiotics involved in performance, from spoken text, to costume and appearance, expression and gesture, gender, social contexts, timing and use of space, as well as audience reception.

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

This course focuses on socially and politically engaged art in the current condition of warfare and environmental crisis, polarisation, crumbling welfare states, European disintegration, artificial scarcity of resources and job opportunities, resurgent nationalism and the rise of neo-fascism as a convincing socio-political discourse. Of particular interest in the course is the importance of infrastructure as a contemporary political category and the attempts of artists to affect and change existing infrastructures — and create new ones. This focus includes theoretical attention to Marina Vishmidt‘s formulation of infrastructural critique and ruangrupa‘s curation of Documenta 15 in 2022.

The beginning of the 21st century has seen profound changes to the social and economic organization of societies that are to a large extent based on technological advances. Yet, in opposition to the early 20th century's avant-garde, the 21st does not show the same tendency for grandiose statements about revolutionary movements within art. There are however a few artistic tendencies that have been articulated as aesthetic movements of the 21st century, among them the Post-digital aesthetic that addresses the prevalence of digital culture and how it has altered the production and perception of works even of those artists who do not directly relate their works to the influence of contemporary technology. To address this shift in the conditions of art production, we will contemplate the Post-digital aesthetic and compare it with the associated or even competing terms of Post-internet art and the New Aesthetic. We will also compare manifestos such the "Accelerationist Manifesto" and the "Cyberspace Manifesto" with traditional avant-garde manifestos of Futurism. This will help students to formulate a critical stance towards possible continuities within avant-garde traditions and the complexities involved in addressing an evolving aesthetic of the 21st century.

The course discusses the philosophical and theoretical foundations of gender studies, and the critical and interdisciplinary content of the field. The representation and meaning of sex and gender in language, culture, history, science, and society is explored. The analytical perspective of the field is presented, as is its relationship with methodology. Students are trained in applying theoretical concepts and methods independently and critically.

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

The the aim of the individual practice based research work is to become familiar with reserch and mediation in a museum, a gallery or other art institution, such as the University of Iceland Art Collection. It can also be carried out within an art institution abroad.

The the aim of the individual practice based research work is to become familiar with reserch and mediation in a museum, a gallery or other art institution, such as the University of Iceland Art Collection. It can also be carried out within an art institution abroad.

By focusing on folk tales, literature and other relevant sources, the course discusses the manifestations of nature and the supernatural in Icelandic narrative culture throughout the centuries. Students will learn about the significance, interface, and unclear boundaries of these phenomena and how they have shaped society and the environment as well. Students will thus get to know different ideas about the position of people and (other) animals within, above or "outside" of nature. Through diverse lectures and assignments, topics such as humanity vs. animality, the known world vs. other worlds, and materiality vs. the supernatural, will be discussed from critical points of view. The roles and forms of landscape, organisms, bodies, weather, and natural phenomena in the narrative culture will be explored. The latest research in this broad field will be presented, such as on the representation of earthquakes and celestial bodies, bears, whales, seals, and domestic animals, and on the supernatural creatures of nature and other mythological creatures such as fairies, ghosts, trolls, and berserks. Students will learn how story worlds and folklore have left their mark on the perception of nature, folk traditions, folk customs, and social spaces such as enchanted spots, sacred places and hunted places. We also ask how these narratives appear in folk art and visual art, from previous centuries to the present. Finally, we will explore the significance of nature narratives and the supernatural in the context of the Anthropocene, human perspectives, climate change, and the different statuses of social groups and species

In this course, diverse manifestations of innovation in culture and communication, will be discussed, with focus on digital technology. Emphasis will be placed on the activities and management of organisations that work in communication and the creative industries. The role of innovation and the creative economy, societal innovation, and how to sustain entrepreneurship in projects will be discussed. Opportunities for utilisation will be explored and methods will be introduced to support the discovery, analysis and application of such opportunities. 

An introduction to the collaboration and division of work between an editor and a graphic designer in the creation of printed work with emphasis on the importance of typography. Students will gain insight into the basis of typography and preparation for print as well as learning about the graphic designer's tools in context with principal kinds of print. The course will include readings and discourse on the influence of graphic design on legibility and understanding, as well as discourse on quality, usefulness, aesthetics and practicality in graphic design.

The student will present and hand in a written analysis on a printed good of their own choice and are also encouraged to actively participate in discussions in class. The final project consists of creating your own publishing project and communicate ideas on its editing grahpically and in writing.

The basic types of documentaries will be discussed as well as methods of documentary making, editing and cinematography. Emphasis will be put on practical projects and students will be required to make at least one documentary during the course.

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.

The course deals with interconnections between political radicalism, culture, tradition and power. We will focus on contemporary representations of dissent in particular, look at the discourse of democracy and cultural difference, reactions to and criticism of protest in the Western political tradition and dissent in more repressive political systems. The role of intellectuals and writers will be explored as well as the function of artistic expression and design in transforming cultural and social environments. We will also discuss media and social media discourse in connection with an attempt to understand the various and sometimes contradictory objectives of public institutions. A few points of conflict will be discussed that to some extent expose fundamental conflicts in liberal democratic societies such as questions about the wisdom and ignorance of publics, reactions to climate change, inequality and extreme poverty. Finally corruption and power will be discussed as well as social and cultural expression, the possibilities and limitations of freedom of speech, the use and abuse of information, disinformation, secrecy, fake and “fake news”.

This course examines professionalism, using case studies from museum work in Iceland, from a broad, interdisciplinary theoretical perspectives and debates. This course should therefore appeal to students from a variety of disciplines, including museology, archaeology, art studies, cultural studies, anthropology and folklore. The case studies are related to the variable works of museums, including management, organisation, collection, conservation, research and communication.

Furthermore, methods of assessment will be considered, both from the angle of the museum visitor as well as self-appraisals of the museums themselves (approaches to - and processing of information). The subject of the case studies are variable, including administration, gender considerations, accessibility, conservation of archaeological artefacts, research into visual cultural heritage, freedom of expression, housing and building affairs, gifts to museums and more.

In this course, experts and specialists (from Iceland and abroad), working in museum sector will give talks, sharing their knowledge and their experience. Students will choose one day over the semester, for a one day career day at a museum in Reykjavík, where a member of staff will tell them about the museum‘s main activities and demonstrate basic entry input in their electronic database. Students will work with the staff for the remainder of the day.

The course is taught distance learning, with short, online lectures by teachers and guest-lecturers. It also includes three full day on-campus (or Zoom, should that be needed) lecture days, where students will visit museums around Reykjavík and listen to lectures from a variety of people. Attendance is required during the three day on-campus and Zoom days.

Final grade is based on completing written assignments during the semester, attendance for full-day on-campus/zoom days and the career day.

The societal role of museums will be discussed from several angles: economic, political, cultural, social and last but not least in an international context. Examples of topics that will be discussed in the course are the role of museums in building the concept of the nation; the legal environment of museums; how museums are run; the status and role of the main museums; museums owned and run by local authorities and other museums; the financing of museums, and the policies of authorities regarding museums. Both national and foreign examples will be taken. 

Work format

Teaching will take the form of lectures and discussions.

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