Three PhD students from the UI School of Humanities have been awarded grants from the School's Education Fund. The grant recipients are Bethany Louise Rogers and Hafdís Erla Hafsteinsdóttir, PhD students in history at the Faculty of Philosophy, History and Archaeology, and Nicola Privato, PhD student in cultural studies at the Faculty of Languages and Cultures. Each will receive a sum of ISK 700,000 to complete their doctoral projects.
This is the sixth round of awards from the School of Humanities Education Fund, which is intended to support PhD students at faculties within the UI School of Humanities, particularly those in the final stages of their doctorates.
Bethany L. Rogers’ thesis, “Áfram með smjörið: Menningarlegt mikilvægi mjólkurafurða á miðalda Íslandi” (The cultural significance of dairy products in medieval Iceland) explores the role of dairy products in Icelandic society during the period c. 1000–1500. Her research reveals that butter, skyr, milk and cheese were not only part of the everyday diet and an important source of nutrition, but also played a key role in the medieval economy, social structure, ethical values and literary culture. Bethany uses histories, law codes, various documents (e.g. Church inventories) and archaeological findings to show how dairy production related to gendered labour, housekeeping, memory, power and knowledge transmission. Her main finding is that dairy production formed important cultural infrastructure which upheld the social order and also played a role in the literary culture of medieval Iceland.
Bethany Rogers has an MA in medieval studies from the University of Iceland. She works as a project manager at the UI Centre for Teaching and Learning and has also worked as a sessional lecturer at UI. Her academic supervisor is Sverrir Jakobsson, professor at the Faculty of Philosophy, History and Archaeology.
Hafdís Erla Hafsteinsdóttir’s thesis, “Contagious Ideas. HIV/AIDS in Iceland 1983-1996. Language, power, politics” explores the history of HIV/AIDS in Iceland from 1983 to 1996 with particular focus on the cultural and historical context, the development and shaping of discourses about AIDS in Iceland, and how they influenced ideas about civil rights. She argues that the disease was presented differently depending on how the words used to describe it. Her research shows that these words had a major influence on how the disease and its impact on Icelandic society were perceived. This understanding of the disease, its alleged ‘nature’ and symptoms, as reflected by the choice of words to describe it, also reveals different ideas about homosexuality, i.e. as a marginal phenomenon, a societal threat, or a normal part of society. Hafdís’ research is the first to explore the history of the HIV epidemic in Iceland and shows that it was a formative episode in the history of LGBTQ rights in Iceland.
Hafdís Erla has a BA in history from UI and an MA in women’s and gender history from the University of Vienna. She works as a sessional lecturer at UI and has many years of experience in research and education in the field of LGBTQ history and rights. Her academic supervisor is Erla Hulda Halldórsdóttir, professor at the Faculty of Philosophy, History and Archaeology.
Nicola Privato’s thesis is entitled “Hauntography: Algorithmic Presence and the Out of Joint in Music AI”. AI technology is playing a growing role in creative industries. In AI systems, deep learning operates like a black box that hides the data and processes behind how the model is trained. The field of explainable AI (XAI), has emerged in response to this lack of transparency. But what is there to explain about the role of AI in creative processes? This project takes a critical stance on the assumptions of XAI in the arts, instead exploring the aesthetics and discourses created by the inherent opacity of AI. Through instrument design, artistic practice and user research, Nicola demonstrates how artists use the unknown in AI models as a source of creative meaning. Based on these findings, Nicola develops a theoretical framework grounded in hauntology, which redefines AI as a ghostly construct. He applies this framework in interviews with artists, providing insight into AI’s musical interface, the mediation of AI and the development of discourse around AI agency.
Nicola Privato has a BA in modern literature from the University of Padua, a BA in jazz arrangement and performance from the Conservatory of Music in Trieste, and a Master’s degree in electronic music from the Conservatory of Music in Padua. Nicola has worked on the Intelligent Instruments research project at UI. Before he moved to Iceland, he was head of Keptorchestra, an Italian organisation focused on musical education. Nicola’s academic supervisor is Þórhallur Magnússon, research professor at the School of Humanities.
About the Fund
The Education Fund of the UI School of Humanities was founded in 2018, built from a collection of funds related to humanities subjects. The purpose of the fund is to support doctoral studies at the School, especially PhD students in the final stages of their doctorates. The Education Fund is made up of Det Danske Selskabs Studenterlegat (1943), Forlagsboghandler, Dr. Phil. h.c. Ejnar Munkgaards Stiftelse til Fordel for Det filosofiske Fakultet ved Islands Universitet i Reykjavik (1938), the Dr Rögnvaldur Pétursson Memorial Fund (1960), the Norwegian Students' Memorial Fund (1948), Norðmannsgjöf (1961) and the Students' History Fund (1930).
According to the Fund’s foundational charter, its board is made up of the heads of the faculties at the School of Humanities (the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, the Faculty of Icelandic and Comparative Cultural Studies, the Faculty of Languages and Cultures and the Faculty of Philosophy, History and Archaeology) and is chaired by the School dean.
The UI Scholarship Funds manage the funds and donations that have been bequeathed to UI since its foundation. Most of these funds operate in accordance with ratified charters and are intended to support various projects in specific fields for the benefit of UI and its students and staff.
For further information about the grants, this Fund and other funds managed by the UI Scholarship Funds, please contact Helga Brá Árnadóttir, project manager, helgab@hi.is, tel: 899-8719.
