Research Center in Þingeyjarsveit

Creative Responses to Environmental Crises

At the Research Center of the University of Iceland in Þingeyjarsveit, the manifestations of environmental threats in literature and art and creative responses to such threats are studied.

Hamfarir í bókmenntum og listum is a study of responses to environmental threats in contemporary Icelandic literature and art. This is the first publication in the series Huldurit, which is published by the University of Iceland’s Research Center in Þingeyjarsveit and the Hulda Center for Natural Humanities. The series focuses on research in the field of environmental humanities.

The anthology Creative Responses to Environmental Crises and Aesthetics in Nordic Art and Literature gives a broad perspective on artistic responses to climate change and other environmental crises in the Nordic countries. Showcasing examples of environmental literature, visual art and entertainment from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands, the chapters of the volume reflect the complex interplay of the local, regional and global in environmental art and activism. Authored by established and notable scholars in the field of Nordic ecocriticism, the volume highlights the complex and vital role art, literature, and other creative activities assume in times of crisis.

In connection with the publication of the anthology, a symposium and the art exhibition Creative Responses will be held in Specta gallery, Copenhagen, in May-June 2025 and in Mývatnssveit in August-September 2025.

Blue humanities

The University of Iceland's research center in Þingeyjarsveit studies the ocean in Icelandic literature and art and blue humanities in an Icelandic context.

EXTREMES is a collaborative project of the University of Iceland‘s Research Centre in Þingeyjarsveit, UiT the Arctic University of Norway, and the University of Copenhagen. This project aims to develop and disseminate a transformative interdisciplinary approach to studying Extreme Marine Environments in the Arctic region (including cold seeps and hydrothermal vents). Not only are such extreme marine environments sources of interest to current oil and gas industries, but they are also places of potential exposure to future practices of deep sea mining. Through interdisciplinary cooperation, the project will develop new ways to sense, understand and imagine the significance of these extreme marine environments in the Arctic region.

• Creative Responses to Environmental Crises in Nordic Art and  Literature, eds. Katarina Leppänen and Auður Aðalsteinsdóttir, Ecocritical Theory and Practice, Lexington Books, 2024.
• Auður Aðalsteinsdóttir, „Orð úr undirdjúpum“, Són 22, 2024.
• Auður Aðalsteinsdóttir, „Fagurfræði vistkerfanna“, Ritið 23 (3), 2023: 31–56. DOI: 10.33112/ritid.23.3.2
• Auður Aðalsteinsdóttir, Hamfarir í bókmenntum og listum, Huldurit I, Hulda náttúruhugvísindasetur and Háskólaútgáfan, 2023.
• Fléttur VI: Loftslagsvá og jafnrétti, eds. Elín Björk Jóhannsdóttir, Auður Aðalsteinsdóttir and Hafdís Hanna Ægisdóttir, Háskólaútgáfan, 2023.

Creative Responses, Specta gallery, Copenhagen, May-June 2025 and Akureyri Art Museum November 2025 - February 2026.

Huldurit are a joint project of the University of Iceland’s Research Center in Þingeyjarsveit and the Nature and Humanities Center Hulda. The series publishes research on the interaction between culture and nature, and the goal is to strengthen the position of the humanities in the field of nature research and actions regarding environmental issues.

Editors of the series are Auður Aðalsteinsdóttir, Ásta Kristín Benediktsdóttir and Viðar Hreinsson.

The center also participates in the planning and teaching of an environmental humanities course at the University of Iceland in 2025.