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Guðrún Dröfn Whitehead

Assistant Professor Museology: museum education, professional works, general theory, visitor studies, pop culture and museum activism
School of Social Sciences
Faculty of Sociology, Anthropology and Folkloristics
E-mail
Phone number
Office
Oddi -  O-318
Office hours
By appointment
Speciality
Abstract

Gudrun D. Whitehead is an assistant professor in Museum Studies at the University of Iceland. She has taught on a variety of subjects, including trash culture, Viking heritage, professional works of museums, museum education and general museological theories. While primarily focused on museology, Whitehead’s background in comparative literature and folklore studies has had an impact on her research interests. She has focused on subculture, the uncanny and disruptive elements of society, including Vikings, horror, punk, and unconventional museum displays. She is particularly interested in cultural stereotypes, such as the Vikings and their uses in the heritage industry and society in general. Gudrun has co-edited and contributed to several publications, including a book chapter, ‘We Come from the land of the Ice and Snow: Icelandic heritage and its usage in present day society’ (A Museum Studies Approach to Heritage, 2018) and along with Sigurjón Baldur Hafsteinsson wrote ‘Museology and the Icelandic Museum Field, Collaborations and Developments’ (Nordisk Museologi, 2018). She had two publications in 2024: A book chapter, ‘Uncanny Encounters with Iceland’s Vikings at the Saga Museum (Viking Heritage and History in Europe) and a monograph, The Performance of Viking Identity in Museums: Useful Heritage in England, Iceland, and Norway.

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Education
  • 2014 Ph.D. University of Leicester Museum studies
  • 2007 Meistarapróf University of Iceland Comparative literature
  • 2005 BA University of Iceland comparative literature
  • 2005 Aukagrein University of Iceland Folklore
  • 2001 stúdentspróf Menntaskólinn við Hamrahlíð A-levels, focus on language
Courses 2025 - 2026