“Searching for Iceland: A Literary Quest”
Prof. Ástráður Eysteinsson, University of Iceland
The most promising areas of a pristine North Atlantic island had already been explored and claimed in the early 10th century. However, the search for Iceland had only just begun, manifesting itself in narratives tracing various borders of social conduct and geo-historical destiny. This literary activity – exploring terrains between pioneering and insecurity, grandness and insularity – continues to the present day and can be seen as a driving force in some of the most important works of modern Icelandic literature.
Prof. Eysteinsson is Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Iceland and is currently Visiting Professor at the University of Victoria. He has published on literary theory, modernism, and translation studies as well as subjects in and translations from Icelandic, British, American, and German literature. He recently completed a term as Dean of the School of Humanities. Prof. Eysteinsson is currently a Visiting Professor at the University of Victoria. His visit there is made possible by The Richard and Margaret Beck Lecture Fund and the Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies at UVic.
