In the remote location of Svartárkot in Northern Iceland, at the edge
of the wild Central Highlands, the edge of the inhabited world, a
cutting edge study centre is being developed (see http://
www.svartarkot.is <http://www.svartarkot.is>). The place, straddling
the border between the settled landscape and the wilderness, is
strangely appropriate for investigating the interaction between culture
and nature. The approach is multi-disciplinary, incorporating cultural
studies, literature, history, anthropology, folklore, geography,
geology, ecology and the natural sciences.
Svartárkot is a remote rural location giving participants first-hand
experience of the
interaction between people and the natural world. Courses will
involve
a generous number of excursions and field-trips, capitalizing on the
local diverse and unique cultural and natural environment.
Courses are intended for graduate and undergraduate students. They are
supervised by the Reykjavik Academy (http://www.akademia.is) and
tailored to international university level standards. Faculty bringing
five or more students will be able to attend a course free of charge.
They will instead be asked to assist in the classroom experience.
*Courses for 2008:
*
1) Geography programme
This course deals with the development of settlement and natural
history in Iceland. The processes controlling the development of
geography, both
human and natural, will be viewed from several angle with lectures,
field trips and project work.
2) Reverse cultural history - manuscripts and local culture
The course deals with the main themes in Icelandic cultural history
and
puts them in a new light from the perspective of scribal studies. The
old scribal tradition is still with us, and it has been renewed in our
time with the writing of diaries and blogs. This tradition will be the
subject of lectures, project work and field trips to archives and
places of interest.
3) Environmental and agricultural history of Iceland in a global
context
How did and do different kinds of agricultural practices use local
environments? How
does industrial society draw on local environments?
What is the effect of local environmental changes on different kinds of
societies? on the global context? The emphasis will be on the area
around Svartárkot,
NE-Iceland, and how its history can be viewed and analyzed.
For further information, prices and registration please visit http://
www.svartarkot.is <http://www.svartarkot.is>
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