Archaeology and the Narratives of Iceland’s Past

Höfundur: Angelos Parigoris (Útgáfa: 1)
Archaeology and the Narratives of Iceland’s Past

Kaup valmöguleikar

Archaeology has long been entangled with nationalist and colonial narratives, shaping and reshaping identities through material culture. This book investigates the entanglement of archaeology with nationalism and its role in shaping Icelandic identity. Drawing on four case studies, it examines archaeological remains, historical sources, and ethnological materials. It reveals how material culture has been used to reinforce nationalist narratives while also offering a framework to challenge them.

By focusing on the intersection of materials, discourses, and histories, the book uncovers how archaeology has been implicated in a colonial-cum-nationalist rhetoric, influencing modern interpretations of the past. It also highlights how the field can be used to deconstruct entrenched national myths and open up new avenues of enquiry. Archaeology and the Narratives of Iceland’s Past will inform scholars and students across archaeology, history, and anthropology, while encouraging a broader public awareness of the complex relationship between material culture and national identity.

Nánar um bókina

Útgefandi
Taylor & Francis
ISBN
9781040685648
Print ISBN
9781041106630
Format
ePub
Útgáfa
1
Höfundar
Angelos Parigoris
Tungumál
English
Útgefið
2026-03-24
Prent takmörkun á líftíma
100
Prent takmörkun
2
Afritunar takmörkun
2

Kaflar

  • Cover Page
  • Half-Title Page
  • Title Page
  • Copyright Page
  • Dedication Page
  • Contents
  • List of Figures
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes on Pronunciation
  • 1 Introduction
  • 1.1 Nationalism and the politics of the past in Iceland
  • 1.2 Theoretical and methodological framework
  • 1.3 Outline of the book
  • 2 Iceland and the word: Language, sagas, and Icelandic nationalism
  • 2.1 Language, sagas, and modernity
  • 2.1.1 Early discourse
  • 2.1.2 The nineteenth century
  • 2.1.3 Towards the twentieth century
  • 2.2 An ancient-yet-modern language
  • 2.2.1 The Icelandic scholarship
  • 2.2.2 Popular manifestations and official discourse
  • 2.3 Afterword
  • 3 Iceland's national home and the discourse of civilisation
  • 3.1 Building with turf
  • 3.2 The evolution of the Icelandic turf house
  • 3.2.1 The Icelandic longhouse
  • 3.2.2 The rise of the passageway farmhouse
  • 3.2.3 The gabled turf farmhouse and later developments
  • 3.2.4 Surviving turf houses
  • 3.3 The turf house through foreign eyes
  • 3.3.1 Enlightenment and the turf house
  • 3.3.2 The nineteenth century
  • 4 Turf house semantics and the discourse of civilisation
  • 4.1 Turf house semantics and the surge of modernity
  • 4.2 Icelandic modernity and the turf house
  • 4.3 Towards the twenty-first century
  • 4.4 The turf house revisited
  • 4.5 Afterword
  • 5 Decolonising the manuscripts: Nationalism, colonialism, and the social biography of objects
  • 5.1 The desecration of manuscripts
  • 5.2 Literacy, barbarity, and civilisation
  • 5.2.1 The problem of “Unprofitable Songs”
  • 5.2.2 The aesthetics of ancient literature
  • 5.2.3 Voices of discontent
  • 5.2.4 A class rhetoric
  • 5.3 Embodied practices and manuscript materiality
  • 5.3.1 Totemic texts and the social life of manuscripts
  • 6 Naming places, writing history: The role of place names in forging the Icelandic national identity
  • 6.1 Nationalism and toponymy
  • 6.2 The early beginnings of toponymic research in Iceland
  • 6.3 Later developments
  • 6.4 Proclaiming the nation
  • 6.5 Frames of reference
  • 7 Memories of a nation: Icelandic exceptionalism and the Second World War
  • 7.1 From Turf Houses into the Technological Age
  • 7.2 Icelandic historiography and the legacy of the Second World War
  • 7.3 Iceland as ethnographic ideal: the case of Bruno Schweizer
  • 7.4 Ahnenerbe's Iceland project
  • 7.5 The enduring legacy of Bruno Schweizer
  • 7.6 Scholars, opportunists, and the politics of collaboration
  • 8 A place in the world
  • References
  • Index