{"id":1358,"date":"2016-04-26T18:34:08","date_gmt":"2016-04-26T18:34:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nome.unak.is\/wordpress\/?p=1358"},"modified":"2016-04-27T10:03:00","modified_gmt":"2016-04-27T10:03:00","slug":"twelve-years-editor-almost-nordic-mediterranean-perspectives-icelands-international-image","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nome.unak.is\/wordpress\/volume-11-no-2-2016\/conference-proceeding-volume-11-no-2-2016\/twelve-years-editor-almost-nordic-mediterranean-perspectives-icelands-international-image\/","title":{"rendered":"Twelve Years an Editor \u2013 Almost. Nordic-Mediterranean Perspectives on Iceland’s International Image"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\t
\n\n\t\t<\/i><\/span> <\/a>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since the year 2015 I have been working as editor in chief of Nordicum-Mediterraneum: Icelandic E-Journal of Nordic and Mediterranean Studies<\/em>, published by the University of Akureyri (<http:\/\/nome.unak.is>). As such, I have received, read, reviewed and released a number of contributions by foreign and, in particular, by Italian scholars, dealing with Iceland under a broad variety of scientific perspectives. Also, especially during and immediately after Iceland’s 2008 financial meltdown, I was contacted and interviewed by a number of media outlets, primarily Italian. Thanks to these experiences, I can contribute to today\u2019s discussion with an eminently personal yet qualitatively rich account of Iceland’s image among Italian and foreign academic circles. Above all, I believe the materials accumulated in the long life of Nordicum-Mediterraneum<\/em> to be a truly interesting source of insight in the academics\u2019 interest points, if not even the educated commonplaces, about Iceland.<\/p>\n

Albeit in charge of the journal since its inception, I am not its real father, who is instead a scholar that has been working for many years at the University of Iceland in Reykjav\u00edk, Maurizio Tani. Eleven years ago, one year short of the title\u2019s twelve, he approached me with the idea of a scholarly journal devoted to the many and diverse historical exchanges between the North and the South of Europe and, in particular, between Iceland and Italy. Nothing of the sort existed on the academic scene. Needless to say, his suggestion was taken aboard. Then, thanks to the small yet vital financial support of the University of Akureyri, plus the crucial help qua <\/em>webmaster of Mr. Fabrizio Veneziano of Schiller International University in Paris and of Ms. Sigr\u00fan Magn\u00fasd\u00f3ttir qua <\/em>Akureyri-based editorial assistant, the journal was officially born.<\/p>\n

Foreign contributions about Iceland: Numbers and titles\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

A true pioneer in open-access scholarly publishing in Iceland, the journal aimed primarily at serving as a forum and an archive for scholars interested in Nordic and Mediterranean mutual connections. Progressively, pressured by its growing readership, the journal expanded its scope to Nordic and Mediterranean matters at large, rather than remaining confined to the exchanges between the North and the South of Europe. At the same time, the journal continued to publish a variety of other contributions as well, ranging from reviews of recent literature to interviews and personal memoirs. The break-up of the publications listed below does not include the special issues 11(2-3), due this year and already in the pipes, editorially speaking, and reads as follows:<\/p>\n

Regular issues: 11 (2006-2016)<\/p>\n

Special issues: 12 (2006-2016 i.e. up to 10(3)\/2016)<\/p>\n

Of which:<\/p>\n

Conference proceedings: 11 (2008-2016)<\/p>\n

Other subjects: 1 (2006)<\/p>\n

New articles: 42<\/p>\n

Reflections on Iceland\u2019s economic crisis: 13<\/p>\n

Conference proceedings: 102<\/p>\n

Conference-related notes: 11<\/p>\n

Review essays: 5<\/p>\n

Book reviews: 121<\/p>\n

Interviews: 6<\/p>\n

Memoirs: 6<\/p>\n

Translations: 5<\/p>\n

Republished books: 2<\/p>\n

Degree theses: 1<\/p>\n

Other contributions (short notes, reports, surveys, non-peer-reviewed articles, etc.): 19<\/p>\n

Total publication: 333<\/p>\n

Of all these published materials, 45 contributions can be said to deal with Iceland\u2019s image in the eyes of foreign scholars, whether directly or indirectly, e.g. as reported in books reviewed for the journal (in the case of book reviews and review essays, I attribute each entry to either the reviewer\u2019s nationality or the book author\u2019s nationality, depending on who emphasises Iceland more). Longer pieces (e.g. articles, conference papers) amount to 21, while shorter ones (e.g. book reviews) to 24. Most of them are in legal studies (12), linguistics and\/or literature (7) and history (5). Then we have contributions in philosophy (4), economics (4), geography (4), politics (3), psychology (2), art history (1) and personal memoirs (3). The countries of relative observation can be listed as follows:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Argentina: 1<\/li>\n
  • Faroe Islands: 1<\/li>\n
  • Finland: 1<\/li>\n
  • Germany: 3<\/li>\n
  • Ireland: 2<\/li>\n
  • Italy: 25<\/li>\n
  • The People\u2019s Republic of China: 2<\/li>\n
  • Romania: 1<\/li>\n
  • Russia: 2<\/li>\n
  • Scotland: 6<\/li>\n
  • Spain: 1<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    True to the original spirit of the journal, publications by Italian scholars on Icelandic or Italian-Icelandic matters stand out as far more numerous than the others. This geographical predominance and the limited overall as well as specific number of published contributions make a quantitative analysis unlikely to provide valuable information. Their qualitative value as academic exploration of Iceland\u2019s heritage and historical experiences persists, however.<\/p>\n

    The typology, depth and length of these 45 contributions varies enormously. I list them below in chronological order, specifying their category, in accordance with the journal\u2019s internal system of classification. In the pages following the list below, I refer to the underlined authors and the relevant year of publication in the journal; when Icelandic-foreign collaborative projects are included, I underline and count for the country list above only the foreign specialists involved:<\/p>\n

    1(1)\/2006<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Article<\/em><\/p>\n

    Antonio Casado da Rocha<\/u>, \u201cNarrative Ethics and the Ecology of Culture: Notes on New Italian-Icelandic Sagas\u201d<\/p>\n

    Note on conference proceedings<\/em><\/p>\n

    Maurizio Tani<\/u>, \u201cItalo Balbo, Iceland and a Short Story by Halld\u00f3r Laxness. Notes on the Conference \u2018La trasvolata Italia-Islanda del 1933\u2019 (Reykjav\u00edk, 7 June 2003)\u201d<\/p>\n

    Interviews, memoirs and other contributions<\/em><\/p>\n

    Francesco Milazzo,<\/span> “Teaching Roman Law in Iceland”<\/p>\n

    1(2)\/2006<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Translations<\/em><\/p>\n

    Maria Savi Lopez<\/u> (1848-1940), \u201cAkureyri\u201d, Nei paesi del Nord<\/em>, Torino: Paravia, 1893<\/p>\n

    Italo Balbo<\/u> (1896-1940), \u201cNella terra dei Vichinghi\u201d, La centuria alata<\/em>, Milano: Mondadori, 1934<\/p>\n

    3(1)\/2008<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Articles<\/em><\/p>\n

    Emanuela Finocchietti<\/u> & Luca Zarrilli<\/u>, \u201cPaesaggio naturale e politiche di sviluppo territoriale in Islanda\u201d<\/p>\n

    Conference proceedings<\/em><\/p>\n

    Manuela S. Campanini<\/span>, “Iceland as a Landscape Investigation Pattern”<\/p>\n

    Book reviews<\/em><\/p>\n

    By Antonio Calcagno: Paolo\u00a0Borioni<\/span>, Cesare\u00a0Damiano<\/span> & Tiziano\u00a0Treu<\/span>,\u00a0Il modello sociale scandnavo. Tra diritti e flessibilit\u00e0<\/em> (Roma: Nuova Iniziativa Editoriale, 2006)<\/p>\n

    4(1)\/2009<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Interviews, memoirs and other contributions <\/em><\/p>\n

    Federico Actite<\/u>, Ancient Rome and Icelandic Culture – A Brief Overview <\/em><\/p>\n

    5(1)\/2010<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Articles<\/em><\/p>\n

    Diego Ferioli<\/u>, \u201cOn the Oral-Formulaic Theory and its Application in the Poetic Edda: The Cases of Alv\u00edssm\u00e1l and H\u00e1vam\u00e1l\u201d<\/p>\n

    Manuela S. Campanini<\/u>, \u201cImagine a Collective Landscape\u201d<\/p>\n

    Viola Miglio<\/u>, \u201cOld Norse and Old English Language Contact: Scandinavian Legal Terminology in Anglo-Saxon Laws\u201d<\/p>\n

    Reflections on the economic crisis<\/em><\/p>\n

    Giorgio Baruchello<\/u>, \u201cEight Noble Opinions and the Economic Crisis: Four Literary-philosophical Sketches \u00e0 la<\/em> Eduardo Galeano\u201d<\/p>\n

    Maria Pia Paganelli<\/u>, \u201cLearning from Bjartur About Today’s Icelandic Economic Crisis\u201d<\/p>\n

    Interviews, memoirs and other contributions <\/em><\/p>\n

    Antonio Costanzo<\/u>, \u201cFyrirlestur um b\u00f3kina H\u00e1vam\u00e1l<\/em>. La voce di Odino\u201d<\/p>\n

    Marinella Lorinczi<\/u>, \u201cDracula in Iceland\u201d<\/p>\n

    6(1)\/2011<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Article<\/em><\/p>\n

    Adriana Di Stefano<\/u>, \u201cNorthern Steps of EU Enlargement: The Impact of \u2018Cohesion\u2019 Policies on Iceland\u2019s Accession Process\u201d<\/p>\n

    Book reviews<\/em><\/p>\n

    By Rachael Lorna Johnstone<\/u>: H. Beale et al., Cases, Materials and Texts on Contract Law<\/em>, 2nd ed. (Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2010); and T. K. Graziano, Comparative Contract Law: Cases, Materials and Exercises<\/em> (Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan, 2009)<\/p>\n

    By Rachael Lorna Johnstone, Natalia Loukacheva<\/u> (ed.), Polar Law Textbook<\/em> (Copenhagen: Nordic Council of Ministers, 2010)<\/p>\n

    Dissertation<\/em><\/p>\n

    Fabio Quartino<\/u>, La Costituzione Islandese: storia ed evoluzione<\/em><\/p>\n

    6(2)\/2011<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Article<\/em><\/p>\n

    Garrett Barden<\/u>, \u201cResponses to the contributors\u201d<\/p>\n

    7(1)\/2012<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Article<\/em><\/p>\n

    Birgir Gu\u00f0mundsson & Markus Meckl<\/u>, “\u2019Karlson\u2019 – A Stasi \u2018Kontakt Person\u2019. An episode of Iceland\u2019s Cold War legacy\u201d<\/p>\n

    Book reviews<\/em><\/p>\n

    By Andrea Hj\u00e1lmsd\u00f3ttir: A\u00f0alhei\u00f0ur \u00c1mundad\u00f3ttir & Rachael Lorna Johnstone<\/u>, Mannr\u00e9ttindi \u00ed \u00ferengingum: Efnahagsleg og f\u00e9lagsleg r\u00e9ttindi \u00ed kreppunni<\/em> (Akureyri-Reykjav\u00edk: H\u00e1sk\u00f3linn \u00e1 Akureyri og Mannr\u00e9ttindaskrifstofa \u00cdslands, 2011)<\/p>\n

    By Anita Einarsd\u00f3ttir & Tiantian Zhang<\/u>: Herman Salton, Arctic Host, Icy Visit: China and Falun Gong Face Off in Iceland<\/em> (Saarbr\u00fccken: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing, 2010)<\/p>\n

    Interviews, memoirs and other contributions <\/em><\/p>\n

    Jorge Mej\u00eda<\/u>, \u201cSome impressions after a quick visit to Iceland\u201d<\/p>\n

    8(1)\/2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Articles<\/em><\/p>\n

    Hj\u00e1lti \u00d3mar \u00c1g\u00fastsson & Rachael Lorna Johnstone<\/u>, \u201cPractising what they Preach: Did the IMF and Iceland Exercise Good Governance in their Relations 2008-2011?\u201d<\/p>\n

    Irina Zhilina<\/u>, \u201cThe Security Aspects in the Arctic: the Potential Role of NATO\u201d<\/p>\n

    Review essay<\/em><\/p>\n

    By Carlo Penco<\/u>: Juha Manninen & Friedrich Stadtler (eds.), The Vienna Circle and the Nordic Countries. Networks and Transformations of Logical Empiricism<\/em> (Vienna: Vienna Circle Institute Yearbook vol.14, Springer, 2010)<\/p>\n

    Book reviews<\/em><\/p>\n

    By G\u00edsli A\u00f0alsteinsson: Maurizio Tani<\/u>, La chiesa di Akureyri: Guida storico-artistica alla parrocchiale luterana della \u00abcapitale del nord\u00bb<\/em> (Grafarvogur: Snorri Sturluson, 2010)<\/p>\n

    By Gu\u00f0mundur Hei\u00f0ar Fr\u00edmansson: Brian Lucey<\/u>, Charles Larkin<\/u> & Constantin Gurdgiev<\/u> (eds.), What if Ireland defaults?<\/em> (Dublin: Orpen Press, 2012)<\/p>\n

    By Herman Salton, \u201c\u2018Arctic Host, Icy Visit\u2019: A Response\u201d (cf. Tiantian Zhang<\/u>)<\/p>\n

    By Rachael Lorna Johnstone<\/u>: Jes\u00fas Ballesteros, Encarnaci\u00f3n Fern\u00e1ndez Ruiz-G\u00e1lvez & Pedro Talavera (eds.), Globalization and Human Rights: Challenges and Answers from a European Perspective<\/em> (Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives of Law and Justice, Vol. 13, Leiden: Springer, 2012)<\/p>\n

    By Rachael Lorna Johnstone<\/u>: T. Kue Young (senior ed.), Rajiv Rawat, Winifred Dallmann, Susan Chatwood & Peter Bjerregaard (eds.), Circumpolar Health Atlas<\/em> (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2012)<\/p>\n

    By Tero Mustonen<\/u>, C. Raudvere & J.P. Schj\u00f6dt (eds.), More Than Mythology \u2013 Narratives, Ritual Practices and Regional Distribution in Pre-Christian Scandinavian Religions<\/em> (Lund: Nordic Academic Press, 2012)<\/p>\n

    Translation<\/em><\/p>\n

    Luana Giampiccolo<\/u>, \u201cLei\u00f0arv\u00edsir, an Old Norse itinerarium: a proposal for a new partial translation and some notes about the place-names\u201d<\/p>\n

    9(1)\/2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Article<\/em><\/p>\n

    Matteo Tarsi<\/u>, \u201cOn Loanwords of Latin Origin in Contemporary Icelandic\u201d<\/p>\n

    Book reviews<\/em><\/p>\n

    By Federica Scarpa<\/u>: Natalia Loukacheva (ed.), Polar Law Textbook II<\/em> (Copenhagen: Nordic Council of Ministers, 2013)<\/p>\n

    By Giorgio Baruchello<\/u>: \u00deorl\u00e1kur Axel J\u00f3nsson, Dagur Austan. \u00c6vint\u00fdrama\u00f0urinn Vernhar\u00f0ur Eggertsson<\/em> (Akureyri: V\u00f6lusp\u00e1, 2009)<\/p>\n

    Interviews, memoirs and other contributions <\/em><\/p>\n

    Birgir Gu\u00f0mundsson & Markus Meckl<\/u>, \u201cRegaining Iceland for the Catholic Church in the mid-19th Century\u201d<\/p>\n

    9(2)\/2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Conference proceeding<\/em><\/p>\n

    Giorgio Baruchello<\/u>, \u201cThe Picture\u2014Small and Big: Iceland and the Crises\u201d<\/p>\n

    10(1)\/2015<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Conference proceeding<\/em><\/p>\n

    Thomas H\u00f6ren<\/u>, \u201cIMMI and Whistleblowing in Iceland \u2013 the new regulatory framework\u201d<\/p>\n

    Book reviews<\/em><\/p>\n

    By Giorgio Baruchello<\/u>: Sven-Olof Olsson (ed.), Managing Crises and De-globalization. Nordic foreign trade and exchange 1919-39 <\/em>(New York: Routledge, 2014 pbk.)<\/p>\n

    By Giorgio Baruchello: Gaetano Roberto Buccola<\/u>, Forme del centro. Percorsi analitici dal “Viaggio al centro della Terra” al nucleo dell’uomo<\/em> (Palermo: Nuova Ipsa, 2013)<\/p>\n

    By Rachael Lorna Johnstone: K\u00e1ri \u00e1 R\u00f3gvi<\/u>, West-Nordic Constitutional Judicial Review: A Comparative Study of Scandinavian Judicial Review and Judicial Reasoning<\/em> (Copenhagen: Dj\u00f8f Publishing, 2013)<\/p>\n

    Interviews, memoirs and other contributions <\/em><\/p>\n

    Roberto Buccola<\/u>, \u201cThe Unconscious and the Island: Fragments of Research on the Self\u201d<\/p>\n

    10(2)\/2015<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Conference proceeding<\/em><\/p>\n

    Giorgio Baruchello<\/u>, \u201cEnemies of Interculturalism: The Economic Crisis in Light of Xenophobia, Liberal Cruelties and Human Rights\u201c<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/u><\/p>\n

    Foreign contributions about Iceland: Recurring themes<\/strong><\/p>\n

    What sort of recurring themes can be found in this collection of diverse scholarly and scientific texts? I have identified four.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Iceland as \u201cthe land of the Vikings\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      This is the title given by the aviator Italo Balbo (2006) to the chapter on Iceland in his 1933 memoirs, who also recalls how the Vikings discovered America before Columbus himself. Spanish-Portuguese philosopher Casado da Rocha (2006) mentions too the Vikings\u2019 \u201cstories of warriors and wise men, poets and politicians of the golden age of settlement and commonwealth.\u201d The marauding hordes, their adventures and their legacy are very much a focus-point for many commentators. They are a reason for distinctiveness, if not distinction. For instance, law professor Milazzo\u2019s (2006) account of his teaching experience emphasises how Iceland is not as much part of the legal tradition based on Roman Law as most other European countries. Legal scholar Johnstone too, in her 2011 review essay on comparative law, mentions the enduring island-centric character of mainstream legal education in Iceland. This is not to say that classical culture did not reach or influence Iceland\u2019s cultural development. Quite the opposite, Actite\u2019s 2009 text offers a concise account of the deep, extensive and sometimes surprising impact of the Latin tradition on this island: \u201cFor instance, the Latin phrase Rustycus es, Corydon<\/em> gave origin to the Icelandic words rusti<\/em> [farmer] and d\u00f3ni<\/em> [rude people]\u201d. Tarsi (2014) offers an even longer account. Even some elements of the later Catholic Christianitas <\/em>endure, as noticed by Cardinal Mej\u00eda (2012) and Tani (2013). Still, the land of the Vikings is distinct and original, which is shown by the interest of foreign scholars, and Italian ones in particular, in the history, development and influence of Old Norse or ancient Icelandic, and its literary accomplishments in the Edda and the Sagas, e.g. Ferioli (2010), Miglio (2010), Costanzo (2010), Lorinczi (2010), Tani (2006), Barden (2011), Mustonen (2013), Giampiccolo (2013),<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Iceland as a Nordic State<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Former Italian governmental ministers Damiano and Treu, together with the historian Borioni (2008), lump Iceland together with the other Scandinavian countries, as though Iceland had as strong a social-democratic tradition as Sweden, Denmark or Norway. However, Iceland does not have it. It was never a welfare State, in the sense and to the extent these other countries have historically exemplified. The right-wing Independence Party has marked its history much more than the various incarnations of democratic socialism in Iceland (cf. also Meckl\u2019s 2012 article on Iceland\u2019s Cold-War history and Baruchello\u2019s 2014 book review), as also reflected by the largely unnoticed repression of Falun Gong demonstrators in Iceland in 2002 (cf. Tiantian Zhang, 2012 & 2013). Difference does not mean intransigence, however. Thus, H\u00f6ren (2015) and Johnstone (2013a) reveal significant changes in a more Nordic direction led by the historically weaker left-wing forces of the country, in freedom of the press and in human rights provisions respectively. Perhaps, the most obvious manifestation of the \u201cun-Nordicness\u201d of Iceland was the neoliberal boom-and-bust hot-money cycle that led to the notorious kreppa<\/em> of 2008, about which a number of contributions have been published, i.e. Baruchello (2010), Paganelli (2010), Johnstone (2013), Lucey, Larkin & Gurdgiev (2013), Johnstone (2013a & b), Baruchello (2014 & 2015b). Penco (2013) adds another layer of \u201cun-Nordicness\u201d by noticing how Iceland\u2019s philosophical tradition owes more to Anglophone and Dutch academic traditions and establishments than to Scandinavian ones. Still, there exist clear connections with Scandinavian political experience, notably the Danish roots of Iceland\u2019s constitution (cf. Quartino, 2011). In fact, in addition to its linguistic-literary roots and heritage, the legal tradition of Iceland seems to be, at large, the most Nordic feature of Iceland\u2019s culture, at least according to K\u00e1ri \u00e1 R\u00f3gvi (2015). Baruchello (2015) adds another line of continuity, i.e. the cartelisation of strategic industries during the 1930s.<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Iceland as an Arctic State<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Less controversial is this third commonplace notion. Iceland is located in the North Atlantic, after all, which is cold, dangerous to navigate upon, remote. This is the tone of the account by Savi-Lopez (2006), who pioneered the study and dissemination of Icelandic literature in Italy in the first half of the 20th<\/sup> century. As to later accounts, it would appear that being located in the North Atlantic is strategic. It is so for NATO (cf. Zhilina, 2013), for the EU (cf. Di Stefano, 2011), but above all for the Arctic nations and the governance of the region, as emphasised by Loukacheva (2011), Johnstone (2013c) and Scarpa (2014). Indeed, Meckl\u2019s 2014 studies on the Catholic Arctic mission of the 19th<\/sup> century show the Catholic Church being the first international institution to conceive of the Arctic as a geographically, politically and culturally strategic region of the World. The number of submissions and publications pertaining to this third notion have been growingly steadily over the years, reflecting Iceland’s own growing institutional and intellectual self-characterisation as an Arctic State, not least as manifested by the developments within the University of Akureyri, which is part of the University of the Arctic consortium and hosts a most successful Master’s programme in Polar Law.<\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Iceland as a dimension of the spirit<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Iceland\u2019s unique landscape, the result of equally unique and rather extreme geographic, geological and climatic conditions, lead to awe and deep existential reflection. Scientific observations are the beginning of more profound considerations about the relationship between humanity and the natural environment, the struggle for survival that we have fought throughout our journey on this planet, and the most disturbing question of all: why do we keep fighting? More or less explicitly, this is the tone of the contributions by literary scholar Finocchietti (2008) as well as geographers Zarrilli (2008) and Campanini (2008 & 2010). The same applies to those of Jungian psychologist Buccola (2015a & b). Numerically, we are not talking of a large number of contributions. However, and here the qualitative character of the present account comes to the forefront, the number of authors that have been interested in Iceland because of its mystique is conspicuous. Methodologically unlikely to reflect upon and disclose the motives for their own research, scholars and scientists have often discussed them with me\u00a0qua\u00a0<\/em>editor and a southern European expatriate in the far north. The fascination with Iceland’s lunar vistas and its seemingly prohibitive inhospitality, combined with the sense of authenticity that such conditions inspire, are a frequent reason for Mediterranean minds to develop an interest in Nordic matters, even if these may have little to do with the island’s vistas, inhospitality or authenticity.<\/p>\n

            Concluding remarks<\/strong><\/p>\n

            The literature by foreign experts published over the years in Nordicum-Mediterraneum<\/em> pertains to many different disciplines. Prominent are literary, linguistic and legal studies. These disciplinary areas of emphasis are the result of many factors, not least the network of scholars and researchers who have found the journal a suitable venue for their work and that of experts willing to review the books that we receive from publishers. It is difficult, if not impossible, to gauge with certainty how representative they are of the stereotypes of, and commonplace conceptions about, Iceland. Nonetheless, I believe that they do offer considerable food for thought, which is an adequate and relevant aim for the present contribution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Established in 2005, the scholarly venue entitled Nordicum-Mediterraneum: Icelandic E-Journal of Nordic and Mediterranean Studies<\/em> has been published regularly by the University of Akureyri since 2006. Over the years, its editor and editorial collaborators have received, read, reviewed and released a number of contributions by foreign scholars, in particular Italian ones, dealing with Iceland under a broad variety of scientific and scholarly perspectives. Upon the basis of the published contributions, the conference\u2019s discussion can be enriched by an eminently local, quintessentially academic, yet qualitatively rich account of Iceland’s image among foreign academic circles, especially Italian ones.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":254,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1323],"tags":[1335,107,199,115,153],"coauthors":[990],"class_list":["post-1358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conference-proceeding-volume-11-no-2-2016","tag-editing","tag-iceland","tag-italy","tag-mediterranean","tag-nordic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nome.unak.is\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nome.unak.is\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nome.unak.is\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nome.unak.is\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/254"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nome.unak.is\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1358"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/nome.unak.is\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1358\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1391,"href":"https:\/\/nome.unak.is\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1358\/revisions\/1391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nome.unak.is\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nome.unak.is\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nome.unak.is\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1358"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nome.unak.is\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=1358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}