Research
The research undertaken at the Department of Scandinavian Studies in the School of English focuses on the questions of literary theory and aesthetics, medieval poetics, and cultural and literary transfer in the Middle Ages. This research is carries out both in indivdual projects and in interdisciplinary research groups within the framework of doctoral associations.
Jun.-Prof. Dr. Rebecca Merkelbach
► SFB 1391 Andere Ästhetik: Sub-project B05 ‘Kaleidoscopic Narration in the Sagas of Icelanders’
This project approaches Icelandic saga literature from the assumption that late medieval saga narratives are generated kaleidoscopically from the same or similar narrative elements. It aims to investigate how such kaleidoscopic figures of aesthetic reflection are utilised in the narration of other sagas of Icelanders. Simultaneously, we test our findings against an apparently historiographic control group of texts, the contemporary sagas, while also examining the intersection between sagas of Icelanders and legendary sagas. This scope enables us to develop new approaches to saga narration, genre construction, and fictionality.
For more information, see the project page.
► ‘The Other Sagas: A New Reading of the “Post-Classical” Sagas of Icelanders’ (Completed)
In the DFG-funded project (project no. 400154111), Rebecca Merkelbach focused on the representation of protagonists, the paranormal and social contexts in the so-called ‘post-classical’ Icelandic sagas and thus developed a new approach to these texts, which have long been marginalised by research. As part of her work on the fictionality and narrative worlds of these sagas, she also developed the hypothesis that narration and world-building in this context are based on kaleidoscopic principles. The edited volume Storyworlds and Worldbuilding in Old Norse-Icelandic Literature, which goes back to a workshop held in 2021 (‘Storyworlds and Worldbuilding in Medieval Northern European Literature’), was recently published by Brepols.
Prof. Dr. (em) Stefanie Gropper:
► Project MoMod (Modes of Modification)
in collaboration with Karl-Gunnar A. Johansson (Oslo), Anna Horn (Oslo), Jonatan Petterson (Stockholm), Massimiliano Bampi (Venice) und Elise Kleivane (Oslo).
https://www.hf.uio.no/iln/english/research/projects/modes-of-modification/index.html
The sub-project "Texts in the Insular Distance. Narrative Concepts in Medieval Icelandic Literature" researches according to which selection and evaluation criteria the anonymously transmitted Íslendingasögur were given a place in the literary system of the Icelandic Middle Ages and how these criteria changed over the course of the transmission history of the texts.
► SFB 1391 Andere Ästhetik: ‘Sub-project Narrative (Selbst-) Reflexion in den Isländersagas’ (Completed)
► The Íslendingasögur as Prosimetrum (ISAP) (Completed)
The Íslendingasögur as Prosimetrum
Dr. Anna Katharina Heiniger
The project ‘Narratorial Comments in the Íslendingasögur as Expression of Literary Aesthetics’ is the first systematic study of narratorial comments in one of the best-known saga genres. The short interjections, such as sem var sagt ('as was told before' or maðr hét ('a man was called…'), are usually uttered by the extradiegetic-heterodiegetic narrative voice. In the first place, the comments serve to select, structure, evaluate and connect elements in the narration. At the same time, the narrative voice generates literary effects by skilfully placing and combining these comments. Analysing the narrative comments thus provides insights into the design of the narrative process and the literary self-image of the texts. Methodologically located in the Digital Humanities and based on a mixed-methods approach, the project first categorises the various comments and evaluates them quantitatively. Building on these results, the focus then turns to the qualitative analysis of the literary effects.
Juliane Witte, MA
► ‘Þú er it mesta forað: The Role of Anger and Social Monstrosity in the Depiction of Women in Old Norse-Icelandic Literature’
Juliane Witte has been a doctoral candidate with the Department of Scandinavian Studies since October 2022. The thesis investigates the role of female characters within Old Norse-Icelandic literature through the lenses of Gender Studies, Emotion Studies, and Social Monstrosity. While the framework of this thesis emerges from comparative analysis, it is rooted in these three approaches to tease out the tension at play within the representation of these female characters and their anger. Emotion Studies, specifically the analysis of the representation of female anger, will function as a gateway into questioning the overall representation of female characters, the assumptions placed upon them, and the varying narrative duties weighing upon their shoulders. Employing the theory of Social Monstrosity offers the research the chance to then discuss in which way the representation of female characters positions them as both monstrous outliers and representations of social tensions.