[Gandur] Folklore and Old Norse Mythology, 27.-28.11.2017, Helsinki Finland

[- Frog]

We are pleased to announce that the international conferenceFolklore and Old Norse Mythology will be held 27th–28th November 2017 inHelsinki, Finland. This is the twelfth annual ‘Aarhus Mythology Conference’, asit has become commonly known. 

 Across especially the past decade, research on Old Norsemythology has exhibited a boom of interest in both folklore collected in recentcenturies and in perspectives and insights offered by today’s folkloreresearch. Folklore and Old Norse Mythology has been organized to meet thisgrowing interest by gathering specialists from a wide range of disciplines toshare and discuss their views and approaches. Earlier scholarship had seen the value of more recent folklore in termsof continuities from an earlier time.  Thisremains a topic of interest, approached through the frameworks of today’smethodologies, yet a look at the presentations of the event reveal that therehas been shift in attention and concern. Traditions in the background of Old Norse sources are becoming viewed interms of folklore, looking at Norse mythology through that lens whilecapitalizing on the analogical value of more richly-documented traditions forapproaching mythology in the Old Norse world. The diverse perspectives and approached brought together in this eventreflect new directions in thinking with the potential for a critical mass ofdiscussion that could have a resounding impact on the field. Joonas Ahola, University of Helsinki“Myth and Character-Building in the Icelandic Family Sagas” Maths Bertell, Mid-Sweden University“Exclusivityin Old Norse Ritual and the Christianization of Ritual Space” Matthias Egeler, Ludwig-Maxmillians University, Munich“Medieval Irish Folklore and the Construction of Place in Eyrbyggjasaga” Frog, University of Helsinki “‘My God Can Beat up Your God!’ – Asserting Specialists’ Power and Authority through MythicDiscourse” Leszek Gardela, University of Rzeszow“Women andAxes in the North: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Viking Archaeology, Old NorseLiterature and Folklore” Gísli Sigurðsson, Árni Magnússon Institute, Reykjavík  “Mythology of the Prose Edda Interacting with theSky” Terry Gunnell, University Iceland “George Marwick’s Account of ‘The Muckle Tree or Igasill’:Folklore or Literature?”  Eldar Heide, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences“Magical Fishing in HistoriaNorwegie – Incomprehensible without Late Folklore” Kirsi Kanerva, University of Turku“Brynhildr, the Suicidal Valkyrie: Views of Suicide inMedieval Iceland” Karolina Kouvola, University of Helsinki“In Searchof the tietäjä with a Little Helpfrom Old Norse Material” Henning Kure, mythologist, independent scholar, Copenhagen “SizeMatters – Dwarfs in Old Norse Myths and Folklore” Tommy Kuusela, Stockholm University “A Brief History of Giants” John Lindow, University of California, Berkeley“Old Norse Mythology and Legend Tradition” John McKinnell, University of Durham  “Traces ofPre-Christian Religion in British Ballads and Popular Poetry” Stephen Mitchell, Harvard University“Myths,Historiolas, and Magic” Else Mundal, University of Oslo“Old NorseMythology, Heroic Legends, Religion and Folklore” Andreas Nordberg, University of Stockholm“The Configurations of Old Norse Religion and its Relevance for the Studyof late Scandinavian Folklore” Simon Nygaard, Aarhus University“Skalds asRitual Specialists? Looking for Religious Ritual Frameworks in the OralPerformance of Haraldskvæði, Eiríksmál and Hákonarmál” Judy Quinn, University of Cambridge“Fifth-Column Mother: Týr’s Negotiation ofKinship (and jötunheimar) Accordingto Hymiskviða” Catharina Raudvere, University of Copenhagen“Transforming, Transgressing, and Terrorizing:Shape-Shifters in Swedish Medieval Ballads” Jens Peter Schjødt, Aarhus University“Pre-CristianReligion of the North as Folklore: The Example of Freyr” Rudolf Simek, University of Bonn  “BasicInstincts?” Kendra Willson, University of Turku"Approaching seiðrfrom Later Traditions – Possibilities and Pitfalls" Laila Kitzler Åhfeldt, Swedish National Heritage Board“Gotland Picture Stones and Narration” Abstracts and additional information are availableon the conference website:https://www.helsinki.fi/en/conferences/folklore-and-old-norse-mythology We hope to see you in Helsinki! Folklore and Old NorseMythology is organized by Folklore Studies of the Department of Philosophy,History, Culture and Art Studies, University of Helsinki, the Academy ofFinland Project “Mythology, Verbal Art and Authority in Social Impact”, theFinnish Literature Society (SKS), the Society for Medieval Studies in FinlandGlossa ry., and the Department of Finnish, Finno-Ugric and Nordic Languages andLiteratures, University of Helsinki, with support from the Federation ofFinnish Learned Societies.