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Proceedings of the 14th Háskóli Íslands Student Conference on the Medieval North (Reykjavík, April 11th-13th, 2025) Other Things
(Miðaldastofa Háskóla Íslands — University of Iceland Centre for Medieval Studies, 2025-09-12) Arnot, Brooklyn Frances; Fisher, Colin; Nuutinen, Essi; Loidl, Emilia; Menjivar, Julian ; Barruezo-Vaquero, Pablo; School of Humanities
The Háskóli Islands Conference for the Medieval North began in 2011 and has since then endeavoured to amplify the voices of upcoming scholars, primarily studying at a master's or doctoral level. This mission has facilitated the sharing of fresh and exciting scholarship over the past fourteen years, from voices which are new in Old Norse Scholarship, as well as from countries which are often underrepresented in the field. The mission of the conference has therefore always been focused on the peripheries of scholarship, a concept we decided to amplify with this year's theme, Other Things. The topics from this conference covered marginalised groups such as ethnic minorities, women, queer people, and the economically oppressed. Not only did it focus on other identities, but the subject of this year's conference invited its participants to consider other things. This could be taken in the broad sense of anything yet also pushed participants to consider the marginal nature of the material world. We, as humans, tend to consider the material world as secondary to the human, meaning the physical world and our environment is pushed aside as irrelevant. This conference has invited its participants to push against this tendency, by centralising the material and natural world.
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Participation of children and young people in research. Opportunities and challenges.
(University of Iceland, School Education, Faculty of Education and Diversity, 2025-11) Árnadóttir, Hervör Alma; Guðrún Kristinsdóttir, Sissel Seim; Deild menntunnar og marbreytileika (HÍ); Faculty of Education and Diversity (UI); Menntavísindasvið (HÍ); School of Education (UI)
The aim of this doctoral thesis is to increase knowledge and understanding of how children and young people (CYP) can be supported to participate in social research on issues that concern them. Particular emphasis is placed on highlighting the challenges researchers face when seeking access to CYP, and how these challenges relate to methods, approaches and children's rights to participate in discussions and decisions concerning their own lives and circumstances. The study addresses the following questions: What ethical and methodological challenges do researchers need to overcome in order to obtain support of gatekeepers to gain access to CYP for participation in social research? How do practitioners in child protection services understand the practical implications of CYP’s participation in social research? How can research methods be adapted to overcome the challenges of involving CYP in research? The study is grounded in a perspective informed by critical social constructionism and childhood studies, in which CYP are regarded as key social actors who shape their environments. Accordingly, their participation is considered essential in research. The study discusses methods that have proven useful in eliciting CYP’s experiences and perspectives, particularly in sensitive contexts. To gain insight into the subject, the study examines the experiences and perspectives of child protection practitioners who serve as gatekeepers when researchers seek access to CYP, as well as the experiences of researchers who have conducted research involving CYP. It also draws on existing data to reflect the perspectives of parents and CYP regarding participation in research and data from CYP about the usefulness of creative methods when working with CYP. The study is based on four peer-reviewed papers. The first paper explores the current state of knowledge regarding the challenges faced by researchers in this field. The second paper examines researchers’ experiences in gaining access to CYP who receive support due to difficult life circumstances, and their interactions with formal and informal gatekeepers. The third paper focuses on practitioners working with CYP in child protection services and their perspectives on supporting researchers in gaining access. Lastly, the fourth paper discusses how creative and artistic methods can support CYP in discussing sensitive topics. The findings reveal a complex and challenging process for researchers seeking access to CYP in vulnerable situations for research participation. Applications for access must navigate a hierarchy of formal and informal gatekeepers who are responsible for safeguarding children's rights to protection and participation. Challenges are evident in the lengthy approval processes, often resulting in extended delays or rejections, frequently without clear justification. Researchers depend on the goodwill of practitioners occupying key positions within this hierarchy, each of whom must dedicate time and energy to determine whether or not to support access to the target group. Researchers associate these delays and reluctance with a perceived lack of interest in research among practitioners and with assumptions about children's competencies, both of which significantly influence whether applications for access are considered or granted. Practitioners working in child protection, who act as gatekeepers, report limited time for engaging with research-related tasks and criticise researchers for submitting unclear research plans. These plans often lack sufficient explanation of researchers' competence in working with CYP, strategies to ensure child safety and justifications for involving CYP directly rather than relying on adults as informants. Frequently, the plans also fail to adequately describe researchers' prior experience or use of appropriate methods. Many practitioners consider it inappropriate to burden CYP in vulnerable circumstances by asking them to participate in research, particularly when discussing matters of which they may have limited understanding. According to practitioners, researchers should avoid compromising CYP’s safety through participation and instead focus on utilising existing data collected by practitioners. To enhance CYP's direct participation in research, researchers must prioritise the careful and professional development of their research designs. They need to invest time in building relationships and trust with gatekeepers, demonstrate how they will ensure children's safety and exhibit competence in using appropriate creative methods that can foster meaningful participation. Safeguarding CYP's rights requires enhancing researchers' competence in working with CYP and improving practitioners' knowledge of childhood studies and the concept of participation. Such efforts are necessary to challenge dominant protectionist attitudes among practitioners that limit CYP’s actual opportunities to influence their lives and circumstances
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“Trafficking is a heavy word” Quranic education for knowledge, liberation and power in Guinea-Bissau
(University of Iceland, School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Sociology, Anthropology and Folkloristics, 2025-10-05) Boiro, Hamadou; Jónína Einarsdóttir; Félagsfræði-, mannfræði- og þjóðfræðideild (HÍ); Faculty of Sociology, Anthropology and Folkloristics (UI); Félagsvísindasvið (HÍ); School of Social Sciences (UI)
Þessi doktorsritgerð í mannfræði fjallar um Fulbe drengi frá Gíneu-Bissá sem eru sendir í kóranskóla í Senegal. Um er að ræða umdeilda venju sem hefur víða verið stimpluð sem mansal barna vegna þess að drengirnir betla á götum úti sem hluta af kórannámi sínu. Yfirgrípandi rannsóknarspurning snýr að því hvers vegna heimamenn telji að hugtakið „mansal“ í þessu samhengi sé „þungt orð“ og hvernig þeir bregðast við alþjóðlegum aðgerðum til að hefta för drengjanna til Senegal, banna betl og senda þá aftur heim til Gíneu-Bissá. Aðgerðrirnar eru umdeildar og stangast á við trúar- og menningarlegar hefðir og félagslegar aðstæður þar sem drengirnir búa. Rannsóknin byggir á langtíma vettvangsrannsókn að hætti mannfræðinnar sem fram fór á árunum 2009 til 2020, þar sem notast var við þátttökuathuganir, viðtöl og rýnihópa. Þátttakendur voru trúarlegir leiðtogar og kennarar (cerembe) sem hafa verið sakaðir um mansal, kóranskóladrengir (almube) sem flokkaðir eru sem fórnarlömb mansals, foreldrar þeirra og annað heimafólk. Niðurstöðurnar storka ríkjandi frásögnum frjálsra félagasamtaka og alþjóðastofnana um að sárafátækt og vanþekking séu meginástæður þess að foreldrar sendi syni sína í kórannám til Senegal. Andstætt slíkum hugmyndum þá sýnir rannsóknin að fjölskyldur, sérstaklega meðal Fulbe Djiahabe sem eru afkomendur þræla, velja trúarlega menntun sem leið til félagslegs hreyfanleika, valda og frelsis. Rannsóknin sýnir hvernig trúarleg þekking eykur táknrænt vald trúarleiðtoganna og gerir jaðarsettum hópum kleift að bæta virðingarstöðu sína og vinna gegn fordómum. Doktorsritgerðin kallar eftir afnýlenduvæðingu aðgerða gegn meintu mansali barna og sýnir hvernig þær bæti ekki stöðu drengjanna, nema að síður sé. Aðgerðirnar taka ekki tillit til menningarbundinna hugmynda, t.d. um betl sem gagnkvæma athöfn og hugtaksins merkingarbær þjáning, sem er þjáning sem leiðir til jákvæðrar niðurstöðu. Rannsóknin sýnir að heimsending drengjanna til Gíneu-Bissá leiðir til ringulreiðar, stimplunar og átaka í samfélagi þeirra. Samtímis þjónar heimsendingin mörgum, stundum andstæðum, hagsmunum. Frjáls félagasamtök tryggja áframhaldandi fjármögnun sína, ekki síst þegar þau snúa sama hópi drengja aftur og aftur til heimalandsins. Þá hafa fjölskyldur drengjanna og kóranskólakennarar byrjað að nýta sér hana sem ókeypis far heim fyrir drengina áður en árstíðabundnir annatímar byrja, en þeir snúa svo aftur til Senegal að þeim loknum. Fræðilegi rammi ritgerðarinnar sameinar kenningar Quijano um nýlenduvæðingu valds og þekkingar, kenningu Foucault um tengsl valds og þekkingar og hugmyndum Bourdieu um táknrænt vald. Þessi samruni fræðilegra sjónarhorna varpar ljósi á hvernig alþjóðleg og staðbundin valdakerfi, þekkingarsköpun og andstaða eru að verki samtímis, og opinberar hvernig alþjóðleg barnavernd einkennist af nýlenduhugarfari sem heimamenn mæta með andstöðu. Rannsóknin dregur fram misræmi á milli alþjóðlegra aðgerða gegn mansali, byggðar á vestrænum, lagalegum og siðferðilegum viðmiðum lituðum af nýlenduhugsun, sem leiða til glæpavæðingar hefða og samfélaga, og staðbundinna sjónarmiða um hvað teljist vera virðingarvert uppeldi barna. Doktorsritgerðin er framlag til mannfræði og umræðu um alþjóðlega stefnumótun og varpar ljósi á takmarkanir algildra inngripa og lagalegra aðgerða til að bæta aðstæður barna sem búa við erfiðar aðstæður. Hún hvetur til aðgerða sem taka mið af aðstæðum, vinnu gegn kerfislægum ójöfnuði, og stuðningi við staðbundna valkosti til menntunar. Forsenda árangurs er að umgangast trúarleiðtoga, foreldra og annað heimafólk af virðingu. Rannsóknin er ákall um afnýlenduvæðingu alþjóðlegrar barnaverndar og hvetur fræðimenn og fagfólk til að viðurkenna fjölbreytileika bernskunnar og óskir foreldra um fjölþætta menntun fyrir börn sín á sama tíma og velferð þeirra er tryggð.
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Patterns and processes of birch establishment in space and time; Implications for large-scale woodland restoration
(0022-10-25) Behrend, Anna Mariager; Ása L. Aradóttir, Agricultural University of Iceland; Kristín Svavarsdóttir, Land and Forest Iceland; Þóra Ellen Þórhallsdóttir, University of Iceland; Faculty of Environmental and Forest Sciences
The continuous global ecosystem loss and degradation calls for extensive ecological restoration. Iceland has lost more than 95% of its original native mountain birch (Betula pubescens ssp. tortuosa) woodlands since the country’s settlement in the 9th century CE. This has prompted an ambitious pledge for their restoration by the Icelandic government with the acceptance of the Bonn Challenge, aiming to increase the native birch woodland cover from 1.5 to 5%. This is only going to be possible through passive and low-intensity restoration strategies, and such strategies must be grounded in an in-depth knowledge of colonization processes of the targeted woodland species. The overall aim of this thesis was to improve knowledge on the patterns, processes and drivers of mountain birch woodland expansion through natural processes in order to guide their restoration. The thesis encompasses studies at different scales, including field surveys, seeding experiments and remote sensing, based on ten study areas covering most lowland areas of Iceland. Analysis of aerial photos from different years showed that the studied birch woodlands expanded on average by 1,5% annually over a period of 38-65 years. Areas that had been protected from grazing generally had higher expansion rates than those open for grazing, and the area with the highest expansion rate had also undergone revegetation. This expansion has mainly happened through natural colonization, as revealed by surveys of colonization patterns: a process mainly limited by local environmental factors at the early seedling establishment phase. This includes microsite availability, wind and soil type, and disturbance in the form of presence of domestic grazers. Seedling densities were greatest within 20 m of the woodland edge, indicating dispersal limitation, with varying patterns among areas. However, most areas had densities of more than 100 seedlings m-2 out to at least 100 m from the woodland edge. The results also show a positive effect of greater woodland heights on the effective colonization range of birch, and on the morphology of saplings growing at the woodland edge. Seeding experiments confirmed the importance of favourable microsites (safe sites) for recruitment. Recruitment of mountain birch was furthermore highly variable among different land classification types (habitat types), dependent on safe site availability and partly on origin of the seed source used. These are factors that can be controlled in restoration to improve conditions for birch establishment and survival. The results show the feasibility of upscaling mountain birch woodland restoration by applying knowledge on natural processes to promote natural colonization and regeneration. The increased knowledge on birch colonization processes supports more targeted guidance on how natural recovery processes can be enhanced by limited interventions.
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Teaching visual arts as an approach to moral education: An autoethnographic account of my research project
(University of Iceland, School of Education, 2025-11-04) Olafsson Waage, Ingimar; Atli Harðarson og Ólafur Páll Jónsson; Deild faggreinakennslu (HÍ); Subject Teacher Education (UI); Menntavísindasvið (HÍ); School of Education (UI)
This doctoral dissertation, composed of five peer-reviewed articles along with a Kappa, details an intervention study designed by the author and carried out in collaboration with three visual arts teachers during art classes at an elementary school in the capital area of Iceland. The research focused on exploring the potential for enhancing moral education through discussions about visual art and art-making, based on selected virtues. The theoretical foundation is rooted in Aristotle’s virtue ethics and its modern adaptations, particularly Neo-Aristotelianism and Aristotelian Character Education. The author also draws on John Dewey’s educational and aesthetic philosophy, Rudolf Arnheim’s theories on the interaction of perception and thinking, Susanne Langer’s writings on art and inner life, and Maxine Greene’s views on the role of art and imagination in education and the teacher’s role within that context. The ontological basis of the study is pragmatic, and the author employed a mixed- methods research approach, including focus group interviews, thematic analysis of student texts, observation of their artworks, and action research, wherein the author holistically reflected on the research process. The work weaves together two distinct dimensions: an exploration of the role and potential of visual arts education in fostering moral development, and an autoethnographic study of the author’s own development as an artist, teacher, and researcher, particularly in light of the value of educational research and the role of the teacher. At the outset, the author intended to investigate how visual arts education might contribute to moral development, especially in terms of what is called “virtue literacy”— a construct developed by the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues at the University of Birmingham in the UK. The research aimed to develop new methods and educational materials for moral education where the arts, especially visual arts, would play a central role. The intervention, lasting eight weeks, involved creative projects in art classes that emphasised virtues such as courage and friendship. Students also regularly engaged in philosophical discussions about selected artworks that the author believed contained moral undertones or content. Before and after the intervention, questionnaires were administered to both the participating students and a control group. Statistical analysis of the survey data indicated that the intervention did not have a statistically significant effect on students’ moral vocabulary. However, this finding contrasted with impressive student artworks and their written reflections, which indicated meaningful contemplation and insights. This constitutes the first dimension of the study. This outcome led the author to recognise more clearly his own inseparable role as artist, teacher, and researcher, highlighting that the organic whole of human interaction in the classroom cannot be detached from the technical aspects of curriculum, teaching methods, interventions, and assessment. To better understand his role in this context, the author undertook an action research project, forming the second dimension of the study. The main findings of the research underscore the importance of giving students opportunities to reflect on artworks and discuss their thoughts and emotions in relation to those works and their own lives. The results also show that elementary school students can grapple with complex moral questions and articulate their thoughts about them, even if they have not fully developed linguistic mastery. It can be inferred that reflection on artworks and participation in discussions about them may be a valuable complement to traditional curriculum content in elementary education. Furthermore, the results highlight the crucial role of the teacher in creating a safe and trusting classroom environment that enables meaningful learning. On the other hand, the findings also indicate that due to traditions and expectations about the content and focus of visual arts education, teachers might expect to face challenges, though these can be met with patience, reflection, care, and respect

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