The 3rd St Magnus Conference, organised by The Centre for Nordic Studies, will be held in Orkney 14-16 April 2016. The conference theme is ‘Visualising the North’ and the event offers an opportunity to present papers and posters on a wide range of subject areas, such as literature, archaeology, sociology, geography, history and art history, from a Scottish and Nordic perspective.
Suggested strands within the theme encompass:
(1) Maps and mapping: The relationship between abstract, symbolic and realistic maps. The vision of ‘northness’ in early maps and literature. How was ‘the north’ understood before the compass?
(2) Landscapes: Physical landscapes, literary landscapes, mythical landscapes. Landscape and monument use and re-use, and the understanding of the past in the past.
(3) Inhabiting the north: The life of new settlers versus that of established populations, strategies of survival in a new environment – how does this compare to other geographical areas? To what extent were mental maps and ‘meaning of place’ transported to new lands?
Keynote speakers:
Barbara Crawford, Honorary Reader in Medieval History University of St Andrews and Honorary Professor, Centre for Nordic Studies, UHI
Kevin Smith, Deputy Director and Chief Curator, Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, Brown University.
Carla Sassi, Associate Professor of English Literature, Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, University of Verona
Submissions of single papers (abstracts of 100 words) or full sessions consisting of 3 speakers (abstracts of 400 words) within a thematic strand are welcome. All proposals should be emailed to: CNS@uhi.ac.uk by December 1, 2015.
For further details, please see our website http://www.uhi.ac.uk/en/research-enterprise/cultural/centre-for-nordic-studies/conferences/3rd-international-st-magnus-conference-visualising-the-north
Cultural Significance of Place 