NRN 2012

Nordic Research Network
Lìonradh Rannsachaidh Lochlannaich

Conference for Postgraduate Students and Early-Career Researchers

The University of Edinburgh
Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann

23-24 February 2012
23-24 an Gearran 2012

Announcement and invitation
Discussion event at the Scottish Parliament
Registration
The organising committee
Contact details
Programme

Announcement and invitation

Scandinavian Studies at the University of Edinburgh invites participants to the Nordic Research Network 2012. This two-day interdisciplinary conference on 23-24 February 2012 will bring together postgraduate students and early-career researchers from Edinburgh and the rest of the UK currently researching topics relating to the Nordic area. The event will also incorporate a knowledge exchange workshop on communicating the developing role of lesser-taught languages in the university sector and a discussion event to be held at the Scottish Parliament, hosted by Alison Johnstone MSP and with refreshments sponsored by the Royal Norwegian Consulate General.

Following on from the successful first Nordic Research Network symposium held at University College London in 2010, students and early-career researchers will present the objectives or results of their current research. Through presentations, discussions, socialising activities and workshops, the conference will offer an ideal platform for the sharing of ideas and for dialogue with like-minded peers, as well as an opportunity to explore the significance of studying the Nordic area in the UK research environment.



Discussion event at the Scottish Parliament, 24 February

We are delighted to announce that, in connection with the NRN, a discussion event will be held at the Scottish Parliament on the evening of Friday 24 February, kindly hosted by Alison Johnstone MSP and with refreshments sponsored by the Royal Norwegian Consulate General. This extra event, entitled 'Building Cabins and Building Character: Using the Outdoors in Britain and Norway' will feature Ellen Rees (Scandinavian Studies, University of Oslo), Ralf Westphal and Peter Higgins (both of the Outdoor Education programme at the University of Edinburgh), and will be chaired by Dominic Hinde (Scandinavian Studies, University of Edinburgh).

More details about the Scottish Parliament event are available through this link.

Registration

Space is unfortunately limited - to register for the Nordic Research Network, please write to nordicedinburgh@gmail.com to request a registration form, which must be returned to us by Thursday 16 February. Booking is also required for the event at the Scottish Parliament. If you have not already requested a place as part of your main conference registration, please write to g.puzey@ed.ac.uk to book for the Parliament event.

The organising committee

Ersev Ersoy – Dominic Hinde – Guy Puzey

Contact details

E-mail: nordicedinburgh@gmail.com 
Follow us on Twitter @NordicEdinburgh

Draft programme 

(updated 16 February 2012)

Day 1 / Latha 1
Thursday 23 February / Diardaoin 23 an Gearran
David Hume Tower Conference Room

08:00-09:00           Registration
09:00-09:20           Welcome and Introduction
09:20-10:40	Session 1: North Atlantic and International Contacts – Chair: Alan Macniven William Frost, University of the Highlands and Islands North Atlantic Rim: Utopian Dream or Topological Dissection? Adam Grimshaw, University of St Andrews Anglo-Norwegian Trade in the 17th Century John Mitchinson, University College London Othering the Other: Decolonisation in the Faroe Islands Björn Nordgren, University of St Andrews The Second Swedish Phase of the Thirty Years War: 1635-1643
10:40-11:10           Break
11:10-12:30	Session 2: Approaches to Literature – Chair: Ersev Ersoy Eric Cain, University of Edinburgh Innocence and the Anonymity of Evil: Two Horror Archetypes in Le Fanu’s Carmilla and Lindqvist’s Let the Right One In Seonaid Francis, University of the Highlands and Islands Challenging Tradition: An Exegesis of the Poetry of Steinn Steinarr from the Perspectives of Existentialism and Surrealism Silke Reeploeg, University of the Highlands and Islands Civilising the North: From ‘Sturdy Mountaineer’ to Folk Culture in Nineteenth-Century Norwegian and Scottish Literature Barbara Tesio, University of Edinburgh A Rereading of Pierre Andrezèl/Karen Blixen’s Gengældelsens Veje
12:30-13:40           Lunch
13:40-15:00	Session 3: Politics and Public Discourse – Chair: Guy Puzey Øivind Bratberg, University of Oslo The Nordic Model of Social Democracy Dan Heap, University of Edinburgh Activation for All? Sick and Disabled Benefit Claimants, the Institutionalisation of Activation Regimes, and Economic Downturns in the United Kingdom and Denmark Dominic Hinde, University of Edinburgh Why Discourse Is the Right Course: Looking at Swedish Environment from a Discursive Perspective Emily St.Denny, University of Stirling The ‘modèle suédois’: The Swedish Model as a Political Resource in the Struggle over French Prostitution Policy
15:10-15:40           Break
15:40-17:00	Session 4: Translation and Literary Genres – Chair: Dominic Hinde Charlotte Berry, University of Edinburgh Aidan Chambers: Champion for Translated Children’s Literature Agnes Broome, University College London Can Swedish Literature Succeed on the British Market? Ian Giles, University of Edinburgh Translational Issues in Translating the Opening of Tjuven by Göran Tunström Anna Hoyles, University of Lincoln Wash Tubs and World Affairs: The Persona of Madam Andersson in the Literary Journalism of Moa Martinson
18:30                    Conference dinner                                        Howies Restaurant, 29 Waterloo Place

Day 2 / Latha 2
Friday 24 February / Dihaoine 24 an Gearran
David Hume Tower Conference Room

09:00-10:30	Knowledge Exchange Workshop Anne Sofie Laegran, University of Edinburgh Antonella Sorace, University of Edinburgh Elettra Carbone, Norvik Press / University College London Open discussion
10:30-11:00           Break
11:00-12:20	Session 5: Folk Tales and the Ancient North Revisited – Chair: Helena Forsås-Scott Richard Cole, University College London The Absent Jew and the Anti-Semitic Impulse in Pre-Reformation Scandinavia Ersev Ersoy, University of Edinburgh Past Modes of Thought in Mythic Tradition Colin MacKenzie, University of Glasgow The Life of the ‘Mind’ in Old Norse Victoria Ralph, University College London The Influence of Old Norse Icelandic Literature in Drottningar i Kungahälla by Selma Lagerlöf
12:20-13:20           Lunch
13:20-15:00	Session 6: People and Identities – Chair: John Mitchinson Ragnhild Ljosland, University of the Highlands and Islands The Orkney and Shetland Dialect Corpus-Based Grammar Study: A Presentation of a Project Idea Ingrid A. Medby, University of Edinburgh Social Adjustment among Norwegian Students in Melbourne, Australia Nicholas Prindiville, University College London The Ingrian Finns: A Case for Ethnic Identity in Finland 1990-2010 Guy Puzey, University of Edinburgh Counter-Hegemonies and Linguistic Democracy in Norway and Italy Sophia Rautenberg, University of Stirling Sweden, Norway and Finland: A Comparative Study on Sámi Politics
15:00-15:30           Break
15:30-17:10	Session 7: Spaces and Places in Architecture, Art and Music – Chair: Charlotte Berry Elettra Carbone and Claire Thomson, University College London On the Trail of ‘Denmark’s Pride’: The Intercultural and Intermedial Mobility of Bertel Thorvaldsen and of His Statues Pei-Sze Chow, University College London Up, Out, and Away: Documenting Landmark Architecture in Malmö Nichola Smalley, University College London Repping the Margins: Swedish Rap on the Periphery and at the Centre of Creative Language Joe Stroud, University of Edinburgh För Fäderneslandet: Swedish Extreme-Right Music and the Portrayal of Swedish Exceptionalism Essi Viitanen, University College London The Cinematic Spaces of Suburbia
17:10-17:30          Closing remarks
18:30-20:00          Building Cabins and Building Character:                              Using the Outdoors in Britain and Norway                             Committee Room One                             Scottish Parliament / Pàrlamaid na h-Alba                             This event is kindly hosted by Alison Johnstone MSP                             Ellen Rees, University of Oslo                             Ralf Westphal and Peter Higgins, University of Edinburgh                             Discussion chair: Dominic Hinde, University of Edinburgh Through the generous sponsorship of the Royal Norwegian Consulate General, refreshments will be offered prior to the discussion itself. ● N.B. – Registration for the Parliament event is separate: if you have not already booked as part of your main conference registration, please write to g.puzey@ed.ac.uk by Thursday 16 February. You must sign in at the Parliament by 18:30.