%0 Journal Article
%T The Vikings are coming! A modern Icelandic self-image in the light of the economic crisis
%A Ann-Sofie Nielsen Gremaud
%J Nordeuropaforum
%D 2010
%I Humboldt-Universit?t zu Berlin
%X This article analyzes the connection between the economic crisis in Iceland in 2008 and the role of Viking imagery in the collective self-image of Iceland. This connection is informed by Iceland¡¯s status as a Danish dependency for centuries ¨C a condition that deeply affected the development of Icelandic self-perception and its cultural life. In recent years, the Viking has appeared as an image of central cultural significance in Iceland¡¯s international relations with both Denmark and Great Britain in recent years. This article explores the connection between the sensational rise and fall of the so-called ¨²tr¨¢sarv¨ªkingar (ex-pansion Vikings), or Icelandic businessmen, and the effect of Iceland being a former dependency of Denmark on the general function of the Viking image in Iceland¡¯s collective identity. Thus, a postcolonial approach sheds light on how imagological representations of Vikings have affected modern Icelandic identity conceptualizations.
%K Denmark
%K Culture of Remembrance & Politics of History
%K Identities
%K Domestic Politics
%K Foreign & Security Policy
%K Arts & Culture
%K Iceland
%K Nations & Nationalism
%K Postcolonialism
%U http://edoc.hu-berlin.de/nordeuropaforum/2010-1/nielsen-gremaud-ann-sofie-87/PDF/nielsen-gremaud.pdf