Last week a group of the study program CHID Iceland: Regeneration: Matter, Myth, and Memory in Iceland arrived in the Westfjords for a ten day long stay in the region.  Comparative History of Ideas is an interdisciplinary program at the University of Washington. The Iceland summer program puts emphasis on the relationship between humans and nature and touches upon topics from various disciplines such as history, political economy, anthropology, geography, literature, cultural theory, literary theory and natural history. Dr. Phillip Thurtle is the program director and this is the third group he brings to the Westfjords for this program. 

During their stay the CHID students are taught both in class as well outside, as excursions and field trips are an important part of the program. This time they are introduced to a blót, a religious ritual of the Ásatrúarfélag, an association which revived the old Norse paganism. The students learnt about the well-known Saga of Gisli the Outlaw watching a piece of theatre, a monologue performed by a local actor and also going on saga hikes, following in the footsteps of Gisli. At Hrafnseyri museum the group was introduced to 19th century national hero Jón Sigurðsson and visited the reconstructed farmhouse where he was born in 1811.   

We are very mpleased to welcome Dr. Thurtle here once more, hoping to receive yet another group of the CHID programme in 2016.