North Atlantic and Greenlandic literature

North Atlantic and Greenlandic literature /asmagazine/ en As all things Nordic become chic, scholar steps in /asmagazine/2023/02/21/all-things-nordic-become-chic-scholar-steps <span>As all things Nordic become chic, scholar steps in</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2023-02-21T13:30:44-07:00" title="Tuesday, February 21, 2023 - 13:30">Tue, 02/21/2023 - 13:30</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/article-thumbnail/nordic_landscape.jpg?h=8abcec71&itok=ANQy1Sam" width="1200" height="800" alt="Nordic boats on the water"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/30"> News </a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/897"> Profiles </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/1177" hreflang="en">Neo-paganism</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/1173" hreflang="en">Nordic memory studies</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/1175" hreflang="en">North Atlantic and Greenlandic literature</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/1171" hreflang="en">Pre-Christian Nordic mythologies</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/280" hreflang="en">Program in Nordic Studies</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/686" hreflang="en">Research</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/1172" hreflang="en">Scandinavian folklore</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/1174" hreflang="en">myth and disaster studies</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/1176" hreflang="en">reception history of the Viking Age</a> </div> <a href="/asmagazine/clay-bonnyman-evans">Clay Bonnyman Evans</a> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default 3"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p class="lead"><em>Through scholarship and a popular podcast, ��ϳԹ� professor Mathias Nordvig brings the Viking Age to the 21<sup>st</sup> century</em></p><hr><p><em>We come from the land of the ice and snow<br> From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow.<br> The hammer of the gods<br> Will drive our ships to new lands.<br> To fight the horde<br> Sing and cry<br> Valhalla I am coming.</em></p><p>- “The Immigrant Song” by Led Zeppelin</p><p>When Robert Plant sang the opening lyrics to Led Zeppelin’s raucous, enduring, 1970 anthem “The Immigrant Song,” he was looking all the way back to 8<sup>th</sup> century CE, when three Viking longships are believed to have first landed in the British Isles.</p><p>A half century later, the Norse appear to have invaded once more, as Viking culture and all things Nordic continue to soar in popular culture. Old Norse gods such as Thor, Loki and Odin, command the screen at multiplexes, even as hordes of Europeans and North Americans have lustily embraced their Nordic roots through music, style and even religion.</p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-large"> <div class="ucb-callout-content"><div class="image-caption image-caption-"><p> </p><div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/article-image/matthias_nordvig.png?itok=vBFFLF4r" width="750" height="813" alt="Mathias Nordvig"> </div> <p>Mathias Nordvig is an educator, artist, and more. Nordvig has a PhD in Norse mythology and teaches Nordic and Arctic cultures at the University of Colorado Boulder.</p></div></div> </div><p>“It’s funny, to be honest, as someone who was interested in all this stuff back when I was in my pre-teens,” says <a href="https://mathiasnordvig.com/" rel="nofollow">Mathias Nordvig</a>, a native of Denmark who grew up in Greenland and is now teaching assistant professor and head of Nordic Studies in the Department of <a href="/gsll/" rel="nofollow">Germanic and Slavic Languages</a> and Literatures at the ��ϳԹ� and co-founder of the popular podcast, <a href="https://www.nordicmythologypodcast.com/" rel="nofollow"><em>Nordic Mythology Podcast</em></a>. </p><p>“We saw something similar with the Celts and Irish and Scottish culture, which became a theme in Hollywood.”</p><p>Nordvig, author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/%C3%81satr%C3%BA-Beginners-Heathens-Ancient-Northern/dp/B08L8H2YJN/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3FF1LF8XKC5OJ&keywords=mathias+nordvig&qid=1676400823&sprefix=mathias+nord%2Caps%2C119&sr=8-2" rel="nofollow"><em>Ásatrú for Beginners: A Modern Heathen's Guide to the Ancient Northern Way</em></a> and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Norse-Mythology-Kids-Creatures-Quests/dp/1646118537/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3FF1LF8XKC5OJ&keywords=mathias+nordvig&qid=1676400857&sprefix=mathias+nord%2Caps%2C119&sr=8-3" rel="nofollow"><em>Norse Mythology for Kids: Tales of Gods, Creatures, and Quests</em></a><em>, </em>is gratified by the embrace of ancient Nordic culture by modern Americans and non-Nordic Europeans.</p><p>“I think one reason Nordic stuff is so popular is that it’s relatively accessible, but still the distant past. … It’s an anchor point, something people can relate to, from the old land,” he says. “There is just enough mystique around it that you can add your own flavor.”</p><p>When Nordvig was growing up, he stood out for his keen interest in ancient Nordic culture even among his fellow Danes.  </p><p>“I was like the weird Viking guy,” he says. “Now, all the sudden this has become mainstream.”</p><p>Nordvig knew exactly what he wanted to study when he went off to <a href="https://international.au.dk/" rel="nofollow">Aarhus University</a>, and eventually earned a BA, MA and PhD in Scandinavian Studies. His PhD thesis, later published as <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Volcanoes-Old-Norse-Mythology-Environment/dp/1641892927/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3FF1LF8XKC5OJ&keywords=mathias+nordvig&qid=1676400857&sprefix=mathias+nord%2Caps%2C119&sr=8-4&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.f5122f16-c3