Karlsson, Gunnar

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Karlsson, Gunnar

PERSONAL:

Education: University of Iceland, M.A., 1970, Ph.D., 1978.

ADDRESSES:

E-mail—gunnark@hi.is.

CAREER:

University of Iceland, Reykjavík, lecturer, 1976-80, professor of history, 1980—.

AWARDS, HONORS:

University of London fellowship, 1974.

WRITINGS:

NONFICTION

Frá endurskoðun til valtýsku, Menningarsjóður (Reykjavík, Iceland), 1972.

Frelsisbarátta suður-Þinmgeyinga og Jón á Gautlöndum, Hið islenska bokmenntafélag (Reykjavík, Iceland), 1977.

Hvarstœða. Leiðbeiningar um bókanotkun í sagnfrœði, Sagnfræðistofnun Háskóla Íslands (Reykjavík, Iceland), 1981.

Baráttan við heimildirnar: Leiðbeiningar um rannsóknartœkni og ritgerðavinnu í sagnfræði, Sagnfræðistofnun Háskóla Íslands (Reykjavík, Iceland), 1982.

Sjálfstœði Íslendinga: Íslensk stjórnmálasaga skrifuð handa börnum /ungu fólki, three volumes, Námsgagnastofnun (Reykjavík, Iceland), 1985-88.

(Editor) Kilderne til den tidlige middelalders historie, Sagnfræðistofnun Háskóla Íslands (Reykjavík, Iceland), 1987.

(Editor) Levestandarden i Norden 1750-1914, Sagnfræðistofnun Háskóla Íslands (Reykjavík, Iceland), 1987.

(Editor) Nationale og etniske minoriteter i Norden i 1800-og 1900-tallet, Sagnfræðistofnun Háskóla Íslands (Reykjavík, Iceland), 1987.

(Editor) Saga og kirkja, Sogufélag (Reykjavík, Iceland), 1988.

(With Bragi Guðmundsson) Uppruni nútímans. Kennslubók í Íslandssögu eftir 1830, Mál og menning (Reykjavík, Iceland), 1988.

Samband við miðaldir: Námsbók í íslenskri miðaldasögu;, um 870-1550, og sagnfrœðilegum aðferðum, Mál og menning (Reykjavík, Iceland), 1989.

Kóngsins menn: Ágrip af Íslandssögu; milli 1550 og 1830, Mál og menning (Reykjavík, Iceland), 1990.

(Editor, with Helgi þorláksson) Yfir Íslandsála, Sögufræðslusjóður (Reykjavík, Iceland), 1992.

Að lœra af sögu. Greinasafn um sögunám, Sagnfræðistofnun Háskóla Íslands (Reykjavík, Iceland), 1992.

(Editor) Grágas:: Lagasafn íslenska Þjóðveldisins, Mál og menning (Reykjavík, Iceland), 1992.

(With Bragi Guðmundsson) Æska og saga: Söguvitund íslenskra unglinga í evrópskum samanburði, Sagnfræðistofnun (Reykjavík, Iceland), 1999.

The History of Iceland, University of Minnesota Press (Minneapolis, MN), 2000, published as Iceland's 1100 Years: The History of a Marginal Society, Hurst (London, England), 2000.

Íslandssaga í stuttu máli, Mál og menning (Reykjavík, Iceland), 2000.

A Brief History of Iceland, Mál og menning (Reykjavík, Iceland), 2000.

(With others) Fornir tímar: Spor mannsins frá Laetoli til Reykjavíkur 4.000.000 f.Kr. til 1800 e.Kr., Mál og menning (Reykjavík, Iceland), 2003.

Goðamenning: Staða og áhrif goðorðsmanna í Þjóðveldi Íslendinga, Heimskringla (Reykjavík, Iceland), 2004.

(With Sigurður Ragnarsson) Nýir tímar: Saga Íslands og umheimsins fr´ lokum 18. aldar til ´rbúsundamóta, Mál og menning (Reykjavík, Iceland), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Gunnar Karlsson specializes in the history of his native Iceland. Among his publications available in English translation is The History of Iceland, a "welcome addition," as well as a work that "does honor to both its author and its subject," according to Jenny Jochens in Scandinavian Studies. Karlsson divides this work into four chronological sections. The first part deals with medieval Iceland, from its colonization in the ninth century to the annexation of the country by Norway in 1262. The second part covers the following five hundred years and focuses on foreign affairs as Denmark gained increasing influence over the country. Karlsson also deals with domestic topics, such as the development of a rigid class system based on land ownership even though fishing was one of the country's major industries, together with animal husbandry. The nineteenth century is the focus of part three, as Iceland increasingly assumed its own political and social identity until home rule was won in 1918. With the fourth and final section, Karlsson follows the history of his country up to the present day, through World War II, the Cold War, and to present political realities in Iceland. Reviewing the book in the Historian, Benjamin Hudson felt that "precision is successfully combined with a broad view," and that The History of Iceland "will be useful to a diverse audience, from the undergraduate student to the professional historian." Jochens further praised the work as the "first account in English of the full eleven centuries of Iceland's history."