Ný saga - 01.01.2000, Page 101

Summaries
er half of the 13th century. Individuals are placed
within a social space (fr. espace social) depending
on the availability of three types of capital, eco-
nomic, symbolic and cultural. It is possible to
understand individual trajectories within the
social space by examining the amount and com-
position of the capital each individual begins with
and has access to, as well as how successful he is
in fructifying it.
Snorri Sturluson and his brothers, Þórður and
Sighvatur, all became more powerful chieftains
than their father had been. Their upward mobili-
ty may be explained by an accumulalion of eco-
nomic and symbolic capital. An attempt is also
made to explain the strife between them by look-
ing more closely at symbolic capital available to
them which played a key role in the competilion
for power. Finally, cultural activity is discussed as
a form of cultural capital and in its relalionship to
the chieftains’ struggle for power.
VIEWPOINT (SJÓNARHÓLL)
Steinunn Jóhannesdóttir
Icelanders in Algiers
(íslendingar í Alsír)
The article offers an account of the author’s
research trip to Algiers last summer which she
also mixes with an account of the recent turbulent
history of the country. The task was lo explore
sources on the so-called Turkish Raid' of 1627,
when pirates, not in fact from Turkey, but from
Algiers and Sallee raided the eastern and western
coast of lceland, killing about thirty people and
taking about 400 captives to be sold into slavery.
Of special interest was lo learn more aboul the
fate of some of the captives, among them
Guðríður Símonardóttir, on whose life the author
has written a play. The trip was fruitful both in
terms of research and in establishing contacts
with Algerian scholars.
Guðmundur J. Guðmundsson
Cod war and Cold war
(Þorskar í köldu stríði)
The paper examines the politics of the last two
cod wars between Iceland and the United
Kingdom, the 50-mile fishery dispute in 1972-73
and the 200-mile dispute in 1975-76. Special
consideration is given to the effect Ihe cod wars
had on the relationship between Iceland and
its allies in NATO and the balance of power
between the Soviel Union and the western
powers in the North-Atlantic. Using newly
released documents from the Ministry ol’
Foreign Affairs the paper discusses NATO's
and the United States' role in setlling the dis-
pule as well as the policy stance taken by the
Soviet Union.
Olafur Rastrick
Housing thc national spirit.
On the creation of the House of Culture
(Hús með sál - þjóðarsál. Lesið í sköpun Þjóðmenn-
ingarhúss)
In April 2000 Þjóðmenningarhúsið (the House of
Culture), a new venue for historical and cultural
exhibilions, was opened in Reykjavík, in (he
building that until recently housed the National
Archives and the National Library.
Though a substantial part of the building is
allocated for historical exhibitions, large sections
are devoted to displays of the national flag, coats
of arms, national currency, the original manu-
script of the national anthem, etc. This coupling
of history and national symbols gives an indica-
tion of the building’s function as a manifestation
of the nation-state.
The nationalislic affiliation of the House of
Culture is confirmed in the discourse of the
Icelandic government al the opening ceremony of
the building. The Prime Minister and Ihe Minister
of Education, Science and Culture appealed to
nationalistic sentiments when maintaining that
the building presented itself as a national symbol
and as the perfecl home for ihe national spirit - a
connotation il did not liave before.
The article argues that Ihe creation of a new
national symbol in Ihe present is a problematic
enlerprise. One of Ihe reasons is that historical
sludies, which are a large part of what is to be
exhibited in the building, have become somewhal
ill suited to portray the picture of Ihe harmonious
national family. Hence, it is contended, that the
government’s effort to establish a convincing
national symbol through the use of history indi-
cates a rupture between official history and cur-
rent historical research.
VISUAL HISTORY (SJÓN OG SAGA)
Þorleifur Friðriksson
Symbolism of tlic tradc nnion banncrs
(Táknmál fána verkalýðshreylingarinnar)
The article discusses the use of banners in the
trade union movement in Iceland with refer-
ence to the other Nordic countries. The author
pays special attention lo ihe banners of the
biggest trade union, Dagsbrún in Reykjavik,
disussing the symbolisnt and the use of banners
from the the first banner made in 1911 righl up
to the present day.
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