Þjóðsögur á þriðjudögum. Hádegisfyirlestur í umsjá Terry Gunnell, prófessor í þjóðfræði.

Описание: Modern Belief Legends in Iceland

In Iceland in 2006–2007, the Folkloristics Department of the University of Iceland (in cooperation with the Social Sciences Institute: Félagsvísindastofnun) carried out a wide-ranging survey into beliefs and belief attitudes (as well as supernatural experiences) ranging from dreams, telepathy and clairvoyance to beliefs in elves, ghosts and God. About a thousand Icelanders answered the survey, which underlined first and foremost that in spite of the vast social changes that have taken place in Iceland since 1974 (when the last survey was carried out), beliefs have actually changed very little. The survey was followed up the following year by students of folkloristics taking brief interviews with people about their beliefs and experiences. Many of the answers tended to take the form of experience narratives. This paper will look at the nature of these narratives which raise interesting questions once again about the suggested differences between “traditional” and “contemporary” folk narratives, and about whether we are right in suggesting that the folk legends of the “past” really are “a thing of the past”. The lecture will be followed by an overview of the main findings of the national survey with regard to Icelander's experiences and beliefs regarding the supernatural.