Iceland 101 AN INTRODUCTION TO ICELANDIC SOCIETY CULTURE

Iceland 101 AN INTRODUCTION TO ICELANDIC SOCIETY & CULTURE

Table of Contents 1. A (brief) History of Iceland 2. Icelandic Norms, Values, and Customs 3. Facts and Cultural Tidbits 4. Government/Politics/Economy 5. Tourism and the Environment

Facts and Cultural Tidbits � Population ~330, 000 How many people live in your state? What effect do you think this might have on a culture? Trends ~10% immigrant: majority from Poland, Lithuania, & Philippines � “Per Capita” Syndrome Guns Coca-Cola Literacy Nobel Price Broadband connections Movie attendance Nobel Prize Laureates

Facts and Cultural Tidbits �Currency is the Icelandic krona (ISK) �Exchange rate 110 ISK = US $1

Facts and Cultural Tidbits �Country code is 354 �No area codes �Calling a number abroad from Iceland: 00 -1 -XXX-XXXX �Calling an Icelandic number from the US: 011 -354 XXX-XXXX

History of Iceland � Settlement and Important Dates Ingólfur Arnasson settles in Reykjavik ~870 930 – Alþingi established � Population estimated at 30 -40, 000 ~1000 Leif Eriksson travels to America � Iceland adopts Christianity and a golden age of Icelandic culture begins, producing great works of literature. 1380 Iceland comes under Danish rule, previously allegiance with Norway 1703 First census is conducted; population 50, 358. 1800 s Nationalist movement gains strength, leading to home rule in 1874. 1918 Iceland recognized as a fully sovereign state (Kingdom of Iceland) in union with the Danish crown

History of Iceland �World War II Technically neutral Cooperative with British and American forces Naval base in Keflavik � NATO member 1949 � Closed 2011 Independence � June 17 th, 1944 Rapid growth in decades following war � Marshall Plan 1968: Population reaches 200, 000.

Facts and Cultural Tidbits �Naming Must pick from the list Patronymic System Christening Children � Secretive First-name basis � Phone process book Women do not change their names after marriage

Facts and Cultural Tidbits �Food staples include: Meat (kjöt) Fish (fiskur) Potatoes (kartöflur) Icelandic vegetables (Íslensk grænmeti) Candy (nammi!) �Domestic & imports �Dietary variety now & in the past �Storage mentality: frozen & canned �Traditional foods & Þórrablót

Facts and Cultural Tidbits �Swimming Pool Culture Common Outdoor pools, even in winter Changing rooms Hot tub culture

Facts and Cultural Tidbits �Icelandic humor Crass Non-PC Dark Absurd �Pride �Language English versus Icelandic � Everyone speaks English � Purists? New words instead of English Literature Sagas

Norms, Values, and Customs �Family and Home Life Importance Great diversity of family structures and types Marriage Raising children in Iceland vs United States � Welfare system allows for more flexibility, younger parents, etc. Cuisine � Traditionally lamb, fish, dairy products, potatoes � Sweets and ice cream

Norms, Values, and Customs � Mention: water, debit cards, English � Religion More than 80% Lutheran � � Freedom of Religion Ásatrú � Only 10% of Icelanders go to church once a month or more 43% never attend church 16% attend church once a year National church Modern revival Confirmation in Iceland � � Big deal Similar to bar/bat mitzvah

Norms, Values, and Customs �“Þetta reddast”= It rights itself (everything will work itself out) �Basically a national philisophy �Pronounced as ”thetta rettast”

Norms, Values, and Customs � Gender Equality GII Index, 10 th in the world Women equal in most occupations Vigdís Finnbogadóttir � LGBT Rights First openly gay head of state, Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir First European country to recognize same-sex marriage � Adoption, IVF, surrogacy Progressive transgender laws � Medical rights

Norms, Values, and Customs �Racially and ethnically homogeneous society �Vast majority of inhabitants trace their roots to Norse and Celtic descendants �Immigrant population 9. 6% (32, 000 people) as of 2016 �Little to no study has been done on experiences of racial minorities in Iceland �Studies have focused on immigrant population subsets, usually Polish immigrants

Norms, Values, and Customs �Education Four stages � Pre-school level: up to 6 years of age � Compulsory school: primary and lower secondary school in a single structure, 6 -16 years of age � Upper secondary school: 16 -20 years of age � Higher educational: age 19/20 and older 8 universities

Norms, Values, and Customs �High importance placed on working Að vera dugleg/duglegur --- to be “hardworking” is the most frequently heard compliment Að vinna means both “to work” and “to win” �Teenagers often work part time from the age of 13, not necessarily out of financial necessity �Unemployment rate is now 2. 9% �Yet Icelanders do enjoy their vacations!

Government/Politics/Economy

Government/Politics/Economy �The Party System

Government/Politics/Economy �Economic Pillars Tourism � Rapidly growing, largest industry since 2014 � Stressed housing market Fisheries � Quota System Energy (& aluminum) � Geothermal 65% � Hydropower 20%

Tourism and Its Impacts � Growing concern over environmental sustainability and logistics in the wake of increasing number of tourists per year -Admission fees -Airline Tax -Nature Pass � Health and safety -Rescue teams

Government/Politics/Economy Financial bubble and crisis: 2008 Banks grew from being equal in size to GDP to 10 times that Privatized banks Massive debt to international institutions after borrowing in foreign currencies � The Crash Borrowed from IMF Bubble burst � Aftermath Pensions, debt Felt more in Reykjavík than other regions Iceland’s Stock Index

Government/Politics/Economy �Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources Since election of government in 2013, merged with Agriculture and Fisheries � Environmental Agency significantly reduced Government has made clear plans to revoke expansion of conserved areas � Allowing for new power projects in previously protected landscapes

Government/Politics/Economy �Prices and Imports Food products— 11% tax!!! Electronics …everything! �Ordering in the mail Customs Tariffs

The capital and the regions

The End Any Questions?

Icelandic 101 �Góðan daginn �Good day �Takk fyrir (takk) �Thank you �Ég heiti… �I am called… �Hvað heitir þú? �What are you �Já �Nei called? �Yes �No �Bless �Goodbye

Icelandic 101 �Ísland �Bandaríkin �Ég er frá. . . �Ég er frá Bandaríkjúnum. �Ert þú frá Íslandi? �Iceland �The United States �I am from. . . �I am from the United States. �Are you from Iceland?

Icelandic 101 �Ð ð �Þ þ �Æ æ �Ö ö �Á á �É é �Ó ó �Ú ú �Í í �Au �Ei bræður Þór æðislegt lög já ég Þór rún líka auðvelt einn tveir brother Thor fabulous law yes I Thor rune too/also easy one two