In-person

Scand30: 1 Object, Dancing on the North Wind: Iceland and Its Ghosts with Margaret Willson

2655 NW Market Street, Seattle, WA 98107

206.789.5707

Our ever-popular Scand30 series returns with a twist! This April, as spring emerges from winter darkness, come hear about the ghosts of Iceland...

About the Object:

An Uggi fish light by Dögg Guðmundsdóttir in the Iceland Collection evokes tales told beside traditional fish oil lamps. What can such stories tell us about these undead specters who routinely inhabited spaces of the living as both an echo and conscience of Iceland’s mortal world? Join University of Washington's Margaret Willson to find out.

About the Series:

Co-presented with the University of Washington's Department of Scandinavian Studies, this latest iteration of our popular Scand30 series uses one object in the Museum's collection as a point of departure for the speaker's topic. These short, snappy talks are delivered by University of Washington faculty and reflect current research. A light reception will follow the presentation.

Speaker

Margaret Willson

Anthropologist and writer Margaret Willson has researched and worked in Brazil, Papua New Guinea, Mongolia, Australia, Europe, and Iceland. Her eclectic nonacademic jobs have included abalone diving and being a deckhand on fishing boats off the south coast of Tasmania.

Bio

Margaret Willson

Anthropologist and writer Margaret Willson has researched and worked in Brazil, Papua New Guinea, Mongolia, Australia, Europe, and Iceland. Her eclectic nonacademic jobs have included abalone diving and being a deckhand on fishing boats off the south coast of Tasmania.

She received her Ph.D. in Anthropology from the London School of Economics and is currently an Affiliate Associate Professor with the Departments of Anthropology and Scandinavian Studies at the University of Washington, and a Senior Associate Scientist at the Stafánsson Arctic Institute in Iceland. Her previous books include Seawomen of Iceland: Survival on the Edge (University of Washington Press 2016) and Dance Lest We All Fall Down: Breaking Cycles of Poverty in Brazil and Beyond (University of Washington Press 2010). She lives in Seattle with her partner and their cat Mister.