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Been there, done that!
Since opening in 2005, the Svartárkot Centre for Research & Education has played host to several groups of leading academics and students drawn from all over Europe, the US, and Canada.
While some have taken part in customised courses designed by external institutions, among them a group of over 30 students and lecturers from the Department of Human Geography at the University of Edinburgh, others have opted for courses designed and operated on-site. Here are a few of their comments:
“The spectacular surroundings of Bárðardalur and Svartárkot are unbeatable for undergraduate and postgraduate field study. It is all there; the icecap to the south, moraine landscapes, the lava beds and Lake Mývatn to the east, and the coastal town of Húsavik to the north. The cultural landscape too deserves praise...We're inventing a whole new course at my university so we can use Svartárkot!”
Dr. Chad Staddon (University of West England, Bristol)
“I think Svartárkot will thrive...as the non-urban Icelandic centre for excellence in the all-round study of culture and nature. It must surely become the only place to do this in Iceland, and one of the few in the world.”
Prof. Richard North (Dept. English Language and Literature, UCL, London)
“The centre we stayed in, though it was in the middle of nowhere, was fantastic for all our needs as a group. I thought [the course] was very thought provoking and better for seeing things in reality. It was an intense week and then having to work afterwards but it is definitely worth it!”
Student comments, Department of Human Geography, University of Edinburgh, Scotland
Testimonials from participants in the 'pilot-course'
Chad Staddon in Iceland
(photo: Þorsteinn Húnfjörð)
The combination of the Universities of Akureyri and Reykjavik in the spectacular surroundings of the Bardardalur and Svartarkot farm is unbeatable for undergraduate and postgraduate field study. It is all there! The physical landscape: the icecap to the south and the moraine landscapes, the lavabeds and Lake Myvatn to the east and the coastal town of Husavik to the north. And the cultural landscape too deserves praise: every nook and cranny is filled with Icelandic myths and history! We're inventing an whole new course at my university so we can use Svartarkot!
Dr. Chad Staddon (University of West England, Bristol)
...As our plane dipped below the clouds and approached Reykjavik, I got my first view of the real and mythic Iceland. The island looked as if wax had been poured onto the Atlantic waters, so thin that the wash of waves threatens to flood its interior. Through the crystal water, between the fingers of lava land, a landscape of aqua green, blue green, slate. Farms with a rainbow of corrugated roofs dot the coast and the sea grasses, and flowers nestle in the rifts borrows and canyons of the old folded lava. It was stunning, even though there was not a sword-bearing Viking in sight...
Spring Warren
Read Spring Warren's blog from her visit to Iceland. Opens in a new window.
The Robinsons
(photo: Þorsteinn Húnfjörð
The WOW factor was almost off any measureable scale. We can honestly say that we would be very lucky ever to experience such a mind expanding course again. The setting of Svartakot at the interface between culture and nature gave supurb insights into life on the margins. The pilot course we attended comprised mainly of academics drawn from many disciplines from across the world. A particular feature of the course were the outstanding inter-disciplinary and inter-cultural dialogues and the concept of academic humility was much in evidence. We worked and played extremely hard and reaped rich rewards. The visits were in a league of their own; for example, the truly 'whaleful' whale watching trip in the Arctic Ocean to see the mid-night sun. We cannot too highly commend the 'Svartarkot experience' to all students and researchers of an enquiring mind and adventurous disposition.
Emma and David Robinson (London)
...I think Svartárkot will thrive, in opposition to Reykjavík (and/or
Akureyri) as the non-urban Icelandic centre for excellence in the
all-round subjects above. Its special identity will define itself, and I
hope will do so, head and shoulders above the non-Reykjavík
competition. What is this identity? Menning og Náttúra. Culture
and Nature. Can this identity become more global, as something somehow
expressive of man's future position on Planet Earth? If many world
societies, as appears, are going to return to subsistence living in the
times to come, could Svartárkot have a role to play in teaching us all
some self-reliance in harsh conditions, confidence against climate
change, literary culture in the face of world-wide philistinism? I think
so. Watch this space. It must surely become the only place to do this
in Iceland, and one of the few places in the world.
Prof. Richard North (Dept. English Language and Literature, UCL, London)
What about Svartárkot? A place where real Iceland still exists, a place where you can 'taste' it and feel its true spirit: far from the madding crowd! If there is any 'madding crowd' in Reykjavík... Even if not: there is something special to discover far in the North, in Bárðardalur...
Gianna Chiesa Isnardi (University of Genova, Italy)
In German:
Christian Denker in Iceland
(photo: Þorsteinn Húnfjörð)
Der Svartárkot-Pilotkurs war ein für meine akademischen Gewohnheiten einmaliges Erlebnis. Ausschlaggebend war für mich nicht so sehr die mit hohem wissenschaftlichem Anspruch verbundene Themenvielfalt, die internationale Beteiligung, die gute Küche oder die Herzlichkeit der Teilnehmer und Veranstalter, sondern der leichgängige Wechsel zwischen fachlich stimulierender Seminararbeit und sinnlich bereichernden Erkundungstouren in eine 'ursprüngliche' Naturlandschaft. Island ist ein besonderes Land, Svartárkot ein besonderer Ort, die historischen, politischen und geographischen Gegebenheiten sind außergewöhnlich und verdienen hohe Aufmerksamkeit. Die Svartárkot-Seminarräume umgibt eine gleichsam bewegende und beruhigende Stimmung, eine eigentümliche Atmosphäre, die nüchterndes Denken stimuliert und die mir eine tiefgehende Freude bereitete. Die Verbindung zwischen kultureller und natürlicher Entwicklung stellte sich in einfacher Gegensätzlichkeit dar: hier die Strukturen wissenschaftlicher Forschung, dort die ungeheure Gewalt der sich formenden Erdoberfläche und dazwischen Menschen. Die Verbindung zwischen weltoffener Ausrichtung der Teilnehmer und der lokalen Bindung der vorgestellten Forschungsprojekte war stark. Das Gemeinschaftsgefühl mit den anderen Wissenschaftlern und Wissenschaftlerinnen ergab sich schnell. Der Abstand zwischen Svartárkot und den alltäglichen Lebens- und Arbeitsplätzen der Seminarteilnehmer war großenteils erheblich und erleichterte die Abstandnahme von den eigenen Denkgewohnheiten. Die gedankliche Durchdringung unserer jeweiligen Bezugnahmen auf die Welt wurde durch das Veranstaltungsprogramm nachhaltig gefördert.
Das Svartárkot-Projekt hat meine volle Unterstützung. Fragen beantworte ich gerne: christian.denker@univie.ac.at
Christian Denker (Philosophisches Institut der Universität Wien)
