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Auf der Basis eines umfassenden Literaturstudiums werden die Aspekte südafrikanischer Regionalpolitik in einer Zeit ständiger Konfliktsituation (die achtziger Jahre) diskutiert. Der Literatur sind sehr unterschiedliche und widersprüchliche Argumente zu entnehmen. Neun häufig auf ideologische Überzeugungen zurückzuführende Denkschulen werden identifiziert und im Detail behandelt. Sie reichen von antiwestlich und anti-Apartheid, von Anti-Kommunismus und Kompromißformeln bis zu pro-westlich. Aufgrund der Widersprüchlichkeit der vertretenen Standpunkte war der Einfluß der Wissenschaft auf eine Veränderung der von ihr kritisierten Politik gering. (DÜI-Hlb)

This second volume of the African Studies Forum Series at the University of South Africa presents a collection of eleven articles written in both English and Afrikaans which cover different aspects of South Africa's political culture. Thus, the focus is on such different features as the Freedom Charter, African political mobilisations in Brakpan in the 1950s and the extra-parliamentary opposition in the mid-1980s, but also on theatre, socio-linguistics (Afrikaans and Xhosa), literature and music. (DÜI-Eng)

Grein sú sem hér er þýdd birtist í bandaríska tímaritinu Law and Literature á liðnu ári. Hún ber vott um vaxandi þátttöku norrænna fræðimanna á alþjóðlegu rannsóknarsviði laga og bókmennta á síðari árum en er einnig til marks um forvitnilegt og frjótt samstarf tveggja einstaklinga sem tilheyra ólíkum rannsóknarhefðum bókmenntafræði og lögfræði. Birt með leyfi höfunda og Taylor & Francis Ltd. © Cardozo School of Law.

The aim of this article is to discuss two contemporary Icelandic novels, Kata by Steinar Bragi and Gott fólk by Valur Grettisson, in connection to interpretations of revenge literature and films in the field of Law and literature. Both novels deal with shortcomings in the legal system and judiciary in dealing with and proving crimes involving rape and sexual abuse. This analysis focuses on how the two novels are connected to the advocacy for change, both for the legislator and the judicial system in Iceland. The novel Kata is named after the protagonist, whose daughter is kidnapped, raped and murdered. Kata decides to revenge her daughter and murder the perpetrators, one by one. Throughout the story the reader is made aware of the necessity of avenge, but still the question of righteousness remains. In Gott fólk the narrator, Sölvi, is put through the accountability process by Sara and her friends, after she accuses him of both mental and sexual misconduct during the time of their relationship. Sölvi experiences the process as revenge, but to the reader it is clear that he is guilty and cannot cope with that realization. The two novels offer a basis for discussion on sexual offence, the legal system, revenge and justice.

Literature has a long history of chastising women who defy ,traditional' gender roles. By turning a critical eye on the poem danse grotesque by the Icelandic poet Sjón, its staging and visual presentations, as well as fundamental interpretive keys such as trolls and dance, one senses a resistance to the prevailing manifestations of women in the Western media. The article shows how the poem reassesses the relationship between femininity and death in Western culture.Keywords: Concrete poetry, avant-garde, decadence, gender roles, death, dance, trollsKjartan Már ÓmarssonDoktorsnemi í almennri bókmenntafræði Hugvísindasviði Háskóla ÍslandsSæmundargötu 2 IS-101 Reykjavík, Íslandko@hi.is

Markmið greinarinnar er að fjalla um skáldsögur tveggja íslenskra kvenrithöfunda sem beita fagurfræði hins ókennilega (e. the uncanny, þ. das unheimliche) til að takast á við atburði fjármálahrunsins árið 2008. Sögurnar sem um ræðir eru Ég man þig (2010) eftir Yrsu Sigurðardóttur, og Hvítfeld: Fjölskyldusaga (2012) eftir Kristínu Eiríksdóttur. Í hug- og félagsvísindum er hrunið skilgreint sem sameiginlegt áfall þjóðar sem leiddi til djúpstæðrar minnis- og sjálfsmyndarkrísu á hinu sameiginlega opinbera sviði. Þá hefur hugmyndin um hrunbókmenntir verið glögglega skilgreind og rædd, til dæmis í bók Aleric Hall, Útrásarvíkingar: The Literature of the Icelandic Financial Crisis (2008-2014). Í greininni skoða ég hvernig ókennileg stef verkanna skírskota til samfélagsástands á hruntímum og hvernig reimd hús frásagnanna endurspegla bælingu, ótta og loks sorg á tímum fjármálakreppu.

Die boek Van Volksmoeder tot Fokofpolisiekar bevat 'n reeks kritiese opstelle oor 'n aantal Afrikaanse kollektiewe herinneringe. Dit betrek herinneringe wat al amper koud is, asook meer onlangses, soos die "De la Rey"--Lied en die rol wat bands tans speel in die vaslegging van 'n bepaalde bewussyn onder die jeug - 'n bewussyn wat in die afsienbare toekoms ook as "histories" sal kwalifiseer. Die boek wil die leser aanmoedig om na te dink oor die herinneringe van wit Afrikaanssprekendes

This essay concerns itself with perceptions of the urban sphere, with its manifestations in literature and life writing, and with the city as a place of strangeness and travel in various senses, including the ways in which it pertains to the individual
world view. Cities are places of density and internal connections, but their gates also open out and connect with other places, and increasingly other cities. Following a discussion of the Icelandic links between Copenhagen and Reykjavík, and the slow emergence of the latter as a "literary capital", the course is set for foreign cities, including Berlin and Paris in the company of Walter Benjamin, and the experience of getting lost with Franz Kafka in places that may be Prague and New York. In
attempting to answer the question whether it is possible to become intimate with cities, we have recourse to city guides, life maps, a touring theatre – and the art of losing and finding.

Erlendis hafa þverfaglegar rannsóknir á sviði laga og bókmennta verið blómlegar á undanförnum ártugum. Á fyrstu áratugum tuttugustu aldar mótaðist meðal bandarískra lögfræðikennara hreyfing í kringum þetta efni (e. the law and literature movement) sem hafði framan af þann tilgang að bæta húmanískan bakgrunn lögfræðinema. Um miðjan þriðja áratuginn voru færð rök fyrir mikilvægi þess að lögfræðingar kynntu sér skáldskap og bókmenntir. Þar sem starf stéttarinnar snerist að verulegu leyti um skriftir (að semja sóknar- og varnarræður, lög og dómsorð) væri yfirgripsmikil þekking á stíl og stílbrögðum gagnleg hverjum þeim sem vildi ná árangri í faginu. Ekki leið á löngu þar til bandaríska fræðiumræðan fór að hafa áhrif víðar, meðal annars í Evrópu. Meginmarkmið með þessu þemahefti Ritisins er að kynna þessa fræðahefð hérlendis og vekja áhuga á margháttuðum tengslum lögfræðinnar við bókmenntafræði, sagnfræði og heimspeki. Í heftinu birtast fjórar frumsamdar og tvær þýddar greinar þar sem lög og bókmenntir fléttast saman.

In the Icelandic traditional ballads from medieval and post-medieval times, wo-men and their voices are very prominent, while stories of male heroes were rather portrayed in rímur. The language is very unusual and shows signs of translation, formulas are frequently used, and the mode of narration is objective and clear. Love is a common subject, and so is violence, often gender-based and sexual. In the article the background of these ballads is discussed shortly and their emergence in Icelandic oral culture and later its literature, as they were recorded by educated men, from nameless sources, most probably women. Seven ballads are then used to show different aspects of violence within the genre. All are highly dramatic, and their subject is harsh: hardship, rape, birth and loss of children, and sometimes the victims take things into their own hands and avenge in a graphic way. How ballads that tell such terrible tales, can have been sung and danced to at joyous gatherings, is an interesting food for thought. It will be reasoned that these ballads have primarily been sung by women, and they can even have been a consolation and a tool to deal with gender-based violence in their own lives.