My name is Jan Alexander van Nahl, and I am from Germany. I visited Iceland for the first time in 2004, and moved here in 2014. From 2019 to 2021, I was an assistant professor (Lektor) in medieval Icelandic literature at the Háskóli Íslands. Since 2021, I have been an associate professor (Dósent). My previous studies at the universities of Bonn, Uppsala and Munich encompassed Medieval and Modern Scandinavian Studies, Cultural Geography, and Archaeology. I defended my doctoral dissertation in 2012, published my first book in 2013, and completed my habilitation (venia legendi) in 2020. Since 2021, I have been a full member of the Academy of Sciences and Letters in Agder, Norway.
Obviously, I am interested in medieval literature, culture and mentality, but likewise in the question of why we are doing things the way we are doing them, i.e., in reception and effective histories. I like traveling, translating, philosophising, mountain (b/h)iking, drawing, and graphic novels, among many other things. I am also a full member of the Icelandic Search & Rescue service.
Jan A. van Nahl: "Macht und Ohnmacht. Óláfr Tryggvasons Weg zum norwegischen Thron." In: Florian M. Schmid & Anita Sauckel (eds.), Verhandlung und Demonstration von Macht. Mittel, Muster und Modelle in Texten deutschsprachiger und skandinavischer Kulturräume (Zeitschrift für deutsches Altertum und deutsche Literatur, Beihefte 32). Stuttgart 2020, pp. 197–215. Reading sample.
