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.