From Old Norse Myths to Conspiracy Theories: A Marie Curie Project at UiB and Its Follow-Up
Following up on his postdoctoral project at the University of Bergen, Jan A. Kozák describes how research on Old Norse mythology has led to his new project on modern mythologies, conspiracy theories and mass media.
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The presentation overviews the results of the project SYMBODIN, a Marie Sklodowska Curie research realized at the LLE UiB, and its follow-up in one year retrospective. The main focus of the project was the analysis of Old Norse myths using the cognitive-linguistic notion of conceptual metaphors and analogical thought. We will look more closely on the myth of the legendary smith Völundr, of Ódin's self-sacrifice and on the myth of Ragnarök, as well as the general "logic of the concrete" as exemplified by the surreal system of body parts in Old Norse myth. All these four topics were covered by academic articles produced during the project. The second part of the presentation will focus more on the biographical and personal effect of the finished project - the popularization follow-up, the interaction with mass media and the shift of the focus from metaphors in pre-Christian Scandinavian mythology to the pressing issue of metaphors in modern mythology (specifically the conspiracy theories), which led to the preparation of a new EU project.
Those who prefer to attend digitally can do so via Zoom (https://uib.zoom.us/j/64886492427?pwd=Uy9ONzZyaHN4WUZubUJ6aFByNXNVQT09). Login details including the password can be obtained from the contact person (aidan.conti@uib.no) and will be sent to members of the research group in the week before the meeting.