Gudrun D Whitehead

Dr Gudrun D. Whitehead is an assistant professor in Museum Studies at the University of Iceland. She has taught on a variety of subjects, including trash culture, professional works of museums, museum education and general museological theories. While primarily focused on museology, Whitehead’s background in comparative literature and folklore studies has had an impact on her research interests. She has focused on subculture, the uncanny and disruptive elements of society, including Vikings, horror, punk and unconventional museum displays. She is particularly interested in cultural stereotypes, such as the Vikings and their uses in the heritage industry and society in general. Dr Whitehead has co-edited and contributed to several publications, including a book chapter, ‘We Come from the land of the Ice and Snow: Icelandic heritage and its usage in present day society’ (A Museum Studies Approach to Heritage, 2017) and along with Sigurjón Baldur Hafsteinsson wrote ‘Museology and the Icelandic Museum Field, Collaborations and Developments’ (Nordisk Museologi, 2018). She is the editor on behalf of Iceland for the journal Nordisk Museologi, and is currently working on a monograph, The Performance of Viking Identity in Museums: Useful Heritage in England, Iceland and Norway (Routledge, 2020). Gudrun occasionally blogs on her website: gudrunwhitehead.wordpress.com/