1. Freshman Seminar - Death, Revenge & Madness in Icelandic literature and culture Welcome to class #1 !

2. Freshman Seminar - wk 1 What IS Iceland?? 2 Iceland, officially the Republic of Iceland (Icelandic: ÍslandIcelandic or Lýðveldið Ísland) is an island nation, a volcanic island in theisland nation northern Atlantic Ocean between Greenland,Atlantic OceanGreenland NorwayNorway, Ireland, Scotland (Great Britain), and the Faroe Islands.IrelandScotlandGreat BritainFaroe Islands

3. Freshman Seminar - wk 1 Facts about the country 3 Area ▪ Whole country: 39,768.5 sq. m. (103,000 km²)km² Texas: 261,797sq. m. (678,050 km²) population of 23.5 million Kentucky: 39,728 sq mi. (102,896 sq km), pop. 4 mill. ▪ Vegetation: 9,191 square miles (23,805 km²) ▪ Lakes: 1,064 square miles (2,757 km²) ▪ Glaciers: 4,603 square miles (11,922 km²) ▪ Wasteland: 24,918 square miles (64,538 km²)

4. Freshman Seminar - wk 1 Facts about the country - Comparison 4 Area Total 9,631,418 km² Water 3,718,711 mi² 4.87% PopulationPopulation - 2006 est. 298,290,0002006 20002000 census - 282 mill. DensityDensity 30/km² (Ice: 2/km²)

5. Freshman Seminar - wk 1 Facts about the country - Cont. 5 -Second largest island in Europe -By plane: 3 hrs to mainland Europe, 6 to US Population: about 300.000 180.000 in Reykjav í k Climate: subartic _ Gulf Stream Average temp. in July 56 º F In January: 32 º F Precipitation: 32 inches Midnight sun in June 4 hrs a day of daylight in Dec.

6. Freshman Seminar - wk 1 Facts about the country - Cont. 6 -Government: parliamentary democracy Fully independent since 1944 Language: Icelandic, the Norwegian of 1000 years ago. Fundamental part of cultural Identity - fiercely defended by purists, Conservative tongue… Currency: Icelandic krona (about 60 kr - 1 USD) Ó lafur Ragnar Gr í msson Religion: Lutheran is the state religion of Iceland. Icelandic children receive mandatory religious training in public schools, and priests are state employees.

7. Freshman Seminar - wk 1 Facts about the country - Geology 7