The Scottish Society for Northern Studies is delighted to announce the publication of two new volumes: Islands of Place and Space and Scandinavia Refracted, honouring Arne Kruse and Bjarne Thorup Thomsen, respectively.
Both have been committed and invaluable contributors to the ongoing work of the Society, having served a combined 16 years as editors of Northern Studies. The books were presented to the two honourees at a surprise event organised at the University of Edinburgh.
The honourees
Dr Arne Kruse’s dedicated commitment to the aims and ambitions of SSNS has been exemplary since he became a member shortly after arriving in Edinburgh more than thirty years ago. He served as the Society’s President from 2012-2015, delivered the 2011 edition of the Hermann Pálsson lecture, and served as co-editor of Northern Studies from 1999 to 2005. Until his retirement in 2021, he was Senior Lecturer in Norwegian at the University of Edinburgh.
Dr Bjarne Thorup Thomsen served as editor of Northern Studies for nine years from 1996-2004, overseeing the publication of volumes 31-38. Prior to his retirement in 2021, he was Reader in Danish at the University of Edinburgh.
Long-term friend of the Society Peter Graves, who gave the 2008 Hermann Pálsson Lecture, has been a friend and Edinburgh colleague of both honourees since the late 1980s. He said:
It’s going to be a joy to read these volumes. Plenty of intellectual stimulation, no doubt, but for me they will also bring happy and fruitful memories of two decades of working with Bjarne and Arne. Better colleagues no one could ask for.
The books
The Society is delighted to be marking the publication of not one but two new volumes, its first books to be published since Traversing the Inner Seas in 2017, to honour the work of Kruse and Thomsen. The books, Islands of Place and Space and Scandinavia Refracted, are edited by Christian Cooijmans and Ian Giles, respectively. To find out more about each book and purchase a copy, click here: Islands of Place and Space, Scandinavia Refracted
The Society’s President, Professor Clare Downham, said:
These superb volumes celebrate the careers of two well-known scholars devoted to Scandinavian Studies in Scotland. Covering a wide range of topics, these publications will have broad and lasting appeal. It is heartening to see the Society’s tradition of producing high-quality edited books continue.