The textual life of savants

Icelanders have always been keenly aware of the cultural importance of language and the social power of texts, language and literature have been the touchstones of Icelandic identity from the medieval Commonwealth to the modern nation-state. In this masterful and innovative study by an anthropologist Gisli Palsson, the preoccupation of Icelanders with language and texts serves not only as a highly productive point of departure for the anthropological exploration of Icelandic history, society and culture, but also as a frame of reference for a trenchant critique of textual ideologies and practices in anthropology itself. The range of Textual Life of Savants - from the Sturlunga Saga to The Sexual Life of Savages, nio to novels, orientalism to the dative case - is truly remarkable. The work transcends disciplinary boundaries; it will be welcomed not only by students of Iceland, but by social linguistic anthropologists, social historians and literary scholars alike.