women

Hidden history of housekeepers

Huldufreyjur

The primary goal of this research is to study the role and the social position of housekeepers who worked as live-in domestic workers in farmhouses in Iceland in the second half of the 20th century. The research is based on 58 oral history interviews thereof 41 filmed oral history interviews with women who worked as housekeepers in 72 farmhouses in Iceland in the second half of the 20th century. There was a gender-based division of labor in the Icelandic rural areas which demanded women workers to do household management. Housekeepers were most often employed by single farmers to deal with the domestic side of the farm. Living in the homes of their employers meant that housekeepers were vulnerable to exploitation in the workplace – the private home. The housekeeping profession in the rural society was most often a temporary job resource. The research shows that the housekeeping profession in the rural society was mainly occupied by single-mothers. The housekeeping profession was a social resource for single-mothers in Iceland in an economical point of view, for the job provided housing and food, and paid minimum wages. These working conditions enabled single-mothers to have their children with them while working in a time of housing crisis and limited day care services in Iceland. The housekeeping profession was in many ways a refuge for single-mothers who often had little or no support network; a place where they could collect themselves before moving on in their lives. The methodology of oral history was crucial in my investigation on the lives of housekeepers, who were quite absent in Icelandic history. –– 2019-2021. I was awarded a doctoral grant from the Eimskip Fund of The University of Iceland (Eimskipasjóður Háskóla Íslands). I also received a grant from The School of Humanities Education Fund (Menntasjóður Hugvísindasviðs) in 2021.

 

written material

• In 2023 I received a salary fund from Rannís. Starfslaunasjóður sjálfstætt starfandi fræðimanna. The Independent Scholars‘ Salary Fund. Rannís – The Icelandic Centre for Research. Funding to write a book about the history of Icelandic housekeepers(based on my PhD thesis / scheduled to be published by Sögufélagið in 2025). – See

• Huldufreyjur: Ráðskonur í sveit á síðari hluta 20. aldar. Doktorsritgerð í sagnfræði við Háskóla Íslands 2022. Hidden history of housekeepers: Lives and labor of housekeepers in rural Iceland in the second half of the 20th century. Doctoral dissertation, University of Iceland 2022. – See

• Documenting Tears. Oral History Review.

• #MeToo mælt af munni fram – Kynbundið ofbeldi gegn ráðskonum í sveit á síðari hluta 20. aldar. “The spoken #MeToo – Sexual violence against housekeepers employed on Icelandic farms in the second half of the 20th century.” Fléttur V. Elín Björk Jóhannsdóttir, Kristín I. Pálsdóttir og Þorgerður H. Þorvaldsdóttir, ritstj., 85-101. Reykjavík: Háskólaútgáfan, 2020.– See

tv/radio interviews / newspaper interviews

TV interview about the oral history of housekeepers. Heima er bezt. Hringbraut.

Dalrún´s hidden housekeepers. Huldufreyjur Dalrúnar. Bændablaðið. 2022.– See

Interview about the history of housekeepers in Iceland on the radioshow Sögur af land. The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service (RÚV). 2021. – See

The housekeeping profession entailed security and danger. Ráðskonustarfinu fylgdi bæði öryggi og hætta á ofbeldi. Fréttablaðið. Helgarblaðið. 2022.

Violence against housekeepers in rural homes. Stór hluti þeirra varð fyrir ofbeldi, líkamlegu, andlegu eða kynferðislegu, af hálfu bænda.Hringbraut. 2022. – See

Great violence against housekeepers. Radio interview. Fjórðungur ráðskvenna varð fyrir ofbeldi. Fréttastofa RÚV. 2021. Fjórðungur ráðskvenna varð fyrir ofbeldi.Fréttastofa RÚV. 2021. –  See

The mystery of housekeepers unraveled. Hulu svipt af ráðskonum. Morgunblaðið. 2019. – See

Housekeepers in rural homes. Viðtal um rannsókn á sögu ráðskvenna í sveit. Samfélagið. Rás 1. RÚV. 2019. – See

Dalrún is looking for housekeepers to interview. Dalrún leitar að ráðskonum. DV. 2018.– See

Housekeeper wanted, can bring a child. Ráðskona óskast í sveit, má hafa með sér barn.Síðdegisútvarpið. RÚV. 2018. – See

Housekeepers in Iceland / Ráðskonur á Íslandi – DOCU. Post-production.

The project received a documentary film grant for the film Housekeeper Wanted [Ráðskona óskast]. Hagþenkir – félag höfunda fræðirita og kennslugagna. 2023. – See

Female vagrants and female hermits

Jaðarkvennasaga

förukonur og einsetukonur á Íslandi

written material

• Marginalized women who fought for animal rights in the past.  – See
• Drifting. Feminist oral history and the study of the last female drifters in Iceland, Feminist Research 2 (1) (2018). – See
• Female drifters and female expression. – See
• Oral history on marginalized women in the Icelandic rural society of the past. – See
• Female vagrants and female expression. Förukonur og fljóðatjáning. Bændablaðið. 2018. –See

tv/radio interviews / newspaper interviews

TV interview about my book about female vagrant and female hermits in the Icelandic rural society of the past. I also spoke about women´s freedom in nature by discussing the lives of women who lived in Icelandic wilderness in the past. – See

Marginalized women in Iceland. Jaðarkvennasaga Dalrún. Viðtal við Halldóru Lenu Christians bókmenntafræðing. – See

Interview about female vagrants and women´s oral tradition. Viðtal um förukonur og kvennatjáningu. Víðsjá. Rás 1 / RÚV. 2018. – See

Birds flown astray, with broken wings. Áttavilltir vængbrotnir fuglar. Fréttablaðið. 2020. 

Against the Current / Andstreymi – Documentary

The Last Woman Vagrant in valley Mýrdalur / Síðasta förukonan í Mýrdalnum – Documentary

Psychic women in Iceland

Skyggnar konur á Íslandi

The objective of this ongoing oral history research is to examine the lives and works of women who worked as mediums during the rise of spiritism in Iceland.

written material

Skyggnar konur á Íslandi. Hugrás. Vefrit Hugvísindasviðs Háskóla Íslands. 202

tv/radio interviews / newspaper interviews

Interview on psychic women in Iceland. Rannsakar skyggnar konur. Bændablaðið. 2023. – See

Interview about psychic women in Iceland in Þórdís Gísladóttir radio show about the life of the psychic woman Guðný Eyjólfsdóttir. Sjándinn á Vesturbrú. Rás 1. 2022. 1. episode. 3. episode. – See

Interview about psychic women as artists. The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service (RÚV). 2021.

I gave a lecture about psychic women in Iceland the Theosophical Society. Ég flutti erindi um íslenska kvenmiðla á uppgangstíma spíritismans hjá Lífspekifélaginu. 16. mars 2024.

on women´s expression

mini–oral history documentaries

radio lectures on Icelandic women´s history

feminist visual art

selected lectures

Erindi um félagslega stöðu ráðskvenna í sveit. Máttugar meyjar – bókmenntahátíð Konubókastofu. 

oral history theses

Huldufreyjur: Ráðskonur í sveit á síðari hluta 20. aldar. Doktorsritgerð í sagnfræði við Háskóla Íslands 2022. Hidden history of housekeepers: Lives and labor of housekeepers in rural Iceland in the second half of the 20th century. Doctoral dissertation, University of Iceland 2022. – See

Konur eru konum bestar: Sagnfræðileg samtímarannsókn á áhrifum félagasamtaka kvenna á stöðu íslenskra kvenna. [Women are Women´s Best Allies: A Contemporary Historical study on the Influence of Women´s Organizations on the Social Position of Icelandic Women], M.A.-thesis in History, University of Iceland 2017, 104 pp. – See

Sytrur minninga úr Mýrdalnum: Rannsókn á munnlegri sögu. [A Flow of Memories from Myrdalur county: A Study on Oral History], B.A.- thesis in History, University of Iceland 2015, 74 pp. – See

film studies thesis

Ungfrúin góða og húsið. Kvikmyndaaðlögun. [The compassionate lady and the house. Film adaptation], B.A.-thesis in Film studies, University of Iceland 2013, 26 pp. – See