Academic CV

Education: Degrees

Master of Arts, 8.44 (First Class) Viking and Medieval Norse Studies (120 credits), University of Iceland & Aarhus University, 2016-2018.

History, Literature, Archaeology, History of Religion, Manuscript Studies, Old Icelandic.

Thesis: ‘Óðinn: A Queer týr? A Study of Óðinn’s Function as a Queer Deity in Iron Age Scandinavia,’ supervised by Luke John Murphy & Torfi H. Tulinius.

Bachelor of Arts (Hons), History, First Class, University of Winchester, 2013-2016.

Studied a wide range of European history, from Early Medieval to twenty-first century. Dissertation: ‘“Illræðum Gunnhildar konungamóðir” and “Álfífu mon ævi”: Negative Portrayals of Gunnhild Gormsdóttir and Ælfgifu of Northampton in the Norse Sagas,’ supervised by Ryan Lavelle.

Education: Supplementary Courses

Digital Humanities at Oxford Summer School (DHOxSS), ‘Introduction to the Digital Humanities,’ 3rd - 7th July 2017.

Summer School in Critical Approaches to the Study of Religion and Gender: Postcolonial, Post-secular and Queer Perspectives, International Association for the study of Religion and Gender, 17th - 21st May 2017.

Previous Academic Employment

Historical Consultant, Freelance, May 2022.

Consulted on a historical novel on the Viking Age, taking particular consideration around gender.

Pre-Doctoral Research Fellow, Study of Religion, Aarhus University, 2018.

Independent research project, queer theory and construction of gender in pre-Christian Scandinavian religion.

Student Fellows Scheme, independent research on Student Engagement, 2015-2016.

Experiences of queer students at the University of Winchester.

Research assistant, University of Winchester, 2015.

Assistant to Dr Elena Woodacre, identifying and mapping estates held by Joan of Navarre.

Fellowships

AUFF PhD Screening Grant, Aarhus University, 2018.

Student Fellows Scheme, University of Winchester, 2015-2016.

Bursaries

DHOxSS Bursary, University of Oxford, 2017.

Travel Grants

Nordplus Travel Grant, University of Iceland, 2018.

Nordplus Travel Grant, University of Iceland, 2017.

Peer-Reviewed Articles & Chapters

‘Gender in the Viking World,’ The Völva: Mind and Materiality in the Viking World, (eds.) Sophie Bønding, Leszek Gardeła, Peter Pentz, Peter Vang Petersen [in preparation].

‘How Queer and Anticolonial Theories Challenge the Cisheteropatriarchal Lens in Studies of Pre-Christian Scandinavian Religion,’ Methodology in Mythology, (eds.) Bob Oscar Benjamin van Strijen, Jesse Barber, Giulia Mancini, Amy Jefford Franks, & Jonas Koesling [in preparation].

‘Nordic Giants: Using Left-Wing Post-Rock to Deepen Our Understandings of White Supremacist Interpretations of Vikings,’ International Medievalisms, (ed.) Mary Boyle [in preparation].

‘Valfǫðr, vǫlur, and valkyrjur: Óðinn as a Queer Deity Mediating the Warrior Halls of Viking Age Scandinavia,’ Scandia: Journal of Medieval Norse Studies, 2 (2019) 28-65.

Reviews

Valkyrie: The Women of the Viking World, Jóhanna Katrín Friðriksdóttir (Bloomsbury: London, 2020). Review published in Apardjón Journal for Scandinavian Studies 2 (2021).

Saga Conference, 12-17 August 2018, Reykjavík & Reykholt, Iceland. Review published in Kyngervi 1 (2019) 114-117.

The Aarhus Mythology Conference in Uppsala, 15-16 November 2018. Review published in Kyngervi 1 (2019) 118-120.

Gendering Viking Age Rulership, 28 February – 1 March 2019, Katowice, Poland. Review published in Kyngervi 1 (2019) 142-145.

Editorial Positions

Co-editor of edited volume, Methodology in Mythology, 2019 – present.

Founder & General Editor, Kyngervi, Student Journal, 2018 – present.

Professional Networks

Founder & Chair, Norse Queer and Gender Studies Student Network, 2018 – present.

Member, Bog Body Network, 2018 – present.

Member, Viking Society for Northern Research, 2016 – present.

Conference Organisation & Assistance

Session organisation: ‘Coming Out of My Cage: Lives on the Border in the Old Norse World,’ co-organised with Tonicha Upham. International Medieval Congress 2020, University of Leeds, UK [cancelled due to COVID-19].

Roundtable organisation: ‘Genderations of the Viking Age: A Round Table Discussion,’ co-organised with Tonicha Upham. Speakers included Ing-Marie Back Danielsson (Uppsala University), Judith Jesch (University of Nottingham), and Elsa Simms (Memorial University of Newfoundland). International Medieval Congress 2020, University of Leeds, UK [cancelled due to COVID-19].

Aarhus Student Symposium Committee, 2018 - 2019.

Volunteer, Saga Conference, 2018.

Invited Talks

‘Transforming the Cosmos with Queer Magic,’ Performing Magic in the pre-Modern North, University of Aberdeen, 8-9 December 2021.

‘What times! What bodies! Queerness, Bodily Difference and History,’ Queer@Kings & ParaPride, King’s College London, 24 February 2021.

‘Why We Should Care About Queer Vikings,’ qUCL, University College London, 22 February 2021.

‘Why We Should Care About Queer Vikings,’ Leeds University Union Medieval Society, 18 February 2021.

‘Why We Should Care About Queer Vikings,’ Aberdeen University Centre for Scandinavian Studies, 11 February 2021.

Guest Lectures

‘Why We Should Care About Queer Vikings,’ Queer Literature, Medieval & Modern, Fordham University, 15 February 2021.

‘Why We Should Care About Queer Vikings,’ DIS Abroad, University of Stockholm, 9 March 2021; 17 September 2021.

‘Odin the Queer: Exploring Viking Age Queerness,’ LGBTplus series, Department of History, University of Sheffield, 17 March 2021.

Roundtables

‘Modernising Old Norse Myth,’ Doing Things with Old Norse Myth: A Research and Cultural Symposium on Mythological Processes, Reykjavík, Iceland, 25-27 November 2021.

‘Mystical Transformations: Gender in Mythology and the Occult,’ queer/disrupt, online, 25 October 2021.

‘Public Scholarship and Social Media,’ NECRON (Network of Early Career Researchers in Old Norse), online, 24 October 2021.

Conferences: Papers Presented

‘Victims, Valkyrjur, and Valtívar: The Roles of Women in Human Sacrifice in Viking Age Scandinavia,’ 18th International Saga Conference 2021, University of Helsinki, Finland & Estonia [forthcoming, postponed to 2022 due to COVID-19].

‘Double the Burial, Double the Queer: Two Queer Interpretations for the Inhumations of the Oseberg Ship Burial,’ Histories of Sexualities, Gender Diversity, and Queer in the Nordic and Baltic Region, University of Helsinki, Finland, 25-26 October 2021.

‘What Can Queer Theory Reveal About seiðr in Medieval Scandinavian Literature,’ The Agents of Magic in Medieval Scandinavian Literature, Sorbonne University, France [unable to attend due to COVID-19].

‘Assigned Warrior at Burial: A Queer Perspective for Bj. 581,’ Let’s Talk About Gender, Baby: Rethinking Gender Archaeology and New Approaches, University of Leiden, Netherlands, 9 April 2021.

‘Victims, Valkyrjur, and Valtívar: The Roles of Women in Human Sacrifice in Viking Age Scandinavia,’ International Medieval Congress 2020, The University of Leeds, UK [cancelled due to COVID-19].

‘How Can Queer Theory Contribute to the Study of Old Norse Mythology?,’ Aarhus Mythology Conference: Methodology in Mythology, University of Bergen, Norway, 31 October – 1 November 2019.

‘“Ok hugðu ek þat args aðal”: A Cult of Queer Óðinn in Pre-Christian Denmark,’ International Medieval Congress 2019, The University of Leeds, UK, 1-4 July 2019.

‘Nordic Giants: A Post-Rock Use of Norse Mythology,’ Conference on International Medievalisms, Maynooth University, Ireland, 27-29 June 2019.

‘Nordic Giants: A Left-Wing Post-Rock Use of Norse Mythology,’ Remembering the Middle Ages? Reception, Identity, Politics, University of Notre Dame, London, UK, 5-6 April 2019.

‘A Queenly King and a Kingly Queen: Negotiating Gender and Royal Ideology in the Viking Age,’ Gendering Viking Age Rulership, The Institute of History of the University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland, 28 February – 1 March 2019.

‘Exploring Óðinn as a Queer Deity in the West Danish Articulation of Pre-Christian Scandinavian Religion,’ Geographies of Gender: An Interdisciplinary Conference on Gender, Space & Place, University of Winchester, UK, 4-6 January 2019.

‘Queering Odin as a Non Binary Master’s Student: Searching for Myself?,’ Queering Academia, University of Westminster, UK, 21-22 June 2018.

‘Óðinn: A Queer týr? A Study of Óðinn’s Function as a Queer God in Iron Age Scandinavia,’ Aarhus Student Conference on Viking and Medieval Scandinavian Subjects, Denmark, 25-26 April 2018.

‘Deconstructing Colonialism, Patriarchy, and Cis-heteronormativity in the Scholarship of Pre-Christian Nordic “Religion(s),”’ Critical Approaches to the Study of Religion and Gender: Postcolonial, Post-secular and Queer Perspectives, Maastricht University, Netherlands, 17-21 May 2017.

‘The Obsession with Masculine Viking Women in Popular Culture,’ The Háskóli Íslands Student Conference on the Medieval North, Iceland, 7-8 April 2017.

‘Get You a Queen Who Can Do Both or a King Who Can Do Neither: Mentalities of Gender and Royal Ideology Towards Eiríkr blóðøx and Gunnhildr konungamoðir,’ Aarhus Student Symposium on Viking and Medieval Scandinavian Subjects, Denmark, 23-24 April 2017.

‘Evaluation of the OUTlist,’ University of Winchester Student Fellows Scheme Conference, UK, 17 May 2016.

Conferences: Poster Presentations

‘Ymir & The Transformative Power of Queerness in Old Norse Cosmology,’ Doing Things With Old Norse Myth, Reykjavík, 25-27 November 2021.

‘Gunnhild Gormsdóttir and Ælfgifu of Northampton: The Impact of the Translations of Names,’ Centre for Gender Studies Spring Symposium, University of Winchester, 5 March 2016.

Public Outreach

‘Queer Vikings: The Masterclass’, workshop for LGBT Foundation, 17 May 2021.

Article for Pink News, ‘5 Incredible Queer Viking Stories You Probably Haven’t Heard Before,’ May 2022, https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2022/05/07/viking-norse-gods-lgbtq/.

TikTok, @VikingsAreGay, June-July 2021. 8000 followers and 44,400 likes.

Blog post for History Matters, ‘Approaching Queerness in the Viking World,’ May 2021.

Interview on The Vagina Museum podcast, ‘Trans Saints and Gay Vikings: Notes on Queering the Past,’ April 2021.

Interview for Huck Magazine, ‘The queer activists reclaiming Norse myth from the far-right,’ Poppy Koronka, February 2021.

Interview for SW Londoner, ‘Paganism’s culture war: The white supremacists versus the liberal left,’ Poppy Koronka, January 2021.

Vikings Are Queer, workshop for Project Indigo, November 2020.

Interview with Mark Dolan on talkRADIO, October 2020.

Trans History Workshop, workshop for Stonewall as part of their Trans Joy event, September 2020.

Guest on The Nordic Mythology Podcast, September 2020.

Interviewed with featured quote, ‘Odin’s beard! Transgender Vikings may have played a key role in pillage life,’ The Sunday Times, August 2020.

Vikings Are Gay! Podcast with over 13,000 listens within 2 years, launched February 2020.

Blog post for Stonewall UK, ‘LGBT History Month: Trans People Have Always Been Here,’ February 2020.

Interviewed for NRK.no Radio, covering research I presented at the Aarhus Mythology Conference in Bergen, November 2019.