The Matter of Isolation I could not count the number of times I have heard the source of skepticism resulting from some notion of Iceland's isolation, be it physical, linguistic, or, recently, in terms of political posture toward the European Community. Crucial in the explanations we provide to such skeptical questions is the information that these very features add to the strategic importance of the country as a research site and model political economy. Having kept its language intact since the 11th century makes it possible to learn modern Icelandic and then move backward in time though this vehicle of an essentially continuous natural language. Being so isolated, and often having to deal with material, environmental, and political problems alone, lends us an astonishing store of records that they have felt obligated to maintain and an extraordinary pattern of successful cultural and national problem solving against daunting political and environmental pressures. It is not surprising that for the Icelanders, their favorite book is still Halldor Laxness' Independent People .
Plans are on for the maintenance of a newsletter about developments and work.
Items would be variably of interest to different fields, but certainly it would be nice to be aware of what each of us are doing. Nordic citizens know English well, and for many of our exchanges they are gracious enough to speak in what for most of us is our native English tongue. But for scholarship and certainly for training graduate students the matter of learning these languages becomes a necessity. Hence the effort to try to develop this training opportunity. The University of Iowa.