Ólafur Rastrick

Ólafur Rastrick is an Assistant Professor of European Ethnology at the University of Iceland’s Department of Folklore, Ethnology, and Museum Studies within the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences. He holds a doctoral degree from the University of Iceland, with research focused on modern cultural history. His teaching includes courses on body culture, cultural heritage, and communication studies.

Key publications include Háborgin (2013), exploring aesthetics and cultural politics in early 20th-century Iceland, and a co-edited volume on Icelandic cultural heritage (2015). His work spans cultural history and ethnology from the 19th century to contemporary issues.

Rastrick participated in the ACHS 2016 conference, presenting on heritage’s role in disciplining the female body in 20th-century Iceland. His research critically engages heritage as a political and social construct, intersecting with nationalism, memory, and identity.