Paula Gaard

Paula Gaard serves as an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Faroese Language and Literature, University of the Faroe Islands, where she specializes in literary criticism and contemporary Faroese literature. Her academic profile bridges humanities with health studies through innovative research in narrative and graphic medicine, while maintaining strong connections to Nordic literary traditions.

Academic Background

• PhD in Literary Criticism (2021), University of the Faroe Islands: Dissertation The Critic's Apology - Literary reviews in Faroese newspapers and journals 1997-2007
• Nurse Degree (2004), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Faroe Islands

Research Expertise

Dr. Gaard's scholarship centers on literary criticism with specialized focus on children's and young adult literature, comics, and drama within small-language communities. Her fingerprint analysis reveals deep engagement with Faroese literary criticism, genre theory, and Gert Biesta's educational philosophy. She pioneers interdisciplinary work connecting literature to health through narrative medicine and graphic medicine, particularly examining mental health representations in Nordic comics.

Publication Trajectory

Recent outputs (2022-2025) demonstrate evolving focus from foundational literary criticism toward ecological and gender dimensions in Faroese youth literature. Her 2025 study analyzes nature experiences across Nordic children's literature, while 2023 works investigate crisis as catalyst for literary criticism in island communities and contemporary trends in Faroese youth fiction. The consistent thread remains documentation and analysis of Faroese literary production within global contexts.

Academic Engagement

• Teaches literary history, theory, and analysis at BA/MA levels
• Active participant in Nordic networks including 2025 Workshop on Nordic Mental Health Comics
• Contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education)
• ORCID: 0000-0002-6160-0494 with 13 research outputs (2013-2025)

Professional Context

Dr. Gaard operates within the University of the Faroe Islands' strategic framework emphasizing Arctic scholarship and cultural preservation. Her dual background in nursing and literary studies uniquely positions her to explore health humanities in Nordic contexts, particularly through comics-based mental health education initiatives. Current activities indicate growing focus on environmental criticism and cross-Nordic comparative studies.