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\\n I had the pleasure to speak with Krist\\xedn Loftsd\\xf3ttir, a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Iceland. Her research has focused on migration, whiteness, gender, racism, Nordic exceptionalism, postcolonialism and crisis, basing on work in Iceland, Niger and Belgium.
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\\nPublished Work by Krist\\xedn
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\\nLoftsd\\xf3ttir is currently leading the project Creating Europe through Racialized Mobility (CERM) that received a grant from the Icelandic Center of Research and has actively participated in various other international collaborations and projects.  Loftsd\\xf3ttir\\u2019s most recent publication is the monograph Crisis and Coloniality at Europe\\u2019s Margins: Creating Exotic Iceland (Routledge, 2019).
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\\nHer co-edited books include Messy Europe: Crisis, Race and Nation State in a Postcolonial World (Berhahn, 2018) and Whiteness and Postcolonialism in the Nordic Region (Farnham: Ashgate, 2012). Loftsd\\xf3ttir\\u2019s research has also been published in journals such as Ethnos, European Journal for Women\\u2019s Studies, Social Anthropology, and Identities and Social Identities.
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\\nHow I found Krist\\xedn\'s work?
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\\nAs I had mentioned in my last episode, I found one of Krist\\xedn\\u2019s publications via a Google search when I was trying to find out more about white supremacy in Iceland. After reaching out to Krist\\xedn about setting up an interview, she sent me some more of her published articles for me to read before we met.
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\\nI gobbled up these articles because I was learning so much about history in Iceland that I was completely unaware of. I wouldn\\u2019t be surprised if many Icelanders feel the same after listening to Krist\\xedn. During our talk we hit on a lot of different aspects of the concept of whiteness, Nordic Exceptionalism, and racism in Iceland. I learned a lot during this interview and I hope you do too. 
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\\nBefore you listen to our talk, I encourage you to go into this with an open mind and heart. Racism is a sensitive topic and it does make people uncomfortable. If you find that you are uncomfortable, let yourself sit with that and ask yourself why. It is not easy to explore those feelings but you might gain more insight about yourself if you do.
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\\nQuestions I Asked Krist\\xedn Loftd\\xf3ttir\'s About Racism, Whiteness & Nordic Exceptionalism in Iceland
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\\n* Can you share a bit about your background and what made you interested in becoming an anthropologist?
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\\n* What made you gravitate toward researching and writing about racism, the concept of witness and Nordic Exceptionalism in Iceland?
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\\n* How has your work been received by Icelanders and those outside of Iceland?
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\\n* In your publication titled, \\u201cThe Exotic North: Gender, Nation Branding, and Postcolonialism in Iceland\\u201d, you write about how Iceland historically has taken a gendered approach to advertise the nation and has also tried to distinguish themselves from other former colonies. The words \\u201cexotic\\u201d, \\u201cauthentic\\u201d, \\u201cpristine\\u201d, have been associated with Iceland, which plays on   Can you talk a bit about the approach that has been taken?
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\\n* I think one of the most interesting things I learned while reading your publications is about Icelanders pushing to be seen as part of the nations that are \\u201cmasculine, white and civilized\\u201d and not associated with other former colonies that have been looked down on as savages and uncivilized. Can you talk about what role that played in Iceland\\u2019s fight for independence and what impact it might be having on how Icelanders today view themselves in comparison to other countries?
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