The newly appointed prime minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir is due to teach a University of Iceland course which covers the annual “Jólabókaflóð” (the Christmas book flood), RÚV reports. Jólabókaflóðið refers to the flurry of books that will be published for this Christmas, and the course will cover newly released works of fiction that participated in the Christmas book flood. The e-mail that revealed her as the lecturer of the course was sent out only an hour after she officially announced her newly formed government.
Katrín is the 28th prime minister of Iceland, and the second woman ever to hold the position. President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson tasked her with forming a government coalition after her party Vinstri-Grænir (the Left-Green movement) gained 16.9% of the popular vote in the past parliamentary elections. She holds a master’s degree in Icelandic literature from the University of Iceland and is an expert on crime thrillers. Her master’s thesis was an examination of the work of Nordic Noir author Arnaldur Indriðason.
It is unclear at this point in time if Katrín will be able to teach the course. Lísa Kristjánsdóttir, Katrín’s assistant, found the matter amusing. Lísa pointed out that Katrín undoubtedly accepted the teaching role some time ago, and that is impossible to tell whether she would fulfill her teaching duties, now that she is the prime minister.
The Christmas book flood refers to the hundreds of titles that will be released before Christmas time. Books are one of the most common gifts found under Icelandic Christmas trees, and Iceland has often been called a literary nation.
The course will be taught in ‘Endurmenntun Háskóla Íslands (the refresher course department of the University of Iceland). Katrín has taught similar courses at the department previously.
