The talk will connect the development of social and cultural history to the rise of the microhistorical approach. The classical conceptual framework of microhistory will be discussed as well as the main arguments presented by both authors of the new book What is Microhistory? Theory and Practice,which was published in May this year by the English publishing house Routledge. Finally, a highly personal case will be put on display to demonstrate the importance of a new concept celled "The Textural Environment", which draws attention to the meaning and the creation of source materials available to historians. 

Sigurður Gylfi Magnússon (Historian – Ph.D.) is currently the chair of the Center for Microhistorical Research at the Reykjavík Academy (www.microhistory.org) and Dr Kristján Eldjárn Research Fellow at the National Museum of Iceland. He is the author of 17 books and numerous articles published in Iceland and abroad. One of his latest books, Wasteland with Words. A Social History of Iceland (London: Reaktion Books, 2010), deals with the history of the island using the methods of microhistory. Another one, What is Microhistory? Theory and Practice, was published by Routledge this year and co-authored with István M. Szijártó. Sigurður Gylfi Magnússon is the founder and one of three editors of a book series named ‘Anthology of Icelandic Popular Culture’ (Sýnisbók íslenskrar alþýðumenningar), which already includes 15 books, mostly on the topics of egodocuments and everyday life history.