The Association of Icelandic Historians (Sagnfræðingafélag Íslands)
The primary aims of the association are to promote historical research, support the teaching of history at all levels and to disseminate history to the general public. The preservation of historical sources and access to them are also areas of concern. Membership is open to those holding a BA in history or the equivalent.
In January 1954 professors of history at the University of Iceland founded a society of historians but this attempt proved to be short-lived. However, the need to strengthen the teaching of history in schools, to address the lack of suitable teaching material and a growing need to participate in Nordic and international conferences was the impetus for the re-establishment of this association. In September 1971 the Association of Icelandic Historians was founded, and since then regular meetings have been held, usually every month or so (though not during the summer months). These are usually in the form of a symposium with three or four speakers discussing a common theme, as well as an annual meeting, in collaboration with Sögufélag (the Historical Society), to discuss the latest books on history. These meetings are open to the public and advertised in the media. A series of popular lunchtime lectures were held from 1998 to 2020, until the Covid pandemic brought them to an end.
Elections to the board take place at an annual meeting. The Board has seven members elected for a two-year term (with a term limit of six consecutive years). Members of the Board are from various professions open to historians: such as historians in academia, history teachers at the secondary school level, archivists and independent historians.
The association also attends to the joint interests of historians in different fields and comments when necessary on political matters that affect historians, the most recent example being the decision of the City Council in Reykjavík to abolish The City Archives (Borgarskjalasafn) and send all the records to the National Archives.
The association has a Codex Ethicus and has the power to elect honorary members, historians who are regarded as having made outstanding contributions to the field.
The association co-operates with other similar bodies such as the Icelandic Historical Society (Sögufélag) and the Institute of History of the University of Iceland (Sagnfræðistofnun), for instance regarding participation in the Congress of Nordic Historians, which meets every four years. It nominates two members to the National Committee of Icelandic Historians (Landsnefnd sagnfræðinga).