E-mail: randi.eldevik@okstate.edu
Professor Emerita
PhD in Comparative Literature, Harvard University
Areas of Interest & Expertise
- Medieval literature, Classics, Renaissance and Baroque literature
- The epic genre
- Reception of the Classical tradition in subsequent eras
- Comparative mythology
- Historical linguistics, Germanic philology, Classical and Romance philology
Recent Upper Division & Graduate Courses Taught
- Middle English
- ntroduction to Old English
- Shakespeare
- Popular Fiction: Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and related works
- Short Story
- Classical Mythology
- World Literature I: The Western Tradition
Selected Publications
"Less Than Kind: Giants in Germanic Tradition." In The Shadow Walkers:Elves, Giants, Trolls, Dwarves, Werewolves and Dragons in and after Grimm's 'Deutsche Mythologie'. Ed. Tom Shippey. Tempe, Arizona: Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies, 2005. pp. 83-110.
"The Trojan Framework of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in a Doctrinal Context." In Sir Gawain and the Classical Tradition: Essays on the Ancient Antecedents. Ed. E.L. Risden. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Publishing, 2005.
The Matter of the North (translation of Torfi Tulinius's La matiere du Nord). Odense University Press, 2002.
"What's Hecuba to Them? Medieval Scandinavian Encounters with Classical Antiquity." In Scandinavia and Europe 800-1350: Contact, Conflict and Coexistence, ed. Jonathan Adams and Katherine Holman. Brepols, 2004. Pp. 345-54.
"Women's Voices in Old Norse Literature: The Case of Trójumanna saga." In Cold Counsel: Women in Old Norse Literature and Mythology, ed. S.M. Anderson and Karen Swenson. New York: Routledge, 2002. Pp. 55-80.
"The Faerie Queene II.x.18-19." Spenser Studies 12 (1991):207-13.
Honors & Offices
- 2004, President of Old Norse Discussion Group in MLA
Recent Grants or Research Trips
- Oklahoma Humanities Council Grant: The libretto of the 1954 opera "Troilus and Cressida" in relation to Chaucer's "Troilus and Criseyde."
- 2001 to Stockholm, Sweden (funded by American-Scandinavian Foundation)
- 1998 to Stockholm and Uppsala, Sweden, and Reykjavik, Iceland (funded by American-Scandinavian Foundation and Swedish Government)
- 1996 to Reykjavik, Iceland and University of Minnesota (OSU sabbatical and Oklahoma Foundation for the Humanities funding)
- 1995 to Arnamagnaean Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark (funded by American-Scandinavian Foundation)
Recent Conference Presentations
"Hercules in buskins: Classical tradition, the Thirty Years' War, and the beginnings of Swedish drama." MLA Conference, Philadelphia, December 2004.
"'The Dangerous Edge of Things': Spike's Characterization on 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and 'Angel.'" Slayage Conference, Nashville, May 2004.
"Grendel as Analogue to the Old Norse Jotnar." MLA Conference, San Diego. December 2003.
"Senecan drama and Swedish society in a time of transition." Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies Conference, Salt Lake City. May 2002.
"Those Books That Are Most Needful For All Men To Know: The Agenda Of Vernacular Writing In Medieval Scandinavia Compared To That of Neighboring Countries." MLA Conference, Washington D.C. December 2000.
Current Research & Projects
The significance of Hercules in 17th century Scandinavian literature, drama, music, and art.