The first volume of Ritið, the journal of the Faculties of the Humanities at the University of Iceland, in 2006 is devoted to the theme avant-garde.

The volume contains seven articles based on papers that were presented at the conference “Avant-Garde: Emergence, History and Actuality” in Reykjavik, September 2nd and 3rd 2005. Ástráður Eysteinsson discusses the relation of the terms modernism and avant-garde in a case study of Franz Kafka´s works. Hubert van den Berg presents a reproduction of the connections between the Icelandic artists Jón Stefánsson and Finnur Jónsson with the historical avant-garde movements in Europe. Benedikt Hjartarson describes the reception of the avant-garde in Iceland in the 1920s and discusses the constitutive role played by avant-garde aesthetics in the discourse on Icelandic culture in the period. Sascha Bru discusses the relation of avant-garde and politics and offers a critical approach to older writings on that subject. Tania Ørum discusses problems related to the use of the terms historical avant-garde and neo-avant-garde in an analysis of the aesthetic practices of avant-garde movements of the post-war era. Halldór Björn Runólfsson´s article reflects the paradoxical relation between the manifestoes of the historical avant-garde and its aesthetic achievements in a broader perspective, as well its relation to the contemporary art scene. Geir Svansson focusses on the writings of the Icelandic avant-garde writer, musician and artist Megas, and their relation to the tradition of avant-garde and amodernism.