Karl Christian Alvestad has been, since August 2018, an Associate Professor in Social Studies at the Department of Culture, Religion and Social Studies, University of South-Eastern Norway. He completed his PhD in History at the University of Winchester, UK, in 2016. His thesis ""Kings, Heroes and Ships: The Use of Historical Characters in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Perceptions of the Early Medieval Scandinavian Past"" looked at the use of Viking Age history in the development of Norwegian national identity in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. His research focuses on the role of medievalism in politics and culture in Scandinavia, as well as early medieval political culture in Norway, and the cult of St. Olaf. Among Karl Christian's most recent works is a chapter called "The 'Accurate' Deeds of Our Father: The 'Authentic' Narrative of Early Norway" (2021) discussing the construction of authenticity in contemporary Norwegian medievalisms, and an article titled "Mainstream Norwegian Medievalism in the Twenty-first Century Continuity and Change in Narrative and Form" (2021) which explores the evolving forms and content of contemporary Norwegian medievalisms.
