Blog

Ethnography Beyond the Case Study: InfraNorth Workshop on Comparative Methods in Stockholm

By Cristóbal Adam & Ria-Maria Adams Comparison – a method so essential in anthropology, shapes our understandings of humans, societies, environments, and the diversity of cultures, yet it goes so often unnoticed because it’s so deeply ingrained in our research practices. Comparative methods have been a matter of debate in sociocultural anthropology, and the discipline has […]

Not Building Roads in Alaska: The Ambler Road Controversy in Context

By Peter Schweitzer In April 2024, the Biden administration moved to block the proposed Ambler Road, a 211-mile transport infrastructure that would allow access to valuable mineral deposits in Northwest Alaska. This decision was based on the results of a “supplemental environmental impact statement” conducted by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). In June 2024, […]

Figure 4: Arctic Coop in Pond Inlet selling qamutiik (Schmid, 2023).

Amazon in the Arctic

By Katrin Schmid “Do you mind if we swing by the hub on our way home?” We drive along the paved road through the industrial area of town, toward Iqaluit International Airport, then turn right, away from the passenger parking lot and towards a warehouse with yellow pillars out front. A large sign reads, “Canadian […]

Transportation Futures: Reflections on a Scenario Workshop in Churchill, Canada

By Philipp Budka* What does the future hold for a remote community of about 900 people on Hudson Bay in Northern Manitoba, Canada? This question was constantly on my mind when doing ethnographic research for the ERC project InfraNorth in the town of Churchill. When I met with local residents to talk about their experiences […]

For Whom Do the Sleigh Bells Toll? Unwrapping Santa’s Arctic Infrastructures

By Ria-Maria Adams, Alexandra Meyer & Mia Bennett According to popular belief, Santa Claus operates with a flying sleigh, pulled by reindeer – including one with a red nose. This means of transport allows him to access every corner of the world, no matter how remote and disconnected, needing only a rooftop or a small […]

The New Subsea Tunnel to Sandoy, Faroe Islands: From the Periphery to the Centre?

By Alexis Sancho Reinoso This post is inspired by my storymap entitled “I walked over the Atlantic… or: how a small fishing nation manages to build a world-class road network” (October 2023). Timely before Christmas, the Faroe Islands’ fourth subsea tunnel connecting the islands of Streymoy and Sandoy will be inaugurated. Since the 1970s, most […]

In Alaska: Fieldwork Impressions from Nome and Anchorage

by InfraNorth July, 2023: Our researchers are out in the field again to collect data and organise infrastructure future scenario workshops in the US and Canada. Olga Povoroznyuk and Peter Schweitzer are sharing their latest updates from current field trips in Alaska in the towns of Nome and Anchorage. We have put together some of […]

“Ethnographies of Infrastructure” – Inspirations and Future Ambitions from InfraNorth’s Two-Day Workshop in Vienna

By Alexandra Meyer and Sarah Helena Schäfer Studying infrastructure means to think beyond infrastructure: It is not just about a bridge, a railroad, a ship, but about the people and the hopes and dreams connected to such material aspects of life. This year, we dedicated our second InfraNorth workshop to the topic of “Ethnographies of […]