Jul 2024: Chapter by Peter Schweitzer in “A Fractured North – Journeys on Hold”
The publishing house of Kulturstiftung Sibirien, SEC Publications, has just released the book “A Fractured North – Journeys on Hold,” a collection of texts edited by Erich Kasten, Igor Krupnik, and Gail Fondahl. The book, available in both print and digital versions, features a chapter written by Peter Schweitzer, titled “Openings and Closures: The Anthropology of Siberia and the Politics of Field Access.”
In this chapter, Schweitzer delves into historical illustrations of shifts along a continuum of “openings” and “closures” (understanding these terms as relative and relational) between Russia and the “West” (i.e. western Europe and North America) over the course of the 18th and 20th centuries. In doing so, the author seeks to apply historical lessons to our present situation, and asks whether we can learn from them.
This collection of texts is the second volume in a series initiated by SEC Publications in 2023 under the title “A Fractured North,” envisioned as a response of the international community of Northern scholars to the ongoing war in Ukraine and to the disruption (“fracture”) it causes.
News
Jul 2025: Presentation by Philipp Budka at EASA Workshop “Past Tense, Future Imperfect”
InfraNorth researcher Philipp Budka presented the paper “Navigating Temporalities, Infrastructure, and Uncertain Futures: Scenario Workshops in Churchill, Canada” at the workshop “Past Tense, Future Imperfect: Temporalities as Mobilising Force.” The two-day event, held in hybrid format from July 23 to 24, 2025, was organized by the EASA networks NAoHH (Anthropology of History and Heritage) and […]
News
Jun 2025: Article by Jolynna Sinanan, Ria-Maria Adams & Philipp Budka in “Visual Anthropology”
The peer-reviewed academic journal Visual Anthropology has just published the article “Framing Multipolar Tourism: Imaginaries, Visualities and Futures,” written jointly by Jolynna Sinanan (University of Manchester) and InfraNorth researchers Ria-Maria Adams and Philipp Budka. The article examines multipolar iconography and how imaginaries of remote, climate-vulnerable places have materialized through improved transport, enhanced accommodation facilities, […]
News
Apr 16, 2025: Rudolphina Magazine Features Research by Peter Schweitzer
The University of Vienna’s research magazine, Rudolphina, recently featured Peter Schweitzer, principal investigator of InfraNorth, and his long-standing anthropological engagement with Arctic communities. Schweitzer’s research focuses on issues related to the built environment, mobility, remoteness, and the social impacts of climate change on community life in the Arctic. The article, which includes a video interview […]