May 31, 2024: The High North News Features Research by Ria-Maria Adams
Screenshot of the High North News article by Birgitte Annie Molid Martinussen, published on May 31, 2024.
The High North News, an independent newspaper published by the High North Center, recently highlighted InfraNorth researcher Ria-Maria Adams’ presentation at the Stormen Concert Hall during the Arctic Congress 2024 Bodø. Her presentation “Entanglements of Arctic Tourism Infrastructures: Imaginaries & Temporality” explored how “imaginary infrastructures” (featuring the elusive aurora hunting and the promotion of imaginary figures such as Santa Claus) are made “real” through the lens of winter tourism in Finnish Lapland, and how these built infrastructures impact local communities and residents.
The newspaper article “Arctic Tourism Destinations: From Wilderness to Disneyland” was written by Birgitte Annie Molid Martinussen, and also featured the InfraNorth blog post “For Whom Do the Sleigh Bells Toll? Unwrapping Santa’s Arctic Infrastructures,” co-authored by Ria-Maria Adams, Mia Bennett, and Alexandra Meyer.
InfraNorth researchers contribute two chapters to the forthcoming book Arctic Silk Roads: An Anthropology of the Unbuilt, edited by Natalia Magnani and Matthew Magnani. The volume will be published by Berghahn Books in January 2026 as part of the Studies in the Circumpolar North series. As climate change accelerates, the melting of sea ice is […]
The Journal of Contemporary Ethnography has published the article “Amazon in the Arctic: E-Commerce, Infrastructure, and Alimentary Assemblages in Nunavut, Canada” by InfraNorth researcher Katrin Schmid. Since establishing a delivery hub in Iqaluit, Nunavut in 2020, Amazon.com, Inc. has become an essential resource for many Nunavut residents, providing affordable access to goods otherwise constrained by […]
The Journal of Contemporary Ethnography recently published the article “Toward a Comparative Ethnography of Arctic Seaports Projects: Local Impacts of Expanding Maritime Infrastructure in Alaska, Norway, and Russia” by InfraNorth researcher Olga Povoroznyuk. In this article, the author’s comparative ethnography focuses on suspended seaport expansion projects in three Arctic coastal communities: Nome (USA), Kirkenes (Norway), […]
The quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal Polar Geography has just released the article “No room in the North: housing scarcity as infrastructure’s failed relations in the Arctic” by InfraNorth researchers Katrin Schmid and Ria-Maria Adams. The article examines the entanglements of housing infrastructure, economic structures, and social relations in Arctic regions, focusing on Nunavut (Canada) and […]
InfraNorth researcher Ria-Maria Adams will deliver a lecture titled “For Whom Do the Sleigh Bells Toll? Social Media’s Role in Shaping Expectations of Arctic Tourism Destinations” on December 2, 2025, at 16:30 GMT, at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, as part of its Anthropology Seminar Series. The talk will delve into how tourism infrastructures […]
The quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal Polar Geography has recently published the article “Temporality of Arctic Transport Infrastructure: Bridging Seasonal Supply in Egvekinot, Chukotka” by InfraNorth researchers Elena Davydova and Olga Povoroznyuk. The article explores local impacts of, and responses to, seasonal configurations of connectivity and disruptions in the functioning of transport infrastructure in the Russian […]
