Oct 1, 2025: InfraNorth Presentations at the 2025 GASCA Conference “Un/Commoning Anthropology”
On October 1, 2025, InfraNorth researchers Philipp Budka, Elena Davydova, Katrin Schmid and Susanna Gartler will present at the 2025 conference of the German Association for Social and Cultural Anthropology (GASCA/DGKSA). This year’s edition will be held from September 29 to October 2, 2025, at the University of Köln, under the theme “Un/Commoning Anthropology.”
Temporalities
Philipp Budka will present the paper “Infrastructure, Sustainability, and Transformation in Churchill, Canada.” In it, he examines how transport infrastructure both sustains and transforms the town of Churchill in northern Manitoba, Canada, drawing on insights from ethnographic research and future scenario workshops. His presentation is part of workshop P023, “Un/Commoning Sustainability and Its Temporalities,” convened by Maike Melles and Daniel Sosna (Czech Academy of Sciences) and scheduled for Wednesday, October 1, from 16:30 to 18:00 CEST in seminar room S21.
Accompanied research
Elena Davydova will present the paper “Exploring Transport Infrastructure, Logistics, and Food Sovereignty in the Arctic (Auto)Ethnographically with Kids.” She draws on her experience of conducting accompanied fieldwork in remote settlements of Chukotka, in the Russian Arctic, to reflect on how the presence of her children shaped the research focus, introduced particular ways of doing and thinking about research, and raised ethical questions. Davydova will further discuss how her position as a parent and parenting itself shaped the epistemology and methodology of her doctoral research on the infrastructural dimensions of food sovereignty practices in remote Arctic settlements. This presentation is included in Part I of workshop P027, “Accompanied research. A theme for theories, methodologies and teaching,” convened by Judit Tavakoli and Julia Koch Tshirangwana (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen). It will take place on Wednesday, October 1, from 14:30 to 16:00 CEST in seminar room S22.
Commoning practices
Katrin Schmid will present the paper “Country Food, Commoning, and Commodification: Transforming Food Sovereignty in Nunavut.” In this research, she explores how economic, environmental, and social changes affect the practice of sharing locally harvested foods in Nunavut, Canada, examining its transformation, commodification, and implications for access and community relations. Her presentation is part of workshop P014, “Changing practices of commoning and egalitarian relations in the Arctic and Siberia: New forms of governance and social activism,” convened by InfraNorth associate researcher Sophie Elixhauser (University of Vienna) together with J. Otto Habeck (University of Hamburg) and Gertrude Saxinger (University of Vienna). It will be held on Wednesday, October 1, from 14:30 to 16:00 CEST in seminar room S15.
Finally, in the same workshop (P014), InfraNorth associate researcher Susanna Gartler will present the paper “Commoning Practices and Narrative Reinhabitation: Yukon First Nation Revitalization in the Context of Extractivism.” Her contribution adds to broader discussions on how Arctic and sub-Arctic communities reimagine commoning practices and egalitarian relations amidst extractivist pressures, highlighting the critical role of cultural and narrative practices in fostering resilience and self-determination.
