Sep 2024: Article in “Études Inuit Studies” by Sophie Elixhauser

The latest issue of Études Inuit Studies (Vol. 47, No. 1-2, September 2024) features the article “Making and Unmaking Airports in Tunu (East Greenland): The Socio-Material Dynamics of Hope and Connectivity” by Sophie Elixhauser.

Like many airports throughout the Arctic, Kulusuk Airport, the entrance to the sparsely populated East Coast of Greenland, is built on the remnants of past military activities and is located some distance from the regional capital, Tasiilaq. For years, there have been discussions regarding the construction of a new airport in Tasiilaq to improve connectivity and reduce dependence on helicopter flights. Throughout the East Coast, many residents feel that they are looked down upon by the (West) Greenlandic population and are given little priority in the political and economic decisions taking place in the faraway national capital of Nuuk, which feeds into residents’ attitudes towards the ever-suspended airport plans. Many residents place great hope on this plan, as this “infrastructural hope” (Reeves 2017) includes economic and social possibilities and an improvement of the region’s status both within the country and abroad. On the other hand, in the village of Kulusuk, near the current airport, people fear the repercussions of this new airport.

Elixhauser explores the hopes, fears, and affect generated by and embedded within infrastructure, considering issues of remoteness, social and physical connectivity, “infrastructural violence” (Rodgers and O’Neill 2012), and residents’ future imaginaries and historical experiences in (post-)colonial Greenland. Describing the socio-material dynamics of hope and connectivity, the article shows how aviation infrastructure is never just about the physical infrastructure but is always enabled by and embedded in societal processes.

The article can be found online here.

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 […]

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, […]

Jun 17, 2025: Panel and Presentation by Ria-Maria Adams at the Finnish Anthropological Society Conference 2025

InfraNorth researcher Ria-Maria Adams will be convening a panel and presenting a paper at the 2025 Biennial Conference of the Finnish Anthropological Society in Helsinki. This year’s conference, which marks the Society’s 50th anniversary, will be held under the theme Comparisons in Helsinki from June 16 to 18, 2025. The panel session “Rethinking Infrastructure through […]

Jun 5, 2025: Keynote Speech by Philipp Budka at the IDSF 2025 Social-Science Track

InfraNorth researcher Philipp Budka was the keynote speaker for the Social Science Track at the International Digital Security Forum (IDSF) 2025, held under the theme “Sovereignty and Solidarity in the Digital Age – a critical view.” The forum, hosted by the Vienna Centre for Societal Security (VICESSE) and the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, convened […]

May 28, 2025: Le Nunavoix Features Research by Katrin Schmid

A recent article written by journalist Karine Lavoie for Le Nunavoix, a French-language community newspaper published in Nunavut, reports on the recent visit of InfraNorth researcher Katrin Schmid to Nunavut, where she presented the findings of her research on transportation infrastructure and food sovereignty in Nunavut. Schmid’s report “Country Food Cargo: Transport Infrastructure and Food […]

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 […]