“We build a railroad and the railroad builds us.” This idea gave title to Olga Povoroznyuk’s talk at the sowi:doc 2023 Awards ceremony of the Vienna Doctoral School of Social Sciences (ViDSS). Dr. Povoroznyuk, one of this year’s award winners, talked about her dissertation “Soviet infrastructure in the post-Soviet era? Building a railroad and identity […]
The International Arctic Social Sciences Association (IASSA) has granted Peter Schweitzer an Honorary Lifetime Membership Award in recognition of his sustained and significant contribution to Arctic social sciences. The award ceremony took place on June 1, 2024, during the 11th International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences (ICASS XI) and as part of the Arctic Congress […]
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 […]
Several InfraNorth team members will participate in the Arctic Congress Bodø 2024 (May 29 – June 3, 2024), which combines the International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences (ICASS) XI, UArctic Congress 2024, and High North Dialogue 2024. Here is a summary of three sessions convened by team members as well as a number of InfraNorth-related […]
InfraNorth’s principal investigator Peter Schweitzer was a guest speaker at the 2nd Polar Waalem Seminar. Under the title “Green Technologies in Climate and Polar Research,” the event was held on May 10 – 11, 2024, at the Waalem estate on the German North Sea island of Föhr. His presentation, “Arctic Residents and Change: Economic Development, […]
InfraNorth’s principal investigator Peter Schweitzer gave a talk at the 2024 Arctic Circle Berlin Forum, as part of a session titled “Climate Change in Polar and High-Altitude Regions.” His contribution focused on anthropological perspectives on Arctic and Alpine climate change, including the role of (transport) infrastructures. The session also featured Frederik Paulsen, the board chair […]
On April 24, Olga Povoroznyuk and Peter Schweitzer presented online the preliminary results of their InfraNorth fieldwork in Nome, Alaska at a workshop hosted by the Nome Coordinated Research Consortium (NCRC). The workshop aimed to discuss the present and future of Nome, considering transport infrastructure (such as the projected deep-draft port), mining, tourism, and climate […]
In Svalbard, the environment, society, and policy are changing rapidly. On April 10, 2024, a lunch seminar at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL) discussed what these changes mean for people in Longyearbyen, and the dilemmas associated with using and protecting the environment. The seminar featured Alexandra Meyer from InfraNorth, who gave a […]
The 4th Vienna Anthropology Days – VANDA conference, which will be held at the University of Vienna (23 – 26 September 2024), has just opened its call for papers. Four InfraNorth-related sessions are included: Philipp Budka, Giuseppe Amatulli, and Ria-Maria Adams are organizing the workshop “Building Tomorrow: Exploring Infrastructures and Futurities.” This session invites contributors […]
The latest issue of Ethnos: Journal of Anthropology has published the article ‘Melting Worlds’ and ‘Climate Myths’: Diverging Stories of Climate Change in Longyearbyen, an Arctic ‘Frontline Community’ by Alexandra Meyer and Zdenka Sokolíčková. Climate change is a powerful story in Longyearbyen, the largest settlement on Svalbard in the high Arctic. While most natural science […]
In a recent newspaper article, titled “Radically ordinary life” (in Finnish: Radikaalin tavallinen elämä), the Finnish national public broadcaster Yle Uutiset features an interview with Ria-Maria Adams about young people who have decided to stay in their rural Arctic hometowns. The piece also draws on her joint article with Teresa Komu. According to Adams’ Ph.D. […]
Olga Povoroznyuk, Alexandra Meyer, and Peter Schweitzer will represent InfraNorth at the Arctic Science Summit Week (ASSW) 2024 in Edinburgh, participating as part of the IASC Social and Human Working Group (SHWG). Their presentations are scheduled to take place during the SHWG open session on March 22, 2024, from 10:30 to 15:30 GMT at St […]