ARCTIC WORKSHOP OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TARTU: WORK IN THE ARCTIC

29 AND 30 MAY, 2015

The Department of Ethnology at the University of Tartu in Estonia is pleased to invite proposals for the international academic workshop “Arctic workshop of the University of Tartu: Work in the Arctic” that will take place on 29 and 30 May, 2015.

Life in the Arctic is often depicted as a place where people fight for survival, struggling with the harsh climate, long distances and the limited choice of consumables. Simultaneously, the Arctic is a resource frontier where circumpolar countries develop extraction industries by constructing or maintaining large-scale infrastructure with settlements. A narrative of heroic work under hard conditions is part of the image of life in the Arctic, exploited enthusiastically both by people who live in the region and outside of it. Sometimes the gains of that struggle are measured in high northern wages, sometimes hard work in the Arctic proves the extraordinary toughness of “Northerners”, sometimes modern industry is presented as a symbol of progress.

This workshop will focus on different aspects and interpretations of work in the Arctic. Our goal is to assemble a truly interdisciplinary collection of presentations that will focus upon the cultural and social side of working in the Arctic, contributing to a better understanding of the economic, political or ecological aspects in general. Therefore, we encourage participation not only from anthropologists but also from economists, political scientists, historians, human geographers, biologists and others. The informal nature of the workshop is suited not only for senior scholars discussing their research results but also for PhD students.

Please send your abstracts up to 300 words to Aimar.Ventsel(at)ut.ee by 30th of January 2015