Arctic Generations: Looking Back and Looking Forward (ICASS X)

ICASS X: Call for abstract

The call for abstract is out for the 10th International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences (ICASS X). Arctic Generations: Looking Back and Looking Forward, Arkhangelsk, June 15-20, 2020. Deadline is 20 January. REXSAC is involved in organizing at least three different sessions:

Arctic Mining Lives and Future

Affiliation: Université Laval, Luleå University of Technology | Country: Canada, Sweden | Organizer(s): Thierry Rodon, Dag Avango

The Arctic has experienced boom and bust cycles in the mining industries, a number of times in the past and will most likely experience other in the future. In this session, we look at the past, the present and the future of mining communities. Drawing on a comparative perspective between Arctic Canada, Greenland and Fennoscandinavia, this session focuses on how communities that are heavily dependent on extractive industries in the Arctic can deal with rapid change and legacies of resource extraction. Under what circumstances is it possible for these communities to adapt to these changes? How are they impacted and how can they build new futures based on the redevelopment of former extraction sites and beyond extraction? This session is co-organized by two international research networks, REXSAC and MinErAL, and is also the result of comparative research and discussions conducted during two international doctoral seminars organized in Northern Quebec and Sweden.

Mining Emotions – Affective Approaches to Resource Extraction

Affiliation: University of Copenhagen, Aalborg University | Country: Denmark | Organizer(s): Kirsten Thisted, Lill Rastad Bjørst

Within the field of resource extraction there is consensus that emotions should be avoided. We are constantly reminded that mining discussions should be based on facts and rational arguments rather than let the emotions prevail. However, not only political discourse, but also scientific discourse is greatly influenced by emotions. Framed by titles including words such as “opportunities” and “potential”, scientific reports activate emotions as they discursively link resource extraction to development and a notion of the good life as based on economic growth. Thus, mining not only relies upon the mobilization of emotions but also fosters emotions, which support certain discourses and narratives while silencing other. Hence the expression “Mining emotions”. The organizers of this session are part of REXSAC, (Resource Extraction and Sustainable Arctic Communities https://www.rexsac.org/. We invite papers focusing on energy humanities, emotional geography and related approaches to mining and resource extraction.

The Role of Participation in Arctic Scenarios Research

Affiliation: University of Alaska Fairbanks | Country: USA, Sweden | Organizer(s): Amy Lauren Lovecraft and Annika E. Nilsson

There are many narratives about what the Arctic could look like in the future. Most of these are based on top-down expert assessments, modeling outcomes, or visions by actors from outside the region. However, participatory scenarios methods that engage local actors are starting to produce a more diverse picture of potential futures in the region. The aim of this session is to share, compare, and compile insights from scenarios and futures research from across the circumpolar North, with attention to research design and its impacts on participants’ experiences and visions about the future, as well as project outcomes. The session explores the value of such inclusionary scenarios research, where one significant goal is to include the participants in shaping the research as well as the future of their local communities and regions. We seek papers that (1) address the nature of inclusivity in scenarios, and other future-oriented, research and, (2) reflect on the outcomes of different participatory approaches for assessing potential Arctic futures. We plan a session that will provide a space to engage one another in learning about scenarios research possibilities and about the diversity of potential futures across the Arctic.