Arcticness: power and voice from the north

Ilan Kelman (Ed.) (2017). Arcticness: power and voice from the north. 160pp. London: UCL Press. ISBN: 978-1-78735-014-4. UK?17.99. '

This anthology draws inspiration from island studies and its work on defining 'islandness' to explore the identity of islands and islanders. It applies this line of enquiry to the Arctic and its peoples, both challenging and developing the concept of 'Arcticness'. The collection examines Arcticness through the lenses of 'power' and 'voice', as the title indicates. In terms of power, it explores Arcticness as an identity that can be instrumentalised, both politically (in terms of resource rights) and financially (as a commodity which sells). It also seeks to convey Arcticness as a human construct, shaped and defined by multiple voices. Structure echoes content, for the text is comprised of a series of chapters by authors from different disciplinary backgrounds-from art to resource management, engineering to anthropology- each contributing to a working definition of Arcticness.

The diversity of Arcticness: Power and Voice from the North is highly impressive. Ilan Kelman, a reader in Risk, Resilience and Global Health at UCL, has put together 13 chapters written by 28 contributors, including PhD students, experienced academics and artists. Indigenous and non-indigenous perspectives from the Arctic appear alongside those of people living outside the Arctic Circle. The contributions are hugely varied, ranging from a graphic essay to personal accounts of Arctic living, which sit alongside academic essays covering everything from resource frontiers to radar measurements of ice. It is rare to find a collection that incorporates such a wide range of perspectives, and it makes for a fascinating and compelling read. This multiplicity also conveys the idea that Arcticness is a relational construct, composed of manifold subjectivities; a discursive skein of perspectives emanating from the arts and sciences. From an island studies standpoint, this imbues Arcticness with archipelagraphic qualities, which is appropriate considering the numerous islands and archipelagos located within the Arctic Circle.

One criticism that might be levelled at Arcticness: Power and Voice is that because it incorporates so many different disciplines, a reader might struggle to critically engage with each chapter. However, all authors have clearly made efforts to explain their arguments in concise and jargon-free language, with Arcticness providing a point of connection within a kaleidoscope of different ideas and perspectives. In some chapters, defining and interrogating Arcticness constitutes the main thrust of the argument, whilst in others it is just one facet of an Arctic-based research question. Marius Warg Næ ss's 'Reindeer Herding in a Changing World' is an example of the latter. In this chapter, a comparative analysis of reindeer herders in the Arctic and the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, Arcticness is not explicitly mentioned until the conclusion. Initially the mention is jarring, but Næ ss does succeed in contextualising it with his own research question. He suggests that Arcticness is in danger of being defined as a quality linked to a specific place or reality, which could lead to exoticisation or reification. However, comparative studies such as his own make links between the Arctic and other places and peoples, and in forming these connections the Arctic is no longer a place apart, fundamentally different or radically Other.

Larissa Diakiw's graphic essay, 'Conversations in the Dark' does not explicitly mention Arcticness, but it clearly engages with the term as a form of marginalisation and oppression. Through text and illustration it discusses 'The Truth and Reconciliation Commission', an enquiry into the legacy of residential schools for Canada's indigenous and First Nations population. It explores the atrocities committed at these schools through the lens of hunger, quoting from pupils' reflections on their deprivations, showing how food-or lack of-can be instrumentalised as a weapon, not only through imposing scarcity but by alienating people from their culture and modes of survival. Although the graphic essay is a fascinating addition to the anthology, there is a danger that some researchers might not find it sufficiently 'scholarly', as it doesn't synthesise or substantiate information in the same way an academic essay does. However, what it does successfully show is that Arcticness should not solely be perceived as a theoretical construct or intangible quality. Instead it forms part of the fabric of daily life, and can be situated in a specific time and place.

The chapter that constitutes the most sustained engagement with Arcticness is Patrizia Isabelle Duda's 'Arcticness: In the Making of the Beholder'. Duda argues that 'outsider' perspectives have influenced Arctic politics and shaped 'insider' narratives of Arcticness. Outsider perspectives constitute a form of 'Arctic orientalism', one which she shows is undeniably gendered, as it evokes the Arctic as a pristine space to be conquered and managed by the rugged scientist-explorer-hero. Duda shows how these colonial themes have pervaded the neoliberal commercialization of the Arctic and permeated Arctic policy. She suggests that Arcticness is a concept built upon backwards-looking historical legacies, but driven forward by technological, political and economic opportunities. She concludes that Arcticness is a mobile construct, one which has the potential to contribute to northern countries' empowerment. Duda's argument is compelling, and her chapter is one of the few in the collection to approach Arcticness from a gendered perspective.

Ultimately, this book makes a clear and original contribution to the field of Arctic studies, with each chapter adding an extra dimension to the discussion of Arcticness. The anthology should be credited with opening up a conversation about Arcticness, which can be built upon and developed by subsequent theorists working in multiple disciplines. The establishment of Arcticness as a relational construct will undoubtedly make it a work of interest to island studies researchers, as will the discussions of how Arctic peoples might avoid being essentialised, and reclaim their diverse identities.

Dani Redd

Independent Researcher, UK

[email protected]