Svalbard‐centre and periphery

From an ethnological point of view, the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard above all constitutes a meeting place of many different ethnic groups and cultures: From time to time its natural resources have been utilized by entrepreneurs of several nationalities, with the aid of multi‐ethnic crews and parties and with varying resources in mind. Thus, the Dutch and English whaling, from about 1600, was to a large extent based on the skills of Basque harpooners. Russian parties wintering on Svalbard had their homelands in the “Pomor” villages on the shores of the White Sea, where Russians, Karelians, Saami and other ethnic groups were repre ‐sented. The Norwegian exploiters came from similar multi‐ethnic communities.

In outlining two perspectives of Svalbard cultural research I want to start out by referring to an 18th century Russian settlement, situated at the inlet called Trygghamna, or “Safe Harbour”, on the north side of the Ice Fiord. This settlement was excavated in 1960, under the guidance, of the late professor Helmer Tegengren of Åbo Akademi University in Åbo (Turku), Finland. Being a member of his team I had the opportunity of making observations of my own, but on this occasion my point of departure is based on the results of this excavation put forth by Tegengren in 1962. Tegengren had intended to summarize the results of his three expeditions to Svalbard, but unfortunately never had strength enough to carry out this work before his sudden death in 1974.     

Fra samisk ≪overhøyhet≫ til norsk i Tromsen len på 14/1500‐tallet

Det er ei kjent sak at samene i Nord‐Norge i ny ere tid har vært diskriminert og utsatt for assimilering, språklig og kulturelt. Det har også vært vanlig å tilbakeføre denne tilstand til meget eldre tider, som vikingtid og middelalder.

I denne artikkel forsøker forfatteren på basis av lokalt kildemateriale fra ca. 1600 å vise at sjøsamene i Nord‐Troms i sein‐middelalderen kanskje stod i ei meget friere stilling i forhold til sine norske naboer, enn vi vanligvis har tenkt oss.     

“There are only realities built in the mind”

Abstract

In the wake of the First World War, Vilhelm Bjerknes and his colleagues in Bergen established their so-called front meteorology. With their new concepts and models they “appropriated” the weather – to use Robert Marc Friedman's expression – for physics and for Norwegian science. A regular weather forecasting service was established at the same time for the whole of the Norwegian coast, and fishermen soon became the meteorologists’ primary allies in their struggle for state support and resources. This article examines how the alliance was established, how weather forecasting was “appropriated” by the coastal population, particularly in the north, and what difference this made.     

Towards a holistic approach to heritage values: a multidisciplinary and cosmopolitan approach

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we explore the ‘Preservation/Heritage Values/Management’ triptych, and we propose a new method for addressing the values attributed to cultural heritage sites. Combining multidisciplinary and cosmopolitan approaches, we propose a way of moving beyond the traditional lens of assessing significance within the imposed categorical framework of ‘aesthetic, historic, scientific, social or spiritual values’. We provide an example of our new approach through a worked case study in the Maloti-Drakensberg Park World Heritage Site (South African section). Our case study concerns the values associated with the world famous San (Bushman) rock art of this mountain area. Through a thematic analysis of data collected in this area from 2009 to 2017, six cross-cultural interest points are identified and are discussed. Building upon the history of values-based heritage management, we argue that our multidisciplinary and cosmopolitan method is transferable and can be applied to heritage sites around the world. It can facilitate the construction of heritage management plans that are more in tune with local actors and that will therefore prove to be more effective and sustainable.     

Why are artists getting poorer? About the reproduction of low income among artists

In the period 2006 to 2013, Norway has experienced a substantial increase in public subsidies to culture as well as a substantial increase in real income growth in general. This paper discusses different explanations for why Norwegian artists’ real artistic income has declined between 2006 and 2013, despite the positive economic development in Norway. We have based the study in particular on two comparable studies on the income and work situation of Norwegian artists in 2006 and 2013. We analyse and discuss why the artists’ real artistic income has declined during this period. We do not find a single, general, explanation for this, but the income decline does not primarily seem to be due to either an increasing number of artists or a decline in public scholarships to artists. Our two most striking findings are: (i) A substantial decline in most artists’ artistic working hours and a corresponding increase in artistically related and non-artistic working hours, and (ii) a tendency for artists to derive less of their income from the market, together with an apparent decrease in cultural consumption (spending) among Norwegians. These two factors – especially the latter – seem to be the major factors behind the decline in artistic income.     

Contributions of a Heritage Values-based Approach to Rock Art Management. Lessons from the Maloti-Drakensberg World Heritage Site,South Africa

This paper is based on rock art sites of the Maloti-Drakensberg massif (South African part), where more than 600 decorated shelters have thus far been identified. Being both institutionalised heritage sites open to the public and living heritage sites associated with various social practices and utilizations, their preservation requires us to consider the complexity of the values attributed to them. Combining a multidisciplinary and empirical approach, our paper highlights the processes of hybridization between attributed values, which therefore do not adhere to a strict category approach. Being strongly linked to the contexts in which they are articulated, their identification is coupled with a consideration of the macrodynamics in which rock art sites are integrated, as well as an analysis of the links between these different contexts and the value systems identified. In conclusion, the operational dimensions of such a methodology is questioned and some initial possibilities for action are proposed.     

The Stone Tidal Fish Weirs of the Molène Archipelago,Iroise Sea,Brittany, Western France: a long‐term tradition with early megalithic origins

This reports on a project that combined evidence gleaned from aerial photographs, place‐names, interviews, topography, LIDAR data, and sonar bathymetry to locate stone tidal fish weirs in the Molène Archipelago. The results were verified by diver and pedestrian visual surveys. Models of Holocene sea‐level change allowed a group of possibly Late Mesolithic–Early Neolithic weirs to be recognized, with a second group broadly dated to the later Neolithic–Early Bronze Age. The construction of these long megalithic structures is compared to the funerary monuments for which the Molène Archipelago is well known, in terms of technique, cost, and societal organization.     

‘Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof!’ Reading Leviticus 25:10 through the centuries

ABSTRACT

This paper follows the text of Leviticus 25:10 in the Hebrew Bible and in selected works of the exegetical tradition of both Rabbinic Judaism and Western Christianity, in order to provide a lens through which to assess the use of a biblical text which was instrumental during the early modern period in formulating ideas about the Republic and its use in the modern liberal state. The main argument of the paper is that over time the meaning of the text shifted from the socio-economic to the salvific to the political, depending on the context in which it was read. Further, all the authors cited here approached the text as an authoritative normative text, and did not look at the text as a textual artefact. While the move to re-introduce Jewish Sources into the debate in political theory is to be welcomed, it is argued that the results would be improved by balanced reading strategies and by interaction with critical academic biblical scholarship.