From mining tool to tourist attraction: Cultural heritage as a materialised form of transformation in Svalbard society
Abstract In the context of socio-economic transformation of Svalbard, from a place dominated by the coal mining industry to a nature-based tourism destination, the article focuses on how this transformation is co-created with material objects of coal mining remnants. These seemingly marginal, insign...
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
2022
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247422000092 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247422000092 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0032247422000092 2024-06-23T07:56:19+00:00 From mining tool to tourist attraction: Cultural heritage as a materialised form of transformation in Svalbard society Kotašková, Eva 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247422000092 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247422000092 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Polar Record volume 58 ISSN 0032-2474 1475-3057 journal-article 2022 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247422000092 2024-06-12T04:04:39Z Abstract In the context of socio-economic transformation of Svalbard, from a place dominated by the coal mining industry to a nature-based tourism destination, the article focuses on how this transformation is co-created with material objects of coal mining remnants. These seemingly marginal, insignificant or even out-of-place remnants of coal mining activity (such as rusty barrels or collapsing infrastructure) have become, by law, a protected part of the Svalbard environment, a cultural heritage. Based on the relational (more-than-human) ethnography of guided tours, the analysis shows that this transformation is co-creating the characteristics of both the past of coal mining and the present notion of wilderness. It demonstrates the process not only as a transformation of interpretations, knowledge and values but also as a transformation of relations with non-human components of the environment. Rather contextual than linear shifts in a biography of the objects, together with the temporality of the objects and their porous character, play a significant role in the Svalbard’s transformation into a nature-based tourism destination. Article in Journal/Newspaper Polar Record Svalbard Cambridge University Press Svalbard Polar Record 58 |
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Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
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crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract In the context of socio-economic transformation of Svalbard, from a place dominated by the coal mining industry to a nature-based tourism destination, the article focuses on how this transformation is co-created with material objects of coal mining remnants. These seemingly marginal, insignificant or even out-of-place remnants of coal mining activity (such as rusty barrels or collapsing infrastructure) have become, by law, a protected part of the Svalbard environment, a cultural heritage. Based on the relational (more-than-human) ethnography of guided tours, the analysis shows that this transformation is co-creating the characteristics of both the past of coal mining and the present notion of wilderness. It demonstrates the process not only as a transformation of interpretations, knowledge and values but also as a transformation of relations with non-human components of the environment. Rather contextual than linear shifts in a biography of the objects, together with the temporality of the objects and their porous character, play a significant role in the Svalbard’s transformation into a nature-based tourism destination. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kotašková, Eva |
spellingShingle |
Kotašková, Eva From mining tool to tourist attraction: Cultural heritage as a materialised form of transformation in Svalbard society |
author_facet |
Kotašková, Eva |
author_sort |
Kotašková, Eva |
title |
From mining tool to tourist attraction: Cultural heritage as a materialised form of transformation in Svalbard society |
title_short |
From mining tool to tourist attraction: Cultural heritage as a materialised form of transformation in Svalbard society |
title_full |
From mining tool to tourist attraction: Cultural heritage as a materialised form of transformation in Svalbard society |
title_fullStr |
From mining tool to tourist attraction: Cultural heritage as a materialised form of transformation in Svalbard society |
title_full_unstemmed |
From mining tool to tourist attraction: Cultural heritage as a materialised form of transformation in Svalbard society |
title_sort |
from mining tool to tourist attraction: cultural heritage as a materialised form of transformation in svalbard society |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247422000092 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247422000092 |
geographic |
Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Svalbard |
genre |
Polar Record Svalbard |
genre_facet |
Polar Record Svalbard |
op_source |
Polar Record volume 58 ISSN 0032-2474 1475-3057 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247422000092 |
container_title |
Polar Record |
container_volume |
58 |
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1802649336202395648 |