Thule as frontier:Commons, contested resources, and contact zones in the high arctic

• Published in: Anthropological Journal of European Cultures
• Main Author: Hastrup, Kirsten
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: Arctic commons; Contact zone; Environment; Governance; Greenland; Resources; Sustainability; Arctic; Thule
• Online Access: https://curis.ku.dk/portal/da/publications/thule-as-frontier(4436d77f-2691-4963-ab8e-e674d74d7882).html; https://doi.org/10.3167/AJEC.2020.290102; https://curis.ku.dk/ws/files/269724925/_17552931_Anthropological_Journal_of_European_Cultures_Thule_as_Frontier.pdf; http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85087677077&partnerID=8YFLogxK

Located in Northwest Greenland, the Thule region is a remarkable frontier zone. This article focusses on the undecided nature of the frontier in both time and space. The article explores the unstable ground upon which 'resources' emerge as such. The case is made in three analytical parts: The first discusses the notion of commons and the implicit issue of spatiality. The second shows how the region's living resources were perceived and poses a question of sustainability. The third centres on the Arctic as a 'contact zone'; a place for colonial encounters and a meeting ground between human and nonhuman agents.