Sublime encounters: Commodifying the experience of the geos
This paper discusses the rise in volcano tourism in the last few decades, focusing on its impact in recent eruptive crises in Iceland. The paper uses evidence from ethnographic research and surveys to argue that two divergent economic narratives come into conflict around volcanoes: the problematisat...
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ftunivcam:oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/289170 2024-02-04T10:01:26+01:00 Sublime encounters: Commodifying the experience of the geos Donovan, Amy 2018 application/pdf https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/289170 https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.36432 en eng eng Wiley http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/geo2.67 Geo: Geography and Environment https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/289170 doi:10.17863/CAM.36432 Attribution 4.0 International https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Ethnography geologic politics Iceland Sublime volcanic risk Article 2018 ftunivcam https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.36432 2024-01-11T23:22:39Z This paper discusses the rise in volcano tourism in the last few decades, focusing on its impact in recent eruptive crises in Iceland. The paper uses evidence from ethnographic research and surveys to argue that two divergent economic narratives come into conflict around volcanoes: the problematisation of the earth as potentially risky, and the elevation of those risky behaviours as something worth commodifying. Icelandic civil protection (Almannavarnir) have increasingly become concern ed about the behaviour of tourists around active volcanoes, particularly during eruptions. However, this is also a considerable opportunity for tour groups. During the 2014–2015 eruptions at Holuhraun, there was concern about high levels of gas that were being emitted, and so tourists were banned from the site. This led to clandestine efforts to get in by helicopter after dark. The felt need for these experiences can be traced back at least to the Enlightenment period, and denotes an example of affective commodification, as the sublime encounter between humans and raw energy of the earth is rendered valuable in monetary terms – and yet transcends commodification in a simple sense. his work was funded by a Leverhulme/Newton Trust Early Career Fellowship and a NERC Urgency Grant. Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository Holuhraun ENVELOPE(-16.831,-16.831,64.852,64.852) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftunivcam |
language |
English |
topic |
Ethnography geologic politics Iceland Sublime volcanic risk |
spellingShingle |
Ethnography geologic politics Iceland Sublime volcanic risk Donovan, Amy Sublime encounters: Commodifying the experience of the geos |
topic_facet |
Ethnography geologic politics Iceland Sublime volcanic risk |
description |
This paper discusses the rise in volcano tourism in the last few decades, focusing on its impact in recent eruptive crises in Iceland. The paper uses evidence from ethnographic research and surveys to argue that two divergent economic narratives come into conflict around volcanoes: the problematisation of the earth as potentially risky, and the elevation of those risky behaviours as something worth commodifying. Icelandic civil protection (Almannavarnir) have increasingly become concern ed about the behaviour of tourists around active volcanoes, particularly during eruptions. However, this is also a considerable opportunity for tour groups. During the 2014–2015 eruptions at Holuhraun, there was concern about high levels of gas that were being emitted, and so tourists were banned from the site. This led to clandestine efforts to get in by helicopter after dark. The felt need for these experiences can be traced back at least to the Enlightenment period, and denotes an example of affective commodification, as the sublime encounter between humans and raw energy of the earth is rendered valuable in monetary terms – and yet transcends commodification in a simple sense. his work was funded by a Leverhulme/Newton Trust Early Career Fellowship and a NERC Urgency Grant. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Donovan, Amy |
author_facet |
Donovan, Amy |
author_sort |
Donovan, Amy |
title |
Sublime encounters: Commodifying the experience of the geos |
title_short |
Sublime encounters: Commodifying the experience of the geos |
title_full |
Sublime encounters: Commodifying the experience of the geos |
title_fullStr |
Sublime encounters: Commodifying the experience of the geos |
title_full_unstemmed |
Sublime encounters: Commodifying the experience of the geos |
title_sort |
sublime encounters: commodifying the experience of the geos |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/289170 https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.36432 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-16.831,-16.831,64.852,64.852) |
geographic |
Holuhraun |
geographic_facet |
Holuhraun |
genre |
Iceland |
genre_facet |
Iceland |
op_relation |
https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/289170 doi:10.17863/CAM.36432 |
op_rights |
Attribution 4.0 International https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.36432 |
_version_ |
1789967329718697984 |