Health Through the Space Lens. Fictional Representations of Health and Illness in Svalbard's Mining Towns in the 1950s.
The article discusses cultural perceptions and interpretations of health and illness in a Svalbard context through the analysis of the novels Longyearbyen (2020) by the Norwegian writer Heidi Sævareid and The Arctic Novel (1964) by the Soviet writer Vladlen Anchishkin. Both novels use Svalbard of th...
Published in: | Poljarnyj vestnik |
---|---|
Main Author: | |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Septentrio Academic Publishing
2022
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10037/26746 https://doi.org/10.7557/6.6572 |
id |
ftunivtroemsoe:oai:munin.uit.no:10037/26746 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftunivtroemsoe:oai:munin.uit.no:10037/26746 2024-02-04T09:57:56+01:00 Health Through the Space Lens. Fictional Representations of Health and Illness in Svalbard's Mining Towns in the 1950s. Wæhler, Turid Austin 2022-06-16 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/26746 https://doi.org/10.7557/6.6572 eng eng Septentrio Academic Publishing Wæhler, T.A. (2024). Healthcare Delivery and Emergency Preparedness on Svalbard: A Study of Norwegian and Russian Practices and Cooperation. (Doctoral thesis). https://hdl.handle.net/10037/32312 . Poljarnyj Vestnik Wæhler, Turid Austin. 2022. “Health Through the Space Lens: Fictional Representations of Health and Illness in Svalbard’s Mining Towns in the 1950s”. Poljarnyj Vestnik 25 (1):51–71 FRIDAID 2032440 doi:10.7557/6.6572 1500-7502 1890-9671 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/26746 openAccess Copyright 2022 The Author(s) Journal article Tidsskriftartikkel Peer reviewed publishedVersion 2022 ftunivtroemsoe https://doi.org/10.7557/6.6572 2024-01-11T00:08:07Z The article discusses cultural perceptions and interpretations of health and illness in a Svalbard context through the analysis of the novels Longyearbyen (2020) by the Norwegian writer Heidi Sævareid and The Arctic Novel (1964) by the Soviet writer Vladlen Anchishkin. Both novels use Svalbard of the 1950s as a setting for portraying issues related to health and illness. It is evident from the analyses that issues related to health and illness were essential in both Norwegian and Russian settlements on Svalbard in the 1950s. Many of the same diseases and incidents, such as mining injuries, hypothermia and appendicitis, are prevalent in both novels. An interesting difference is that The Arctic Novel does not contain references to psychiatric diseases, even though they were presumably relevant for the inhabitants on Svalbard, irrespectively of their geographical provenance and social background. One of the overarching themes that arises from these texts, is how the spatial setting directly affects health and illness. Living on Svalbard has clear effects for the health and well-being of the main characters in both novels. Another fundamental theme is how individuals fit into a larger context. These themes are important also today, when discussing for instance access to health care in remote areas (such as Svalbard), or when exploring the international presence on Svalbard from a geopolitical perspective. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Longyearbyen Svalbard University of Tromsø: Munin Open Research Archive Arctic Svalbard Longyearbyen Sævareid ENVELOPE(6.984,6.984,62.619,62.619) Poljarnyj vestnik 25 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Tromsø: Munin Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtroemsoe |
language |
English |
description |
The article discusses cultural perceptions and interpretations of health and illness in a Svalbard context through the analysis of the novels Longyearbyen (2020) by the Norwegian writer Heidi Sævareid and The Arctic Novel (1964) by the Soviet writer Vladlen Anchishkin. Both novels use Svalbard of the 1950s as a setting for portraying issues related to health and illness. It is evident from the analyses that issues related to health and illness were essential in both Norwegian and Russian settlements on Svalbard in the 1950s. Many of the same diseases and incidents, such as mining injuries, hypothermia and appendicitis, are prevalent in both novels. An interesting difference is that The Arctic Novel does not contain references to psychiatric diseases, even though they were presumably relevant for the inhabitants on Svalbard, irrespectively of their geographical provenance and social background. One of the overarching themes that arises from these texts, is how the spatial setting directly affects health and illness. Living on Svalbard has clear effects for the health and well-being of the main characters in both novels. Another fundamental theme is how individuals fit into a larger context. These themes are important also today, when discussing for instance access to health care in remote areas (such as Svalbard), or when exploring the international presence on Svalbard from a geopolitical perspective. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Wæhler, Turid Austin |
spellingShingle |
Wæhler, Turid Austin Health Through the Space Lens. Fictional Representations of Health and Illness in Svalbard's Mining Towns in the 1950s. |
author_facet |
Wæhler, Turid Austin |
author_sort |
Wæhler, Turid Austin |
title |
Health Through the Space Lens. Fictional Representations of Health and Illness in Svalbard's Mining Towns in the 1950s. |
title_short |
Health Through the Space Lens. Fictional Representations of Health and Illness in Svalbard's Mining Towns in the 1950s. |
title_full |
Health Through the Space Lens. Fictional Representations of Health and Illness in Svalbard's Mining Towns in the 1950s. |
title_fullStr |
Health Through the Space Lens. Fictional Representations of Health and Illness in Svalbard's Mining Towns in the 1950s. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Health Through the Space Lens. Fictional Representations of Health and Illness in Svalbard's Mining Towns in the 1950s. |
title_sort |
health through the space lens. fictional representations of health and illness in svalbard's mining towns in the 1950s. |
publisher |
Septentrio Academic Publishing |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/10037/26746 https://doi.org/10.7557/6.6572 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(6.984,6.984,62.619,62.619) |
geographic |
Arctic Svalbard Longyearbyen Sævareid |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Svalbard Longyearbyen Sævareid |
genre |
Arctic Longyearbyen Svalbard |
genre_facet |
Arctic Longyearbyen Svalbard |
op_relation |
Wæhler, T.A. (2024). Healthcare Delivery and Emergency Preparedness on Svalbard: A Study of Norwegian and Russian Practices and Cooperation. (Doctoral thesis). https://hdl.handle.net/10037/32312 . Poljarnyj Vestnik Wæhler, Turid Austin. 2022. “Health Through the Space Lens: Fictional Representations of Health and Illness in Svalbard’s Mining Towns in the 1950s”. Poljarnyj Vestnik 25 (1):51–71 FRIDAID 2032440 doi:10.7557/6.6572 1500-7502 1890-9671 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/26746 |
op_rights |
openAccess Copyright 2022 The Author(s) |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.7557/6.6572 |
container_title |
Poljarnyj vestnik |
container_volume |
25 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1789962277561040896 |