In an article in the latest issue of the journal Tidsskriftet Grønland associate professor Kirsten Thisted and I address some of the questions that arise when the term Nordatlanten is used. In countries outside of Denmark and the West Nordic region the term does not refer to the former Danish dependencies in the north in particular. What institutions and platforms participate in the making of the term? We also take a closer look at the strategic uses of the region-building that is inherent in the use of the term Nordatlanten.
We have had access to the archives of the North Atlantic House in Copenhagen and thus been able to take a closer look at the earliest drawings and letters that document the changing visions behind the area on the Copenhagen dock. The journal’s cover image is a part of the new visual profile of the North Atlantic house where the Greenlandic, Faroese and Icelandic flags are sampled in a number of variations – a play with the symbol par excellence of sovereignty and well defined borders.
The article opens up some of the key perspectives of the book that the scholars affiliated with our joint research project are currently working on – both the historical relations in the region and current ways of restructuring and reinterpreting these relations.
The article is available at the nora.fo homepage.
Ann-Sofie Gremaud 