Denmark and the New North Atlantic. Narratives and Memories in a Former Empire (eds. Kirsten Thisted and Ann-Sofie N. Gremaud) has been published as a two volume work this fall.
The book investigates how the emergence of the Arctic as a new geopolitical arena affects and reshapes the area known as the North Atlantic: Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and coastal Norway. With climate change a whole new reality is emerging in the Arctic and sub-Arctic areas. Power is moving north, and new connections and partnerships are being developed. The North Atlantic countries share a history as being part of a Danish empire, and some of the hierarchies and mindsets inherited from the past still affect the present. This has been our point of departure for seeking an in-depth understanding of the cultural history of the North Atlantic. What narratives make up the foundation for contemporary cooperation? How are historical relations and narratives being reinterpreted today? How do postcolonial relations affect decision-making concerning natural resources? How do North Atlantic communities envision the future?
Our working metaphor has been that of the iceberg where only a small percentage is visible and the rest is hidden below the surface.
We have co-written the sections of the book as a team of historians, literary theorists, art historians, ethnographers and culture and communication scholars from universities in Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Denmark and Norway.
COLONIALISM IS A SYSTEM AND A WAY OF THINKING THAT PROPAGATES DOWNWARDS. IT MADE DANES FEEL SUPERIOR TO THE PEOPLES IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC, PARTICULARLY TO THE GREENLANDERS. HOWEVER, IT ALSO MADE SOME ICELANDERS – AND SOME FAROESE – FEEL ENTITLED TO COLONIZE GREENLANDERS AND GREENLANDIC LAND; IT MADE SOME WEST GREENLANDERS FEEL SUPERIOR TO EAST GREENLANDERS; AND SO FORTH. RECONCILING THE PAST, AS A WAY TO MOVE FORWARD AND PLACE THESE THINGS SECURELY IN THE PAST, WILL MEAN BRINGING THESE HIGHLY UNPLEASANT REALIZATIONS OUT INTO THE OPEN.
Section 7, Vol II, Sovereignty, Constitutions and Natural Resources
On September 13 the book was presented at Nordatlantens Brygge in Copenhagen where those of the authors who were able to travel discussed the goal and main themes of the book.
“Exploring a vividly illustrated set of aspirations and setbacks through a veritable kaleidoscope of politics, ideology, art, literature, ecology, gender, sexuality, and affect writ large on international screens, the authors offer a challenging and critical view of the North Atlantic as a region of infinite and newly assertive cultural possibility.“
Michael Herzfeld, Harvard University, author of Cultural Intimacy
Ann-Sofie Gremaud 