Proposal for paper for AASSC Annual Conference 2014 “Borders without Boundaries”,
Brock University, Ontario
26-29 May 2014
To the Chair of the AASSC Program Committee: gurli.woods@carleton.ca
Title of paper:
Nordic border crossings: coastal communities and connected cultures in Norway and
Scotland
Abstract:
This paper discusses the connected cultures of Norway and Scotland’s coastal communities
and the intercultural links that have historically crossed Nordic borders across the North Sea.
It will compare some of the cultural, economic and social dynamics that create this unique
cultural landscape or kystkultur, particularly the creation of transient cross-cultural networks
and regions stimulated by trade and related contacts across the North Sea and the North
Atlantic Rim.
Coastal communities have traditionally interacted with each other across oceans, often
forming transnational cultural regions or sub-national regions that cross international
boundaries. So, for example, the history and culture of Scotland’s coastal communities
cannot be studied in isolation, or only in relationship to the other British Islands. Other
regional and international perspectives, such as connections to the Nordic world, need to be
added. The sea, then, is not seen a boundary but as more of a bridge, a link to the world
beyond, an opportunity for intercultural contact. Kystkultur, communicated via the sea, and
the coastal communities that produce it «presents opportunities for intercultural contact that
lead to a variety of cultural identities, as well as a tool for demonstrating regional variety or
even autonomy» . As such, coastal cultures form a complex new area of research, offering
opportunities to cross the borders of Nordic area studies by investigating cultural encounters
and transnational ‘regions of culture’ at the Nordic peripheries.
Author:
Silke Reeploeg
Affiliation: Centre for Nordic Studies, University of the Highlands and Islands, Scotland
Contact information: Silke.reeploeg@uhi.ac.uk
Address: NAFC Marine Centre, Port Arthur, Scalloway, Shetland Islands
Postcode: ZE1 0PU, Country: Scotland, UK
Audio visual equipment required: yes (PC/projector)
Short biography:
Silke Reeploeg is a researcher and lecturer with the Centre for Nordic Studies, University of the Highlands and
Islands, and based on the Shetland Islands. She has a BA (Hons) from Manchester Metropolitan University and
an MA (Distinction) from the University of the Highlands and Islands. She is currently studying for a PhD in
Nordic Studies, exploring the modern intercultural links between Norway and the Scottish Northern Isles. From
August 2012 until January 2013 she was a visiting researcher at Volda University College in Western Norway
(funded by the Norwegian Research Council).