ICASS X Panel June 2021

Futures of Gender in the Arctic

ICASS X (10th International Conference on Arctic Social Sciences of IASSA), hybrid, 2021 June 15-19.

Convenors: Stephan Dudeck, J. Otto Habeck, Gunhild Hoogensen-Gjørv, Katariina Kyrölä, Gertrude Saxinger

The IASSA Working Group ‘Gender in the Arctic’ was established during ICASS IX in Umea four years ago. Following the ICASS X slogan ‘Looking Back and Looking Forward,’ we invite short presentations that address pressing current gender-related themes in research and activism, and/or envision future directions, activities, collaborations and topics relevant to Arctic gender studies and diversity in the North.

The past workshops, sessions and panel discussions the Working Group (co-)hosted have examined two key topics: 1) ‘Gender in Polar Research’ interrogated the masculine legacies of polar exploration and other gendered/sexual/power dynamics in contemporary field work conditions, methodologies, and epistemologies; and 2) Indigenous Queer Intersections in the Arctic addressed LGBTQIA+ people, gender-nonconformity and queer studies as an important but under-explored focus to understand the multifaceted forms of oppression and activism in various societies around the Arctic, particularly in Indigenous contexts.

This session invites contributions in the form of 5-to-10-minute input-talks, either around the themes mentioned above, or to identify new gender-related topics that could be addressed by the WG Gender in the Arctic in the future. The session format will actively engage the presenters and the audience to develop ideas for the WG’s future activities to serve the advancement of social justice across the Arctic and among its Indigenous and non-Indigenous inhabitants.

The IASSA Working Group Gender in the Arctic serves as a platform for collaboration (e.g. with other LGBTQI+, women and gender initiatives), service (e.g. e-mail list) and lobbying for intersectional concerns in Arctic and Polar forums. You are welcome to join the group!!!