Risky Futures - (Studies in the Circumpolar North) by Olga Ulturgasheva & Barbara Bodenhorn (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The volume examines complex intersections of environmental conditions, geopolitical tensions and local innovative reactions characterising 'the Arctic' in the early twenty-first century. What happens in the region (such as permafrost thaw or methane release) not only sweeps rapidly through local ecosystems but also has profound global implications. Bringing together a unique combination of authors who are local practitioners, indigenous scholars and international researchers, the book provides nuanced views of the social consequences of climate change and environmental risks across human and non-human realms.

Review Quotes

"Risky futures will be of great interest to scholars in climate science, environmental anthropology, and research ethics, as well as Indigenous studies, public health, journalism, and the social sciences. It provides an urgent roadmap for global environmental justice that challenges the ongoing exclusion of Indigenous expertise and places Indigenous communities at the centre of decision-making and strategic planning for the present and future of the cryosphere and beyond." - Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute

"What holds the book together with a generosity of spirit and hope are the stories told within its chapters. Not only are these important documentary pieces, they also illustrate how material experiences and shared wisdom become enfolded into animistic worldviews... Whilst this book does not purport to tell all the stories, nor offer them as a panacea for the climate crisis, it is a welcome addition to the growing literature on the circumpolar North celebrates--its liveliness, difference, and resilience." - Sibirica

"This is a very important book in Arctic studies. While many Arctic anthropologists and social science researchers have contributed to recent scholarship on risk, climate change, post-humanism and epistemological and ontological theory, this book is unique." - Elizabeth Marino, Oregon State University

"I read this book with interest and applaud the editors and authors in the forward-thinking and important initiative that inspired the book. It covers crucial and timely themes and gives a fresh perspective in that it connects across scales and jumbles up the dominant narratives of climate risk." - Elana Wilson Rowe, Nord University

About the Author

Barbara Bodenhorn is an Emeritus Fellow at Pembroke College Cambridge and remains research active. She has worked on the North Slope of Alaska since 1980 and in rural Mexico since 2006.