A new book on the Dynamics of Darkness in the North
The Research Centre in Geography and Tourism at the University of Iceland, in collaboration with the International Laboratory for Research on Images of the North, Winter and the Arctic at the University of Quebec, Montréal, have published the book Darkness: The Dynamics of Darkness in the North. The book includes the writings of a diverse group of academics and artists on the dynamic of darkness and light and its impact on the lives of people in the Arctic. It is the product of a conference held in the Nordic House in February 2015; the international year of the light. The authors tackle the material in a diverse manner; there are essays on the aesthetics of darkness, the different meaning of darkness through the ages, and the role it plays in literature and cinema, as well as how darkness has shaped the image of the Arctic.
The chapters are written by: Judy Spark, Katrín Anna Lund, and Gunnar Þór Jóhannesson, Toby Heys, Diego Gomez-Venegas and Barbara Bielitz, Jóhannes Dagsson, Paul Landon, Christiane Lahaie, Batia Boe Stolar and Monique Durand. The introduction was written by the editors: Daniel Chartier, Katrín Anna Lund, and Gunnar Þór Jóhannesson.
Gunnar Þór, professor of tourism studies and one of the authors, says that the book should appeal to a broad group of readers interested in the Arctic and the interplay of nature and community. The authors shed light on how the interplay of light and darkness is present in forming the cultural identity of people in the North whilst giving an example how different disciplines tackle the subject.
Darkness: The Dynamics of Darkness in the North is sold in the University Bookstore (Bóksala stúdenta) but an electronic version can be obtained here.
