Eva Kotašková

The central aim of this project is to understand the character of relational practices that constitute the Svalbard’s environment within the guided tours. Attentive to both the socioeconomical context of developing tourist industry and the materiality of human-environment relations, this project aims to contribute to the ongoing discussions within the anthropology of the Arctic, tourism, and environment, as well as the non-human agency. 

Guided tours provide the starting point of the analysis focused on the various characters of the human-environment relations on Svalbard. The ethnographical approach enables to use participant observation, informal and formal semi-structured interviews, as well as collaborative practices, in order to “collect” data for this project.