This article explores the empirical realities of fatherhood and family lives as experienced by Fa... more This article explores the empirical realities of fatherhood and family lives as experienced by Faroese men, through an anthropological lens. It delves into the question about men's ambivalent roles and identities in Faroese society today: what does it mean to be a father in the Faroe Islands today? Drawing on information from an ongoing ethnographic study of contemporary Faroese fatherhoods, the first extensive research project on men and masculinities in the context of the Faroe Islands, in this article I am querying common representations of the socalled 'new man' disseminated through diverse contemporary studies on fathers and fatherhood: Is the Faroese father a 'new man', a 'traditional' man, or a representative of something else entirely? My objective is to rethink the father and his fathering styles through empirical exploration of the generative interplay between local gender and masculinity norms and images of the 'new man' from political and academic discourse and hence, to further the anthropological participation in and contribution to public debate on culture, parenthood, gender, and masculinity in understudied corners of the global North.
This Special Issue explores coastal living, foregrounding the experiences of
childhood across ti... more This Special Issue explores coastal living, foregrounding the experiences of
childhood across time and place. The contributions come from the
international, interdisciplinary project titled ‘Valuing the past, sustaining
the future: Education, knowledge and identity across three generations
in coastal communities’ which was carried out in coastal communities in
Norway, the Faroe Islands, Ireland, Cyprus and Australia. Coastal
childhoods in communities undergoing rapid economic and social
change are explored, providing rich empirical insight into questions of
identity, belonging and attachment to place. Most contributors adopt an
intergenerational lens to examine change through time, placing
children’s lives and childhoods within the social context of their families
and communities as well as the globalised world of the twenty-first century.
Shima: The International Journal of Research into Island Cultures
This article discusses aquatic mythologies of the Faroes with focus on the narratives about the s... more This article discusses aquatic mythologies of the Faroes with focus on the narratives about the shoveller (also called ‘the man on board’), a boat spirit nesting in deep-sea fishing ships. The aim of the article is to examine and interrogate cultural representations of the relation between sea and land in the Faroes today by means of critical reflection on and analysis of the meaning of water-related mythology and folklore: what is the role of the stories and legends about the shoveller and other supernatural beings in present-day conversation about the sea, the islands, and the future? The shoveller, the seal woman, and the others on the ‘other side’ are protagonists of the polyvalent narratives shaping the folklore of the Faroes. They continue to reappear in new settings and among new generations. The spirits, water monsters, and seal women help people envisage what lies beneath the surface, the ocean, and the evident aquapelagic landscape. The shoveller is also a metaphor for the...
On a bell hanging in front of the main hall of the Shurijo Castle in Naha, Okinawa, the following... more On a bell hanging in front of the main hall of the Shurijo Castle in Naha, Okinawa, the following inscription is engraved: “Ryukyu is located in a blessed region in the South Seas…sailing on ships and serving as a bridge between all nations, the land is filled with treasures.” This article, which is based on an ethnographic fieldwork in Okinawa in 2018, looks at contemporary young Okinawans’ narratives and experiences of ‘globalization’ as part of their everyday lives and future perspectives. It explores the role of the history and culture of the country – connecting it to China, Japan, and USA – in the young islanders’ local and global identities and networks. I use the Okinawan concept of chanpuru, referring to the art of fusing objects and ideas from different sources to create new cultural identities, to explain the way Okinawans reflect on global transformation processes, for example in relation to consumerism, militarism, tourism, and revitalisation of ‘Okinawan culture’ (e.g....
This article explores the empirical realities of fatherhood and family lives as experienced by Fa... more This article explores the empirical realities of fatherhood and family lives as experienced by Faroese men, through an anthropological lens. It delves into the question about men's ambivalent roles and identities in Faroese society today: what does it mean to be a father in the Faroe Islands today? Drawing on information from an ongoing ethnographic study of contemporary Faroese fatherhoods, the first extensive research project on men and masculinities in the context of the Faroe Islands, in this article I am querying common representations of the socalled 'new man' disseminated through diverse contemporary studies on fathers and fatherhood: Is the Faroese father a 'new man', a 'traditional' man, or a representative of something else entirely? My objective is to rethink the father and his fathering styles through empirical exploration of the generative interplay between local gender and masculinity norms and images of the 'new man' from political and academic discourse and hence, to further the anthropological participation in and contribution to public debate on culture, parenthood, gender, and masculinity in understudied corners of the global North.
This Special Issue explores coastal living, foregrounding the experiences of
childhood across ti... more This Special Issue explores coastal living, foregrounding the experiences of
childhood across time and place. The contributions come from the
international, interdisciplinary project titled ‘Valuing the past, sustaining
the future: Education, knowledge and identity across three generations
in coastal communities’ which was carried out in coastal communities in
Norway, the Faroe Islands, Ireland, Cyprus and Australia. Coastal
childhoods in communities undergoing rapid economic and social
change are explored, providing rich empirical insight into questions of
identity, belonging and attachment to place. Most contributors adopt an
intergenerational lens to examine change through time, placing
children’s lives and childhoods within the social context of their families
and communities as well as the globalised world of the twenty-first century.
Shima: The International Journal of Research into Island Cultures
This article discusses aquatic mythologies of the Faroes with focus on the narratives about the s... more This article discusses aquatic mythologies of the Faroes with focus on the narratives about the shoveller (also called ‘the man on board’), a boat spirit nesting in deep-sea fishing ships. The aim of the article is to examine and interrogate cultural representations of the relation between sea and land in the Faroes today by means of critical reflection on and analysis of the meaning of water-related mythology and folklore: what is the role of the stories and legends about the shoveller and other supernatural beings in present-day conversation about the sea, the islands, and the future? The shoveller, the seal woman, and the others on the ‘other side’ are protagonists of the polyvalent narratives shaping the folklore of the Faroes. They continue to reappear in new settings and among new generations. The spirits, water monsters, and seal women help people envisage what lies beneath the surface, the ocean, and the evident aquapelagic landscape. The shoveller is also a metaphor for the...
On a bell hanging in front of the main hall of the Shurijo Castle in Naha, Okinawa, the following... more On a bell hanging in front of the main hall of the Shurijo Castle in Naha, Okinawa, the following inscription is engraved: “Ryukyu is located in a blessed region in the South Seas…sailing on ships and serving as a bridge between all nations, the land is filled with treasures.” This article, which is based on an ethnographic fieldwork in Okinawa in 2018, looks at contemporary young Okinawans’ narratives and experiences of ‘globalization’ as part of their everyday lives and future perspectives. It explores the role of the history and culture of the country – connecting it to China, Japan, and USA – in the young islanders’ local and global identities and networks. I use the Okinawan concept of chanpuru, referring to the art of fusing objects and ideas from different sources to create new cultural identities, to explain the way Okinawans reflect on global transformation processes, for example in relation to consumerism, militarism, tourism, and revitalisation of ‘Okinawan culture’ (e.g....
Reviews Appadurai, Arjun. 2006. Fear of small numbers: an essay on the geography of anger. Durham... more Reviews Appadurai, Arjun. 2006. Fear of small numbers: an essay on the geography of anger. Durham, NC and London: Duke University Press. 176 pp. Pb.: £19.95. ISBN: 0 8223 3863 7.
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Papers by Firouz Gaini
childhood across time and place. The contributions come from the
international, interdisciplinary project titled ‘Valuing the past, sustaining
the future: Education, knowledge and identity across three generations
in coastal communities’ which was carried out in coastal communities in
Norway, the Faroe Islands, Ireland, Cyprus and Australia. Coastal
childhoods in communities undergoing rapid economic and social
change are explored, providing rich empirical insight into questions of
identity, belonging and attachment to place. Most contributors adopt an
intergenerational lens to examine change through time, placing
children’s lives and childhoods within the social context of their families
and communities as well as the globalised world of the twenty-first century.
childhood across time and place. The contributions come from the
international, interdisciplinary project titled ‘Valuing the past, sustaining
the future: Education, knowledge and identity across three generations
in coastal communities’ which was carried out in coastal communities in
Norway, the Faroe Islands, Ireland, Cyprus and Australia. Coastal
childhoods in communities undergoing rapid economic and social
change are explored, providing rich empirical insight into questions of
identity, belonging and attachment to place. Most contributors adopt an
intergenerational lens to examine change through time, placing
children’s lives and childhoods within the social context of their families
and communities as well as the globalised world of the twenty-first century.