News
Sami world web.jpg

New Book in Sámi Studies Illuminates the Diversity of Sámi Worlds

26.8.2022

A major contribution to Sámi Studies, The Sámi World presents a diversity of research topics from across Sápmi, providing rich and multifaceted understandings of Sámi worlds. The book has been edited by Sanna Valkonen, Professor of Sámi Research, and researchers Áile Aikio, Saara Alakorva and Sigga-Marja Magga from the University of Lapland. Written in English, the book is arranged around Áilu Valle’s rap lyrics.

The Sámi World is a compilation of 35 research articles published in the internationally renowned Routledge Worlds book series.

– Although the work was published in a book series that covers the diversity of peoples and continents of the world, we did not want this to dictate how we should approach the Sámi world in our book. Instead, we gave the authors freedom to seek ways to achieve this. We invited contributions from a range of scholars in Sámi Studies with the objective of illuminating Sámi perspectives, the editors of the book explain.

The book brings together an exceptional range of research and scholarship in Sámi Studies, with each contributor providing a unique perspective and insight into Sámi worlds. According to the editors, the novelty of the book lies in its particular focus on the diversity of Sámi worlds. The reader can approach the book from different perspectives, for example by reading individual articles or by tracing the big picture of Sámi worlds by reflecting on the role of each contribution in the book as a whole.
The book is thematically arranged around Áilu Valle’s rap lyrics.

– This shows the multidisciplinary nature of Sámi research and is an example of thinking that seeks to acknowledge the connections of art and science.

The book offers new research-based knowledge. Its target audience includes readers interested in questions about the Sámi, Sámi research and Indigenous Studies, and, more broadly, those who – in the words of anthropologist Thomas Hylland Eriksen – “are looking for ways out of the corner into which global modernity has painted itself.” The epilogue of The Sámi World is written by Hylland Eriksen.

The Sámi World has been produced within projects addressing the ontological politics of Sámi cultural heritage funded by the Academy of Finland and Kone Foundation.

Book release event in Inari in early September – Livestream of the event will be available

Published in June 2022, the book is available for purchase in hardback and ebook formats online via Routledge. The book release event will take place in Inari on 8 September 2022 at the Sámi Cultural Center Sajos at 13:00. The event can be attended both on site and online, and it is open to all. Interpretation into Finnish, North Sámi and English will be available. The book release event is a unique opportunity to discover the latest research in Sámi studies presented by the researchers themselves. Join us to celebrate the release of The Sámi World!

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81622509793 (Zoom), Webinar ID: 816 2250 9793

Further information

Áile Aikio, University of Lapland, etunimi.sukunimi@ulapland.fi, +358 50 46 515 29