Paper short abstract:

Icelanders live in a harsh and powerful environment which does not appear to be conceived of in the binary categories of nature/culture that we are accustomed to think with. Based on fieldwork in 2018, I examine the value and meaning of nature in Iceland, focusing on the horse-human relationship.

Paper long abstract:

Iceland challenges us to broaden our conventional anthropological scope and think through the mingling and overlapping of different ways of worlding; human-centric versus non-centred or relational, where humans are a small part of a wider world, and agency is assumed rather than assigned. These wider relationships and values can be demonstrated by and are mediated through the complex entanglements between Icelanders and horses. Horses in Iceland are often represented as a manifestation of Icelandic nature: pure, authentic and free. They have occupied Icelanders' imaginaries and lived experience of land, place, and nation-building, and remain a central part of Icelandic identity. Icelanders also identify as being "sentimental but sensible" towards non-human creatures, adding further complexity to their relationship with nature and the non-human. Based on fieldwork conducted in Iceland in 2018, I examine the value and meaning of nature in Iceland through the horse-human relationship and beyond.