Paper short abstract:

Narratives of fear are not uncommon in Iceland. In this paper I build on Marcel Mauss´s concept of total social fact and Arjun Appadurai observation that fear is a major factor in contemporary social and cultural life. I will discuss methodological difficulties in doing research on fear as a total social fact and ways in which anthropologists can address such difficulties by using reflexive strategies, the film medium and public screenings of films.

Paper long abstract:

Narratives of fear are not uncommon in Iceland. Many of them are to be found in the Western Fjords but between two small villages is the road Óshlið. Many lives have been lost on the road and people been injured after been hit by landslides, avalanches, and cliffs that have rolled down the mountainside. The road connected the people from the village Bolungarvik to the world but two years ago a tunnel through a mountain replaced the unsafe road. The tunnel was considered a blessing from the totalizing fear of Óshlíð. Other similar narratives are not uncommon, narratives of fear and measures against them like: imminent volcanic eruptions and other natural catastrophes, industrialization and environmental consequences, and national politics and fear of the other. In this paper, which is based on an ethnographic research, I build on Marcel Mauss´s concept of total social fact and Arjun Appadurai observation that fear is a major factor in contemporary social and cultural life. In order to explore this argument I will discuss methodological difficulties in doing research on fear as a total social fact and ways in which anthropologists, and others, can address such difficulties by using reflexive strategies, the film medium and public screenings of films.