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Accepted Paper:
The sheep as a cultural conception and symbol of sustainabilities
Gurbet Peker
(Uppsala University)
This research project explores the sheep as a cultural conception and symbol of sustainabilities. The study focuses on how the sheep influences narratives and everyday practices on the island of Gotland.
Paper long abstract:
The sheep constitutes a clear symbol of the island of Gotland and the Gotlandic countryside. In addition to decorate the official symbol of the region, the sheep has a unique position within marketing, handicraft, local food, cultural heritage, art and local narratives about sustainable lifestyles on the island. The sheep are therefore of great importance in narratives as well as in people’s everyday practices on Gotland. This research project aims to explore practices, narratives and other representations on the island that all associate with the sheep. Ethnographic fieldwork with interviews and observations forms the basis of the data collection in this study. The project explores questions such as: How is the sheep (re)produced as a cultural conception? When and how are sheep used in narratives about sustainable lifestyles? Which alternative narratives are (re)produced in this context? How are sheep used in the marketing of the island as a tourist destination? What kinds of meaning-making processes related to the sheep are articulated and practiced among the inhabitants of Gotland?