In recent years, new technologies such as GPS trackers, always-online cell phones, and other digital devices have become increasingly common components of natural experiences. These media technologies allow people to sense and know natural landscapes in new ways, potentially augmenting the experience of nature, but can also have a negative impact. This project seeks to understand what happens when new and pervasive digital technologies become part of human relationships with nature through a historical comparative analysis. In two case studies - one looking at trekkers and their uses of navigational technologies from the 1850s until present, and another exploring the use of GPS and tracking technologies by hunters – the project examines the extensive cultural negotiations with and about new technologies and their place in Scandinavian nature.
The project hypothesizes that current debates over new and digital media technologies mirror those that took place with other forms of media technologies in the past. Furthermore, the project expects to find that the role of so-called early adopters of new technologies is critical in defining the status and broader reception of these technologies. Analyzing the gender, class, and social status of these users will thus be a central point of investigation.
The project can demonstrate how digital technologies create new ways of valuing Scandinavian nature, which can help introduce new groups to ecologically sustainable nature experiences.
The project is funded by Formas, The Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning, with 3 million Swedish kroner.