Cold Matters : Cultural perceptions of Snow, Ice and Cold

• Cold matters on a number of different levels. It has become a political instrument that helps to establish common ground for the cold regions of the globe. As a metaphor, it suggests an impassioned and controlled outlook on life. Physically, cold produces environments where people can freeze and starve to death. Psychologically, it may serve as the route to self-discovery, since it has the capacity to strip away everything except the most essential aspects of the self. Historically, cold has usually been surrounded by negative associations but more recently, it has become a theme to explore in words and pictures and exploit in marketing strategies. At the beginning of the twenty-first century there are signs that indicate that cold is becoming increasingly “cool.” At such a juncture, it is vital to assess the cultural meaning of snow, ice and cold since conventional ideological and metaphorical connotations of the concepts are destabilised. Cold Matters launches the monograph series linked to The Journal of Northern Studies. This interdisciplinary journal concentrates on life in the northern parts of the globe, and is published by Umeå University and Sweden’s northernmost Royal Academy, the Royal Skyttean Society.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Utbildningsvetenskap -- Didaktik (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Educational Sciences -- Didactics (hsv//eng)

Keyword

cold regions

literature

gender

history

HUMANITIES and RELIGION

HUMANIORA och RELIGIONSVETENSKAP

Engelska med didaktiskt inriktning

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

sam (subject category)