by Margaret Willson (Author)
Finalist for the 2017 Washington State Book Award in General Nonfiction / History
The plaque said this was the winter fishing hut of Thuridur Einarsdottir, one of Iceland's greatest fishing captains, and that she lived from 1777 to 1863.
Wait, anthropologist and former seawoman Margaret Willson said. She??
So began a quest. Were there more Icelandic seawomen? Most Icelanders said no, and, after all, in most parts of the world fishing is considered a male profession. What could she expect in Iceland?
She found a surprise. This book is a glimpse into the lives of vibrant women who have braved the sea for centuries. Their accounts include the excitement, accidents, trials, and tribulations of fishing in Iceland from the historic times of small open rowboats to today's high-tech fisheries. Based on extensive historical and field research, Seawomen of Iceland allows the seawomen's voices to speak directly with strength, intelligence, and - above all - a knowledge of how to survive.
This engaging ethnographic narrative will intrigue both general and academic readers interested in maritime culture, the anthropology of work, Nordic life, and gender studies.
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 288
Publisher: University of Washington Press Seawomen of Iceland: courage, insight, and adventure, braving Arctic seas for a thousand years
Published: 31 May 2016
ISBN 10: 0295995505
ISBN 13: 9780295995502
Book Overview:
Sailing on the eloquent prose of Willson's research on Icelandic seawomen is the definition of experiencing the pleasure of reading a good ethnography. The book shows how deep curiosity and small questions lead us to large-scale insights. . . . This is a book that everyone with an interest in ethnography should read regardless of the kind of anthropology or social science they are engaged with.
-- Younes Saramifar * LSE Review of Books *The seawomen's tales are full of their love of the sea and pride in their strength and achievements, and Willson's sense of humor and enthusiasm for the sea and the seawomen shine through her very accessible writing.
-- Claire Eamer * Hakai Magazine *A wonderfully detailed and lovingly crafted study of Icelandic women at sea through the ages. Willson . . . explore[s] not only why so many women fished and participated in maritime labour, especially in the past, but also to ask why this knowledge remains hidden and marginalized.
-- Elisabeth Lund Engebretsen * NORA: Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research *What if a certain working demographic had disappeared from memory? . . . Willson is repeatedly told that women do not work at sea-except that archives and real lives attest that women actually do. . . . Seawomen of Iceland is about tough work and tougher weather, about fishing through changing socioeconomic currents, and about the subtle-and not-so-subtle-roles gender plays in working lives.
-- Bryonny Goodwin-Hawkins * Anthropology of Work *Margaret Willson is affiliate associate professor of anthropology and Canadian studies at the University of Washington. She is the author of Dance Lest We All Fall Down: Breaking Cycles of Poverty in Brazil and Beyond.
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