CGF seminar: "Careless workers, wastelanded bodies, and colonial masculinity"

Seminar with Lena Gross, a PhD candidate in Anthropology at University of Oslo.

"Canada’s oil sands industry is the largest labour sector in Northern Alberta. Oil sands are, as the name already tells, oil mixed with sand and water, and sometimes, other fossil fuels. Alberta's oil sands deposits stretch over 142,200 square kilometers of land that is the homeland of many Indigenous nations. However, the number of Indigenous workers in the industry is rather small.

Characteristics of the oil sands industry for workers without higher education are, among others, remote and isolated workplaces, long workdays and shifts, and psychologically and physically demanding work conditions. Ideas of a Northern Frontier mentality, of bodily strength as sign of manhood, and racialized prejudices in addition to a huge gender imbalance in the industry lead to an atmosphere of harmful and colonial masculinity.

In this paper, I will describe and analyze one year of an Indigenous heavy machine operator’s life. Through his story, I will show how structures of work insecurity, failing health and safety procedures, and racialized discrimination create a personal space of bust."

Biography:

In her PhD-project, Lena investigates how existing inequalities in Canada are deepened through the (side) effects of extractive industries. She is especially interested in the gendered experience of Indigeneity, access to and understandings of land, environmental racism, and labour in an extractive, settler colonial setting.  To convey her findings, Lena has actively participated in both academic and public debates through presentations and various outreach activities, including research fairs for high school students, talks for environmental groups, writing for an environmental youth magazine, media engagement, etc. She also has experience as a board member, representing temporary staff on the departmental board at her university (2014-2017).

Currently she is finishing up her PhD thesis and co-editing a volume about settler colonialism and the oil sands in Canada. She is part of Professor Thomas Hylland Eriksen’s ERC project “Overheating. The three crises of globalization” and of “Energethics: Norwegian energy companies abroad”, funded by The Research Council of Norway and led by Professor Ståle Knudsen.

Website:

http://www.sv.uio.no/sai/english/people/aca/katharlg/index.html