Abstract
This dissertation is about how relations come to matter for deliberate transformations toward sustainability. More specifically, it is about transformative change in a community context and how certain relations and perceptions of relations help and hinder this work. The dissertation presents a transdisciplinary study situated within transformations research and anchored in human geography and Indigenous studies. It responds to the growing concern that while the need for transformative change is becoming increasingly evident, it is less clear how to move society towards sustainability in ways that are both equitable and just. Grounded in ‘the relational turn’ within the humanities and social sciences, the research takes a ‘deep’ relational approach to the study of relations for deliberate transformations, engaging with Indigenous and posthumanist ontologies that center on the potentials and responsibilities inherent in a world of relations.
List of papers
Paper 1. Gram-Hanssen, Irmelin. (2018). Leaving, Staying or Belonging: Exploring the Relationship Between Formal Education, Youth Mobility and Community Resilience in Rural Alaska. Polar Geography 41, 1:1-25. DOI: 10.1080/1088937X.2017.1414083. The article is not available in DUO due to publisher restrictions. The published version is available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/1088937X.2017.1414083 |
Paper 2. Gram-Hanssen, Irmelin. (2019). The Role of Flexibility in Enabling Transformational Social Change: Perspectives from an Indigenous Community Using Q-Methodology. Geoforum 100, 10-20. DOI: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2019.02.001. The article is included in the thesis. Also available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2019.02.001 |
Paper 3. Gram-Hanssen, Irmelin. (2021). Individual and Collective Leadership for Deliberate Transformations: Insights from Indigenous Leadership. Leadership 17, 5: 519-541. DOI: 10.1177/1742715021996486. The article is included in the thesis. Also available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1742715021996486 |
Paper 4. Gram-Hanssen, Irmelin. (Under Review). From Scaling to Relating: Quality of Relations Matter for Generating Transformative Systems Change. Annals of the American Association of Geographers. To be published. The paper is not available in DUO awaiting publishing. |
Paper 5. Gram-Hanssen, Irmelin, Schafenacker, Nicole, and Bentz, Julia. (2021). Decolonizing Transformations Through ‘Right Relations.’ Sustainability Science, 1-13. DOI: 10.1007/s11625-021-00960-9. The article is included in the thesis. Also available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-021-00960-9 |