Hugo Reinert

• Reinert, Hugo (2026). The Stone that ran to Paris. I Jordheim, Helge & Bjordal, Sine Halkjelsvik (Red.), Lifetimes: A Theory of Timescales and Life Forms. Punctum Books. ISSN 9781685712433. s. 447–472. doi: 10.53288/0484.1.00. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  At the beginning of the twenty-first century, many of our most well-known and dependable forms of keeping, managing, and representing time are losing their grasp on the real. Clocks cannot measure how societies speed up, or come to a standstill during crisis, modern historiography is unable to come up with meaningful narratives about mankind as the sixth extinction event, and calendars are insufficient as tools for societal and political change. Lifetimes: A Theory of Timescales and Life Forms presents an alternative framework for studying lives and times, and the relationships between them. Building on post-war theories of history, as well as several historical sub-disciplines, such as cultural history, history of science, and medical history, Lifetimes integrates approaches from anthropology, game studies, cultural studies, literary studies, critical heritage studies, science & technology studies, and critical time studies. Times are understood as always existing in plural, as embodied and emergent—in things, in assemblages of things, and in the relations between things. Among them are the lives of humans, but also the lives of viruses, plants, animals, rocks, computers, nations, concepts, policies, technologies, infrastructures, etc. Lifetimes explores theoretical foundations while at the same time developing them through case studies in individual chapters. The result is a bottom-up theory of temporal multiplicity, conceptually and theoretically open enough to be productive across various academic disciplines. Rather than discussing how different disciplines relate to time, the authors in this edited collection present a theoretically sustained, empirically diverse range of cases, in which times in plural become politically and historically salient. Out of these case studies a new theory emerges: a theory of lifetimes.

• Reinert, Hugo (2025). Fieldwork: Writing (on) a damaged planet. I Bjærke, Marit Ruge; Brenna, Brita; Ekström, Anders & Ødemark, John (Red.), Cultural History and the Anthropocene: Old turns, new encounters. Bloomsbury Academic. ISSN 9781350532632. s. 37–50. doi: 10.5040/9781350532632.ch-002. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Drawing on three vignettes from ongoing fieldwork, the chapter discusses aspects of the craft, practice and theory of fieldwork through the lens of catastrophic planetary change and the concept of ‘the Anthropocene’. What does it mean – what could it mean – to situate ethnographic field research within a planetary epoch defined by catastrophic anthropogenic disruptions?

• Reinert, Hugo (2022). Fossil. Environmental Humanities. 14(3), s. 575–578. doi: 10.1215/22011919-9962882. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Jordheim, Helge; Beke, Laura Op de; Bjordal, Sine Halkjelsvik; Borgesius, Leonoor Zuiderveen; Brenna, Brita & Flatø, Emil Henrik [Vis alle 9 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2022). Fossilization, or the matter of historical futures. History and Theory. ISSN 0018-2656. 61(1), s. 4–26. doi: 10.1111/hith.12250. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Reinert, Hugo (2020). Emptiness. An A to Z of Shadow Places Concepts. doi: https:/www.shadowplaces.net/concepts. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Reinert, Hugo (2020). The Inhabited Sky: Notes on a celestial zoology. I Jørgensen, Dolly & Jørgensen, Finn Arne (Red.), Silver Linings : Clouds in art and science. Museumsforlaget AS. ISSN 9788283050899. s. 104–111. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Reinert, Hugo (2019). The Haunting Cliffs: Some notes on silence. Parallax. ISSN 1353-4645. 24(4), s. 501–512. doi: 10.1080/13534645.2018.1546726. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Reinert, Hugo (2019). Requiem for a junk-bird: Violence, purity and the wild. Cultural Studies Review. ISSN 1446-8123. 25(1), s. 29–40. doi: 10.5130/csr.v24i1.6387. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Reinert, Hugo (2019). Les crânes et le cochon qui danse. Terrain. ISSN 0760-5668. s. 52–67. doi: 10.4000/terrain.18076. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Reinert, Hugo (2019). The skulls and the dancing pig : Notes on apocalyptic violence. Terrain. ISSN 0760-5668. s. 1–15. doi: 10.4000/terrain.18051. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Reinert, Hugo (2019). The Midwife and the Poet: Bioaccumulation and Retroactive Shock. Environmental Humanities. 11(1), s. 137–151. doi: 10.1215/22011919-7349455. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Triangulating narratives from a prospective mining site in northern Norway, this article works to identify (and render graspable) a particular effect of retroactive shock—tracing its resonance through experiences of chemical exposure, colonial racism, cultural erasure, and destruction of the built environment. Linking these experiences, the argument sets up and explores an analytical space within which the toxic modernity of planetary capitalism can resonate, structurally, with the racist violence of state colonialism: a space that also, the author suggests, describes an important dimension of Anthropocene experience itself.

• Reinert, Hugo (2018). Notes from a Projected Sacrifice Zone. ACME: An International E-Journal for Critical Geographies. 17(2), s. 597–617. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  The article explores a set of sacrificial logics that cluster around a prospective copper mine, situated on the bank of a fjord in the Norwegian Arctic. Analyzing the project as a “sacrifice zone” in the making, the argument first draws out some of the ways in which sacrifice is being used to conceptualize, compel, critique and justify a still - future resource extraction project. From there, it moves to discuss sacrificial logics that are at work, more covertly, in the language of planning decisions and reports. Finally, it uses the concept of sacrifice to decipher a curious public exchange between the mayor of the municipality and the director of the mining company — an exchange that reveals concealed dynamics when considered through the oscillation between “payment” and “gift”, with “sacrifice” as an obviated third term. In closing, the essa y presents some general observations on the relationship between capitalism and sacrificial destruction.

• Benjaminsen, Tor A; Eira, Inger Marie Gaup; Johnsen, Kathrine Ivsett; Reinert, Erik; Reinert, Hugo & Sara, Mikkel Nils Mikkelsen [Vis alle 8 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2016). Samisk reindrift - norsk forvaltning. I Benjaminsen, Tor A; Eira, Inger Marie Gaup & Sara, Mikkel Nils Mikkelsen (Red.), Samisk reindrift - Norske myter. Fagbokforlaget. ISSN 9788245017519. s. 223–226. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Benjaminsen, Tor A; Eira, Inger Marie Gaup; Reinert, Erik S.; Reinert, Hugo; Sara, Mikkel Nils Mikkelsen & Svarstad, Hanne (2016). Reindrift, makt og myter. I Benjaminsen, Tor A; Eira, Inger Marie Gaup & Sara, Mikkel Nils Mikkelsen (Red.), Samisk reindrift - Norske myter. Fagbokforlaget. ISSN 9788245017519. s. 9–26. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Benjaminsen, Tor A; Reinert, Hugo; Sjaastad, Espen Olav & Sara, Mikkel Nils Mikkelsen (2015). Misreading the Arctic landscape: A political ecology of reindeer, carrying capacities, and overstocking in Finnmark, Norway. Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift. ISSN 0029-1951. 69(4), s. 219–229. doi: 10.1080/00291951.2015.1031274. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Sámi reindeer pastoralism in Norway is said to be in a state of crisis that has lasted for several decades and is due to excessive numbers of reindeer. A general overstocking of the range is believed to cause widespread pasture degradation, poor economic performance, and increasing land-use conflicts. These are the main assumptions of a dominant narrative shared by key government and non-governmental actors, most scientists, and the media. The resulting policy focuses on reducing reindeer numbers to set carrying capacities in order to promote ecological sustainability and improve economic performance through the means of increasing carcass weights. The article presents a critical review of the ecological evidence behind the dominant narrative. The authors conclude that the narrative and the associated policy lead to a misreading of the Arctic pastoral landscape that neglects both alternative scientific evidence and interpretations in line with non-equilibrium ecology as well as the indigenous knowledge of the reindeer herders. Hence, such alternative perspectives generally remain invisible to the government institutions that regulate the practice of reindeer management. Further, the authors’ study resonates with wider theoretical debates about state governance within political ecology and development studies in general.

• Reinert, Hugo & Benjaminsen, Tor A (2015). Conceptualising resilience in Norwegian Sámi reindeer pastoralism. Resilience - International Policies, Practices and Discourses. ISSN 2169-3293. 3(2), s. 95–112. doi: 10.1080/21693293.2014.988916. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Resilience thinking has growing purchase in the context of Arctic policy, resource management and indigenous politics. The present text outlines and compares two conflicting versions of the resilience concept, both currently at work in the field of contemporary Norwegian Sa ́ mi reindeer pastoralism. First, while ecological resilience originally emerged as a challenge to mainstream equilibrium ecology in the 1970s, we identify and discuss here a strand of current research that links ‘resilience’ to the ability of reindeer populations – and ecosystems – to maintain themselves in a steady state. At the same time, another strand of resilience research – developed in large part with (and by) indigenous pastoralists – uses the term to conceptualise the pastoral ecology as a dynamic and unstable system, threatened by factors such as progressive pasture loss, competing land-use forms and the ongoing pressure to ‘modernise’ production. Contrasting these two versions of the resilience concept, we explore some of its potential implications and uses in the context of resistance against dominant political agendas.

• Reinert, Hugo (2014). Weight, density and space in the Norwegian reindeer crisis - Notes towards a critique. Valuation Studies. 2(2), s. 153–183. doi: 10.3384/vs.2001-5992.1422153. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Reinert, Hugo (2012). The disposable surplus: Notes on waste, reindeer, and biopolitics. Laboratorium: Russian Review of Social Research. ISSN 2076-8214. 4(3), s. 67–83. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv

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• Reinert, Hugo (2025). Workshop: "Transgressive storytelling in times of crisis". doi: https:/www.hf.uio.no/ikos/english/research/projects/home-in-crisis/events/empatheatre.html. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Empatheatre is a participatory research theatre collective based in South Africa, known for their groundbreaking and experimental work with communities around issues such as addiction, homelessness and environmental conflict. In this participatory performance-workshop, three members of the collective presented their evolving methodology and reflected on its potential as a form of transgressive, collaborative justice and a social technology for reimagining democratic decision-making in a time of crises.

• Reinert, Hugo (2025). Some Motifs in the Western Idea of 'Nature'. I Douglas-Jones, Rachel & Wang, Cancan (Red.), Data/Logics/China: 6 Conversations on Becoming Green. RSS Press. ISSN 9788794538138. s. 117–125. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Reinert, Hugo (2024). Ned til Østensjøvannet en vårdag i 2024. I Borchgrevink, Hild; Lidén, Signe & Huizing, Jiska (Red.), Våtmarksbiblioteket. Paviljong. ISSN 9788269381702. s. 71–75. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Reinert, Hugo; Dooren, Thomas Francis van; Chrulew, Matthew & Laboissiere, Anna-Katharina (2023). Workshop: "Speculation as method in the environmental humanities". Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Münster, Ursula; Dooren, Thomas Francis van; Schroer, Sara Asu & Reinert, Hugo (2021). Introduction: Multispecies Care in the Sixth Extinction. Cultural Anthropology Fieldsights. doi: https:/www.culanth.org/fieldsights/introduction-multispecies-care-in-the-sixth-extinction. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Münster, Ursula; Dooren, Thomas Francis van; Schroer, Sara Asu & Reinert, Hugo (2021). Multispecies Care in the Sixth Extinction. doi: https:/www.culanth.org/fieldsights/series/multispecies-care-in-the-sixth-extinction. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Reinert, Hugo (2019). "The Stone that Ran to Paris: Some reflections on climate justice and geological agents". Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Benjaminsen, Tor A; Eira, Inger Marie Gaup; Oskal, Anders; Reinert, Eirik; Reinert, Hugo & Sara, Mikkel Nils Mikkelsen [Vis alle 7 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2016). Mytene om reindrift. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Benjaminsen, Tor A; Reinert, Hugo; Sjaastad, Espen Olav & Sara, Mikkel Nils Mikkelsen (2013). Misreading the Arctic Landscape? A Political Ecology of Reindeer, Carrying Capacity and “Overstocking” in Finnmark, Norway. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Jørgensen, Finn Arne; Reinert, Hugo & Nielsen, Sebastian Lundsteen (2024). Submergence: Environmental Justice and the Specter of Chemical Pollution. Universitetet i Stavanger. ISSN 9788284392585. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  English: This Ph.D. dissertation examines the Danish chemical manufacturer “Cheminova,” its multiple cases of chemical pollution, and the community’s experiences of living in a contaminated area. By exploring chemical pollution through the interface between industry, state, and citizens in the Nordic Region, it examines the historical causes of environmental issues. Furthermore, the dissertation focuses on communities' experiences of living in a contaminated area, which is crucial for understanding contemporary environmental crises. Additionally, the dissertation situates the field of environmental justice in the Nordic Region and opens critical discussions of existing narratives of the region as egalitarian environmental frontrunners. The dissertation consists of four independent research articles. The first article shows how Cheminova constructed specific narratives about pollution. The second article explores environmentalist's ambivalent emotions during a remediation process. The third article examines rumors about pollution. The fourth article engages with the regulatory and scientific depictions of the underground as an ideal space for storing chemical waste and tries to think about the subsurface differently. All four articles integrate an explicit environmental justice perspective that emphasizes other ways of knowing, understanding, and relating to pollution. The dissertation introduces and develops the concept of “submergence” to elucidate how specific discourses around pollution dominate others and how these discourses affect the local community. By situating its research through “field history” as a distinct method, the thesis stresses the importance of an engaged environmental history in contemporary environmental issues. Dansk: Denne Ph.d.-afhandling undersøger den danske kemikalieproducent ”Cheminova,” dens mange tilfælde af kemisk forurening, samt lokalsamfundets oplevelse af at bo i et kraftigt forurenet område. Ved at udforske kemisk forurening i grænsefladen mellem industri, stat og borger i Norden, undersøger afhandlingen de historiske årsager af centrale miljøspørgsmål. Afhandlingen fokuserer på lokalbefolkningens oplevelser af at leve i et forurenet område, som er essentielle for at forstå samtidens miljøkriser. Derudover, ved at placere miljøretfærdighed i Norden, åbner der sig en række perspektiver som problematiserer eksisterende narrativer af regionen som egalitære miljøfrontløbere. Afhandlingen består af fire selvstændige forskningsartikler. Den første artikel viser hvordan Cheminova konstruerede specifikke narrativer omkring forurening. Den anden artikel udforsker miljøforkæmperes ambivalens ved en oprensningsproces. Den tredje artikel undersøger rygter omkring forurening. Den fjerde artikel undersøger lovgivningsmæssige og naturvidenskabelige fremstillinger af undergrunden som et ideelt sted for at opbevare kemisk affald, og forsøger at gentænke undergrunden anderledes. Alle fire artikler integrerer et udtalt miljøretfærdighedsperspektiv, der fremhæver andre måder at vide, forstå og relatere til forurening. Afhandlingen introducerer og udvikler konceptet ”submergence,” der belyser hvordan specifikke diskurser omkring forurening dominerer andre, og hvordan disse diskurser har konsekvenser for lokalbefolkningen. Ved at situere forskningen igennem ”field history” som en særpræget metode, understreger afhandlingen miljøhistoriens vigtige rolle i nuværende miljøspørgsmål.

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