It was organized by Dr Joanna Kodzik, Junior Full Professor at UVSQ’s Malaurie Institute (MIARC), and Dr Per Pippin Aspaas, Head of library research at UiT - The Arctic University of Norway, within the framework of UArctic Thematic Network on Arctic Cultures and History (ARCH).
This interdisciplinary workshop gathered specialists in history, the history of science, art history, Scandinavian and cultural studies as well as atmosphere physics and scientific outreach from Denmark, Estonia, France, Iceland and Norway as well as students from the Master 2 degree programme in Arctic Studies at UVSQ/ University Paris-Saclay to discuss scholarly and scientific accounts together with cultural representations of aurora borealis in sources from the 18th century until the present, as well as ongoing research in the Sciences and Humanities dedicated to the subject.
From earliest allusions to Enlightenment theories about aurora borealis and the continuous fascination they hold, becoming even an economic driving factor in tourism development in Iceland and Sápmi today, the presentations and discussions covered a broad range of aspects revealing the manifest research interest of studying such iconic phenomena of the polar regions by associating the natural sciences with the Humanities and art.