Performing Movement, Forming Identity: A Dance Studies Approach to Premodern Sámi Culture
By exploring how movement and the body are described in historical texts, Lynneth Miller Renberg uncovers overlooked Sámi voices and offers new insights into how identity was shaped in the premodern North. Hear more about Miller Renbergs work at The Arctic University Museum Wednesday February 4 at 18.00.
Using methods from dance and kinesic studies, Lynneth Miller Renberg rereads the well-known body of texts recording European encounters and perceptions of the Sámi in the premodern era. By tracing moving bodies through the archives and the contexts in which their motion is framed, we can “hear” silenced Sámi figures, as well as better understand what the voices of Scandinavian authors might have conveyed to their audiences. The malleability of movement meant that the formation of identity in the premodern North was not a straightforward process of colonial “othering,” but instead a nuanced process of identity formation.
Lynneth Miller Renberg is Associate Professor of History (Anderson University) and guest researcher at UiT The Arctic University of Norway as Fulbright U.S. Scholar (2025-2026).
Interested in the topic, but unable to attend the event? Miller Renberg will have the same presentation Sunday February 1 at 13:00, at Sami Sunday at the museum.
The event is part of the series “Wednesday at the Museum”, with late-night exhibitions and activities once a month.
TIME Wednesday February 4 at 18:00-ca 18:30
PLACE The Arctic University Museum of Norway, Lars Thøringsveg 10
ENTRY Regular museum ticket