Year: 2015
Type: paratext
Abstract: This book does not fit neatly into any of the common categories of social science writing; therefore, before explaining what it is, it is useful to establish what it is not.In this book we repeatedly refer to a specific category of people (i.e., Newfoundlanders 1 ) and their cultural traditions, and we hope to make a small contribution to the ethnography of these people.However, we make no claim to provide a thorough or complete ethnography of Newfoundland 2 culture.Readers wanting such descriptions are referred to the numerous excellent publications of the many social scientists who have carefully studied Newfoundland culture over the past century (many of which have been published by ISER Books).We also hope that this book is of use to individuals interested in understanding the complex subject of human migration and, especially, the specific example of Newfoundland/Alberta migration.However, although we refer to the various ebbs and flows of Newfoundland/Alberta migration (typically referred to as the "slowdowns" of 1984 and 1991 by Newfoundlanders involved in the migration at that time), readers wanting in-depth analysis of such macro-level trends are directed to the numerous studies on this topic (in particular, Hiller, 2009: 65), as well as the wealth of data on migration available from Statistics Canada (www.statcan.gc.ca).Readers interested in the heated controversy over the development of the oil sands (or "tar sands," if you prefer) industry in northern Alberta, which plays a large role in Newfoundland/Alberta migration, will be able to find a number of websites (e.g., Oil Sands Truth, 2011) and books bolstering whatever side they take in that controversy (e.g., Nikiforuk, 2008; Marsden, 2008; Levi and Greenberg, 2009; Levant, 2010).Finally, although we describe the behaviour and present the statements of many Newfoundlanders engaged in migration between Newfoundland and Alberta, we make no claim to provide readers with a sense of what that migration feels like to the people involved.Indeed, we suggest that the time for reliance on social scientists to provide information on how aspects of life in other cultures are personally experienced has largely passed.Why read what anthropologists "from away" have to say about what migrating between Newfoundland and Alberta feels like 1 Due to the negative connotations sometimes associated with the word "Newfie," the term "Newfoundlander" is used throughout except where "Newfie" appears as part of a quotation.2 "Newfoundland" is used to refer to the island part of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador."Labrador" is used to refer to the mainland part of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Authors: Craig T. Palmer, Emily K. Groom, Jordan H. Brandon
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W4390628013