About
New Normal is a Sustainability Science research project.
In collaboration with the people of Wainwright (North Slope Borough, Alaska, US) we aim to identify the environmental changes that matter most to people from Wainwright and explore how people from Wainwright are responding to these changes.
We are using a variety of interactive and engaging research methods, including participatory photography (Photovoice), decision-making scenarios, video journaling, and short films.
Wainright, Alaska, US. Photo: Tracie Curry
Wainwright and the ‘New Normal’
Abrupt and unpredictable environmental change is becoming the ‘new normal’ situation for many communities around the world. Arctic communities are currently experiencing the brunt of these changes. But while there have been many studies on the environmental aspects of these changes, there is less understanding of how local communities, such as Wainwright, are responding to these abrupt changes and uncertainties, and how they might respond to different scenarios of change in the future.
Wainwright, Alaska, US. Photo: Tracie Curry
‘New Normal’ research
It is increasingly expected that sustainability research addressing social-environmental change should be ‘inter-disciplinary’ (involving researchers from multiple disciplines) and ‘co-produced’ with those affected by the research. But doing so can be difficult and all participants in these projects (especially researchers!) need to improve their abilities to work well together. In the New Normal project we are bringing together different approaches to social research - behavioural approaches, which focus on what people do, and interpretive approaches, which explore the meanings that shape these actions - guided by the expertise of the people of Wainwright. We are using video journals and short films to reflect and learn about how to engage in co-productive research that is meaningful and generative for everyone involved.
The team
Our core team consists of two researchers, Simon West and Caroline Schill, our research assistant and field researcher Kinga Psiuk, our local research partner Tracie Curry, and filmmaker and visual communicator Ingrid M. Rieser.