Wednesday seminar: Joik as a storyteller

This seminar is part of the Wednesday seminar series this spring “Processes of Documentation”, where we explore a wide range of processes of documentation emerging within the field of artistic research. Here you can learn more about the series and discover upcoming seminars!

“I believe that a people without their stories is no longer a people. Hence the joik, which is an important story. […] Through it, we can highlight Sámi history, but also show that we are here, we exist.”
— Krister Stoor

Humans have told stories since ancient times — sometimes through speech, sometimes through song. The Sámi people have shared their stories through joik, which, according to music researcher Ernst Emsheimer, is Europe’s most original form of music.

In this seminar, Krister Stoor introduces the world of joik and its development over the past hundred years. He explores the narrative dimensions of joik and how storytelling through joik and oral traditions reappears in contemporary contexts. His research focuses on intangible cultural heritage as a social force, where both joik and storytelling play a central role. Close to his heart lies the challenge of navigating an immaterial and intangible cultural heritage, and he advocates for oral tradition as an important social force. His lectures often weave together joik research and storytelling.

Krister Stoor has been engaged in Sámi cultural studies throughout his life. He has worked at Umeå University since 1989, first as a research assistant at what was then the Department of Finnish and Sámi Languages. In 2007, he defended his doctoral thesis on the narrative qualities of joiking, written in Sámi and focusing on Sámi culture. In November 2023, Krister became the twelfth member of the Truth Commission (Sanningskommissionen) for the Sámi people, which is tasked with mapping and reviewing state policies towards the Sámi people — both historically and in relation to their consequences today.

The seminar consists of two parts: a lecture open to all, followed by a participatory workshop with limited spots.

Host (contact person): Petra Bauer & Zoë Poluch

Profile Area: Art, Technology and Materiality

Number of tickets available: The lecture is open, but the workshop has 30 spots.