A future of island studies

Abstract

Island studies has developed into an established, interdisciplinary research field. It is important that island studies not only continue deepening its internal theoretical understandings but also reach out to other fields and regions that have received limited attention within island studies. It is also necessary for island studies to grapple with a number of problematic tendencies within the field and the wider scholarship, including by challenging the misuse of island spatiality to produce idealised visions of islands (for example in island sustainability research). Similarly, it is important to pursue a decolonial island studies that rethinks the ways in which island development research can end up marginalising Indigenous voices at the same time as it seeks to understand islands 'on their own terms'. Island studies, many say, is an emerging field.We live in an age that valorises dynamism and change, so it flatters our sensibilities to participate in a scholarly project that is not fixed, fusty, or static. If island studies is emerging, then we who contribute to it are at the vanguard, engaging in a new way of doing research.But this mantra of 'emergence', 'burgeoning', 'growth', 'institutionalisation' is also an apology-repeated across a range of important literature reviews and theoretical texts (e.g.,

Islands of democracy

“…Various authors have argued that this remoteness is not an exclusively geographical attribute, but also has political, psychological and sociological ramifications, as a result of which "islandness" is as much an imagined as a real-world quality (Grydehøj, 2017;McCall, 1994, p. 103). The clearly demarcated spatial limit of island territories creates a certain measure of geographical isolation and remoteness, which may vary between islands located just off the mainland (e.g., Bahrain or Singapore) and islands located in the middle of vast oceanic spaces (e.g., Tonga or Tristan da Cunha).…”

“…Grydehøj, 2017), but for the sake of conceptual clarity this paper employs a purely geographical definition, conceiving of island territories as landmasses entirely surrounded by water. Drawing on evidence from island jurisdictions around the globe, this paper presents an original explanation that highlights the interaction between formal and informal political dynamics in island jurisdictions.…”

Older residents’ experiences of islandness, identity and precarity: Ageing on Waiheke Island

“…In light of recent interest in the social distinctiveness, community, and identity dynamics of island contexts (e.g. Baldacchino, 2012Baldacchino, , 2018Burholt et al, 2013;Kearns & Collins, 2016;Róin, 2014), we investigate precariously placed residents' experiences of islandness (Baldacchino, 2004(Baldacchino, , 2012Grydehøj, 2017) and the island as 'home'. With this understanding of the particularities of conducting research in an island setting, we ask how experiences of distance and difference can amount to 'precarity' in residents' individual and collective experiences of island life and community.…”

Yujiale fishing tourism and island development in Changshan Archipelago, Changdao, China

“…Moreover, islands, in part because of their insularity, often house fragile environments and rare wildlife, as well as unique cultural features (Baum, 1997;González-Morales et al, 2016). The biophysical attributes and institutional specificities of insularity are often associated with distinctive natural and cultural features, creating an 'island allure' that may be appealing to those from the mainland (Baldacchino, 2004;Cave & Brown, 2012;Grydehøj, 2017;Petridis et al, 2017). Islandness, as an expression of the complex identity or sense of place of islands (Stratford, 2008), encompasses a state of tension between "openness and closure" (Baldacchino, 2004, p. 274), and may open up novel political, socioeconomic, and ecological possibilities, which may have development potential (Petridis et al, 2017).…”

“…The necessity of a water crossing affects the accessibility of islands, often imposing an increased sense of distance and economic, political, and cultural marginalization (Baldacchino, 2004;Baum, 1997;Grydehøj, 2017;Lockhart, 1997), which may be exacerbated by limited resources, infrastructure, and provision of services (Lovelock et al, 2010;Porter, 2015). Moreover, islands, in part because of their insularity, often house fragile environments and rare wildlife, as well as unique cultural features (Baum, 1997;González-Morales et al, 2016).…”