The wave cannot catch me: children, place and local knowledge in the Faroe Islands

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper – at the intersection of childhood studies, island studies, and geographies of place – explores place and sense of belonging in relation to the childhood memories of people from a Faroese village community in a time of societal shift. It examines and analyses the role of and dynamic connection between everyday life practices, local knowledge, and intra- and intergenerational relations in children's place-making practices and narratives. It aims to scrutinize in which sense the interplay between past and present, and between processes of continuity and discontinuity, in people's childhood narratives reflects their relations to place and ties to the past. It investigates the meaning of the coast and ocean in childhood memories, everyday life activities, and local maritime culture in a village community with strong connection to modern large-scale fisheries. It suggests that children's place-making processes and future orientations are influenced by family relations, social capital, local knowledge, and innovation.