Of Boats and Men: intercultural objects and regional identity in Western Norway and the Shetland Islands

This paper considers the role of the boat as a significant object and factor in the construction of intercultural regional identities in the Nordic area, by comparing the representation of boats and seafaring collections in local folk-museum exhibitions. By linking the theory of cultural transfer and material culture studies, and using the micro-historical approach of Alltagsgeschichte, the paper will compare how Shetlanders and West Norwegians participate in the construction of and identification with kystkultur by way of maritime objects and narratives. It will investigate the similarities and differences in terms of how the coast is defined as a `seafaring place¿ via objects, particularly the narratives and aspects of communal memory that influence the formation of regional and national cultural traditions.