Events
Depths and Surfaces: Understanding the Antarctic region through the Humanities and Social Sciences
Summary |
Conference of the Humanities and Social Sciences Expert Group and the History Expert Group of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research. |
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Start Date |
5th Jul 2017 9:00am |
End Date |
7th Jul 2017 5:00pm |
Venue |
IMAS/CSIRO |
RSVP / Contact Information |
Enquiries: E: antarcticassag@gmail.com or T: 62262894 |
Antarctica rarely makes it onto the map of the humanities and social sciences. While artists have produced responses to the continent for centuries, non-scientific researchers have been reluctant to venture intellectually into the far southern latitudes. The continent’s lack of an indigenous or permanent human population, together with a popular Antarctic exceptionalism which frames the continent as immune to the political, social and economic forces that affect the rest of the globe, has made it seem off-limits to analysis outside of a scientific framework.
Increasingly, however, public attention is being drawn to Antarctica, as the surface of its ice plays host to tourists, proliferating stations, heroic re-enactments, and national manoeuvring; its icy depths reveal the environmental history of our planet; and its ocean currents ominously undermine the glaciers around its edges. While scientific efforts are crucial, understanding the Antarctic region – past, present and future – requires contributions across the disciplinary spectrum. This conference aims to bring together humanities, creative arts and social sciences researchers interested in the Antarctic, fostering a community of scholars who can act in concert with natural scientists to address the issues that face the Antarctic region.
For further information please visit http://antarctica-hasseg.com/biennial-conference-2017/