Date: 5th - 7th July 2017
Location: Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
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.
More information on the conference website.
Website: Depths and Surfaces Conference 2017
