The Arts Catalyst, the British Library and the Open University present
POLAR: Fieldwork & Archive Fever
An interdisciplinary symposium
Monday 19 & Tuesday 20 November 2007
British Library Conference Centre, St Pancras, 96 Euston Road, London NW1
Polar: Fieldwork and Archive Fever is an interdisciplinary symposium focusing on the curation and production of climate change knowledge in the polar regions. It brings together scientists, writers, artists, historians and social scientists with interests in knowledge about the polar landscape and its broader implications for global climate and society.
Polar regions are both exceptional to and considered representative of the developments in global climate change and climate change science. Given the important claims and policy decisions based on the polar archive, it is timely to consider the way in which our knowledge of this archive has been produced. Historically, control of polar archives and landscapes has gone hand in hand. Recent work suggests that this archive and the landscapes represented therein could be structured and interpreted in alternative ways. This might give rise to alternative visions and uses of polar landscapes and their connection to a wider global picture.
The symposium is organised by the Open University in association with the British Library and The Arts Catalyst with international partners as part of a wider multi-disciplinary project exploring cultural and scientific issues surrounding climate change in the context of the International Polar Year (2007-08). It incorporates the 2-day Polar symposium, a publication, and a series of public lectures taking place at the British Library.
Keynote speakers: Professor Denis Cosgrove, University of California, Los Angeles, editor of High Places: Cultural Geographies of Mountains and Ice (2008); Professor Sverker Sörlin, Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden, co-editor of Narrating the Arctic (2002); Professor Rachel Weiss, Art Institute of Chicago, curator and author of Imagining Antarctica (1986); and Simon Faithfull, artist and author of Ice Blink (2006)
Registration fee: £25 (+ £6/£4 concs for the public evening lecture)
To register contact Kathryn Yusoff, Open University K.Yusoff@exeter.ac.uk
Advisory Committee: Kathryn Yusoff (Exeter University), Katrina Dean (British Library), Dr Michael Bravo (Cambridge University/SPRI), Dr Nigel Clark (Open University) Professor Klaus Dodd (Royal Holloway, University of London), Dr Simon Naylor (Exeter University), Nicola Triscott (The Arts Catalyst)
The project is supported by a grant from the Arts Council, England, the Open University and in-kind support from the British Library
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POLAR: A Season of Climate Change Talks at the British Library
As part of the Polar programme, a series of four public lectures at the British Library will address the broader cultural and policy-related themes arising from the symposium.
Images:
Left & second left: Photo Kathryn Yusoff, 2nd from right: London Fieldworks, Polaria fieldwork NE Greenland (photo Anthony Oliver)
Far right: Anne Brodie, Wastegloo
