Antarctica and the Southern Ocean

The Antarctic and Southern Ocean region is vital to our planet’s future. The questions it raises cannot be addressed through scientific inquiry alone but require a multi-disciplinary approach.

How should humans interact with Antarctica, a place where they do not traditionally belong? How should such a place be valued and governed within jostling national interests and shifting global order? How can we protect the region while still allowing people to study and encounter it? How do we best equip those who visit to cope with the harsh environmental conditions? What stories do we tell about Antarctica, and how do they influence our attitudes and engagement?

These are the kinds of questions that can only be answered by the humanities, arts and social sciences.