Project description
A historical look at scientific journals on Arctic research
What scientists write about is important. Reading the literature is as crucial as the scientific work. The EU-funded HAES project will study today’s scientific journals on Arctic research. Specifically, it will conduct a transnational study of historical scientific journals between 1789 and 1914. Since science journals mirror political, economic and socio-cultural forces, the project will investigate how exactly these forces have shaped editorial contents and contexts. Bringing together history of science, media history, Arctic research and historical geography, the project will investigate both the editorial contexts and contents of articles related to the Arctic that appeared in scientific journals within the geographical area that today is home to Austria, Germany, Poland, Russia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Objective
As the Central Arctic Ocean’s ice melts, the Arctic region is attracting more and more attention from countries around the globe, including European states. To understand the risks and potentials of the Arctic ice melt, governments depend on scientific research.
The more the Arctic becomes the focus of European and world-wide governments, economies and socio-cultural endeavours, the more the communicational infrastructure that carries scientific findings and knowledge on this region needs to be reliable and robust.
This action aims to further a central element of this infrastructure—namely the scientific journal.
This action approaches today’s scientific journals on Arctic research in a novel and innovative way: through the transnational study of historical scientific journals of the long nineteenth century (1789-1914). As human-made artefacts, science journals have mirrored political, economic and socio-cultural forces since their very beginnings—and this action’s aim is to investigate how exactly these forces have shaped editorial contents and contexts. More concretely, this is an investigation of both the editorial contexts and contents of articles related to the Arctic that appeared in scientific journals within the geographical area that today is home to Austria, the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, Russia, Switzerland and the United States.
If we understand how editorial processes formed earlier journal-based discourses on the Arctic, we can compare them to their counterparts of today, consider their strengths and weaknesses and take editorial action to bolster current scientific discourses on the north polar region.
This action aims to do so by bringing together history of science, media history, Arctic research and historical geography. Moreover, by way of two strategic Secondments, the action seeks to translate its findings into practical commentary and editorial suggestions for today’s science journals on north polar research.
Fields of science
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinator
CB2 1TN Cambridge
United Kingdom