Spaces of cultural production
Jean Burgess recently brought the work of Australian-based cultural geographer Christy Collis to my attention and it’s just too good not to share! I quite enjoyed her and Maggie Nolan’s short introductory piece on Sites of Benevolence (pdf), but it’s her work on Antarctica that really captured my imagination.
According to the Australian Antarctic Division, “Over the years, the reasons for a national presence have evolved and today Antarctica is a continent set apart for peace and science,” but Collis has written extensively on how “the performance of scientific activities and the establishment of permanently-staffed facilities were always means to display and justify national interests in Antarctica.”
For me, the best part is thinking not just about the colonisation of Antarctica, but also science as an imperial activity. If any of this interests you, stay tuned for an article in the next issue of Cultural Geographies, written by her and Quentin Stevens: “Cold Colonies: Antarctic Spatialities at Mawson and McMurdo Stations.”
According to Jean, she’s currently working on stuff related to “regulating spectrum and the way that spatial metaphors are essential to that” so let’s hope we hear more about that soon too!
June 6th, 2007 at 10:45 pm
this is not cultural production