Journal breaks new ice

The University of Canterbury is now home to a newly launched international journal for social scientists specialising in polar studies.



The Polar Journal is the initiative of Associate Professor Anne-Marie Brady (Social and Political Sciences) and is aimed at academics working in the social sciences and humanities whose research focus is the Arctic or Antarctic.



Professor Brady, who is editor-in-chief of the biannual journal, said the new multi-disciplinary publication would fill a gap in the available scholarly journals and was also “an opportunity to break down the silos between the different disciplines in the social sciences and humanities, and between Arctic and Antarctic specialists”.



“From my research on China’s polar interests I also realised that some of the problems, particularly in Antarctic governance, are because the more established powers are the voices that are being heard and the voices from places like China, India and Malaysia, who are unhappy with the existing order in Antarctica, are not part of the debates,” she said.



“I wanted to better integrate these voices and build a social science community where issues can be raised in a safe, constructive and scholarly forum.”



Professor Brady said The Polar Journal was being supported by UC’s centre for Antarctic studies and research Gateway Antarctica.



“Gateway Antarctica have been very helpful in this initiative and Professor Bryan Storey’s support was crucial in making the application to the journal’s London-based publishers.”



The Polar Journal has an editorial board of 24 academics from around the world and each will have a turn at editing an issue. Each edition will either feature articles from different disciplines on polar affairs, or feature a topical theme.



The first issue of the journal, due out in June 2011, will be edited by Associate Professor Marcus Haward from the University of Tasmania and will be centred on the theme of Antarctic governance.