Doctoral Dissertation Research: Antarctica and the Politics of Scientific Exploration in Scandinavia and the British Empire, 1895-1952

博士论文研究：南极洲与斯堪的纳维亚半岛和大英帝国的科学探索政治，1895-1952

• 批准号: 0723925
• 负责人: Robert Proctor
• 金额: $ 0.87万
• 依托单位: Stanford University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-07-01 至 2009-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0723925&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Antarctica; Politics

This will be the first study to chart and explain the diverse ways scientific exploration was defined across historical and geographical boundaries. It will involve archival research in Britain, Norway, Sweden, and Australia. Given the historical consensus that practically every expedition during this period proclaimed itself to be 'scientific', it is remarkable that no study to date has asked why this term should be so ubiquitous, or why its obvious rhetorical authority should be noted without being explained.Intellectual Merit. This study will explain why 'scientific' activity was variously characterized as antithetical to sport, commerce, imperialism, or nationalism; while at other times acting to legitimize activities that resonated with one or more of those categories. Antarctic exploration in the twentieth century took place under intense public scrutiny, attracting significant media coverage and affording an opportunity for scientific and geographical institutions to raise their social profile: to disregard the self-presentation of 'scientific' exploration as mere rhetoric is to ignore the political importance of securing that authority. Roberts will complement archival research in all four nations with a thorough survey of media coverage of these expeditions. The latter will be treated as historical evidence rather than ephemeral 'color', to reveal the political processes behind the rhetorical construction of scientific exploration. Roberts has conducted previous research in the relevant Australian archives. He is competent in all relevant languages. The project builds on Roberts's previous (2004, 2006) work on Antarctic exploration and Proctor's earlier (1991) work on the rhetorical construction of value-free science in the early twentieth century. Broader Impacts. Science occupies a privileged position today as the dominant justification for human activity in the Antarctic. At a time when oil drilling and commercial whaling are returning to the international agenda, it is critical to understand how science achieved this status, and how the definitions of valid scientific activity have shifted through time and across space. Today, the Japanese 'scientific whaling' program constitutes an acceptable scientific practice from one perspective and a front for resource exploitation from others. Though historical in approach, the project is designed to have relevance for present-day activities. Recognizing that debates over the legitimacy of 'scientific' activities have a history, and that they are intertwined with politics (at least at the rhetorical level), is crucial to effective policy-making. This extends applies particularly to the Antarctic, but also to other arenas such as space exploration and deep-sea oceanography. The project will produce general insights on the relationship between scientists and the communities that lend support and validation to their work and the enduring value of scientific expeditions as emblems of political power through scientific achievement. Findings from the project will be presented in academic conferences in both the British and Scandinavian world, as well as through scholarly publications and presentations aimed at a wider public audience in Britain, Sweden, and Australia. Certain findings - especially those relate to the whaling industry and early global warming research - will have particular significance for ongoing public debates.

这将是第一项绘制和解释跨越历史和地理界限定义科学探索的多种方式的研究。它将涉及英国、挪威、瑞典和澳大利亚的档案研究。鉴于这一历史时期的共识，几乎每一次探险都宣称自己是“科学的”，值得注意的是，迄今为止还没有研究询问为什么这个术语应该如此普遍，或者为什么应该注意到它明显的修辞权威而不加以解释。智力优点。这项研究将解释为什么“科学”活动被不同地描述为与体育、商业、帝国主义或民族主义相对立的；而在其他时候则采取行动使与其中一个或多个类别产生共鸣的活动合法化。二十世纪的南极探险是在公众的严格监督下进行的，吸引了大量媒体报道，并为科学和地理机构提供了提高其社会形象的机会：​​忽视“科学”探索的自我呈现仅仅是修辞，就是忽视确保这一权威的政治重要性。罗伯茨将通过对这些探险活动的媒体报道进行彻底调查来补充所有四个国家的档案研究。后者将被视为历史证据而不是短暂的“色彩”，以揭示科学探索的修辞构建背后的政治进程。罗伯茨此前曾对澳大利亚相关档案进行过研究。他精通所有相关语言。该项目建立在罗伯茨之前（2004年、2006年）关于南极探险的工作和普罗克特早期（1991年）关于二十世纪初价值中立科学的修辞建构的工作的基础上。更广泛的影响。如今，科学作为人类在南极活动的主要理由占据着重要的地位。在石油钻探和商业捕鲸重新回到国际议程之际，了解科学如何达到这一地位，以及有效科学活动的定义如何随着时间和空间的变化而变化至关重要。今天，日本的“科学捕鲸”计划从一个角度来看构成了一种可以接受的科学实践，也是从其他角度进行资源开发的前沿。尽管该项目的方法具有历史意义，但其设计目的是与当今的活动相关。认识到关于“科学”活动合法性的争论有其历史，并且它们与政治交织在一起（至少在言辞层面），对于有效的政策制定至关重要。这种延伸尤其适用于南极洲，也适用于太空探索和深海海洋学等其他领域。该项目将对科学家与为其工作提供支持和验证的社区之间的关系以及科学考察通过科学成就作为政治权力象征的持久价值产生一般性见解。该项目的研究结果将在英国和斯堪的纳维亚世界的学术会议上公布，并通过学术出版物和针对英国、瑞典和澳大利亚更广泛公众的演讲进行介绍。某些发现——尤其是那些与捕鲸业和早期全球变暖研究有关的发现——将对正在进行的公众辩论具有特别重要的意义。