How has our knowledge of polar regions been challenged by climate extremes? Join us for an evening with environmental humanities professor Hester Blum as she reflects on the production of polar knowledge from the 19th century to today.

Blum participated in the 38th Voyage of the Charles W. Morgan, the world’s last surviving wooden whaleship, as well as Arctic expeditions tracking climate change. A documentary, Frozen Obsession, was made of the expedition, for which she served as Arctic historian. She also ventured to Antarctica with Albatros Expeditions and traveled to the International Territory of Svalbard in October 2022 with The Arctic Circle. Blum writes about polar regions for Avidly and is the author of The News at the Ends of the Earth: The Print Culture of Polar Exploration. ​

Through her experience with polar science as a writer and literary historian, Hester Blum illuminates the creation of knowledge under extreme conditions. She is the Lynne Cooper Harvey Distinguished Professor of English and professor of environmental studies at Washington University in St. Louis.