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Toponyms on the ice: The symbolic and iconographical role of Antarctic research base names

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 June 2021

Neil Lindsay Open the ORCID record for Neil Lindsay [Opens in a new window]  and
Hong-Key Yoon
Neil Lindsay*
Affiliation:
School of Environment, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Hong-Key Yoon
Affiliation:
School of Environment, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
*
Author for correspondence: Neil Lindsay, Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Place names serve a symbolic function in enforcing colonial power over landscapes. Within colonial locales, place names reproduce and reflect the ideological goals of settlers to reinforce or claim space for an individual, group or nation. One toponymically understudied colonial region where place names play a prominent role is the Antarctic, where the names of research bases promote the cultural power of settler nations to symbolically claim the continental landscape. As Antarctica is a geopolitically contested space, Antarctic research base names serve as an ideological purpose in reinforcing claims to the Antarctic, contrasting the ostensibly scientific purpose of research bases. This paper examines Antarctic research base names by categorising and interpreting their naming sources through a critical toponymic lens. This paper discusses general Antarctic naming trends and establishes possible reasons and outcomes of their employment, using three primary arguments: (1) Antarctic research base names are often nationalistic and reflect the implicit geopolitical goals of settler nations, (2) Antarctic research base names reflect and reproduce ongoing polar colonialism and (3) contestation over the naming of Antarctic research bases exemplifies the iconographical and cultural conflict between Antarctic nations. This paper seeks to provoke a future toponymic investigation into Antarctica and study Antarctic cultural landscapes more generally.

Keywords

Place namesAntarcticaResearch basesToponymyPolar colonialism
Type
Research Article
Information
Polar Record , Volume 57 , 2021 , e22
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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