April 16, 2015 Conference on the Cartographic History of Polar Exploration, May 14-15

The history and cartography of the Arctic and the Antarctic—including the modern mapping of the poles that highlights dramatic changes during the last five decades—will be the topic of a conference at the Library of Congress, May 14-15.

“Finding the Antipodes: The Cartographic History of Polar Exploration from 1500 to the Present” will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 14 and from 9:30 a.m. to noon on Friday, May 15 in the Mumford Room on the sixth floor of the James Madison Memorial Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C. The conference is free and open to the public. Tickets and reservations are not needed.

In conjunction with the conference, an open house and tours of the Library’s Geography and Map Division will be held from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Friday, May 15. The division is located on the basement level of the Madison Building. The open house and tours are free and open to the public. Tickets and reservations are not needed.

The conference is made possible by the generous support of the Philip Lee Phillips Map Society of the Library of Congress, which was established in 1995 as an association of collectors, geographers, historians and map enthusiasts, with a shared interest in supporting the programs and activities of the Library’s Geography and Map Division. Every year the Phillips Society sponsors a conference in collaboration with the Geography and Map Division.

The conference will feature two keynote speakers, Robert Clancy and Michael Robinson. Clancy is emeritus professor at the University of Newcastle School of Biomedical Sciences and the author of “Mapping Antarctica: A Five Hundred Year Record of Discovery” (2014). Robinson is an associate professor of history at the University of Hartford and the author of “The Coldest Crucible: Arctic Exploration and American Culture” (2006), winner of the 2008 Book Award for the History of Science in America.

Conference Schedule

Thursday, May 14
9 a.m.
Welcome and Introductions

9:15 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
Finding the Antipodes

“From the Place of ‘No Bear’ to a ‘Global Village’ or the Histo-Cartography of Antarctica”
Keynote Speaker Robert Clancy

“The Rise of ‘Arctic Fever’ in America”
Keynote Speaker Michael Robinson

“Inventing Terra Firma Around the South Pole: The Southern Ring Continent, 1515-1554”
Chet Van Duzer

11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Lunch

1:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Mapping the Antipodes

“The View from Above: How High-Resolution Satellite Imagery Has Revolutionized Polar Mapping”
Claire Porter

“Geospatial-Enabled Science, Logistics, and Exploration in the Polar Regions”
Cole Kelleher

“Remote Sensing Reveals a Melting Arctic”
Beata Csatho

3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Reception

Friday, May 15

9:30 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.
Governing the Antipodes

“Governing the Antipodes: International Cooperation in the Arctic and Antarctica”
Oran Young

10:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.
Collecting the Antipodes

“The End of the Earth”
Arthur Dunkelman

11:15 a.m. to noon
Questions for All Speakers Roundtable

1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Open House in the Geography and Map Division

For more information about the conference, visit www.loc.gov/rr/geogmap/phillipsevents.html.

The Library of Congress has the largest and most comprehensive collection of maps and atlases in the world, some 5.4 million cartographic items that date from the 14th century to the present time. The Library's map collections contain coverage for every country and subject, and include the works of the most famous mapmakers throughout history—Ptolemy, Waldseemüller, Mercator, Ortelius and Blaeu. For more information, visit www.loc.gov/rr/geogmap/.

The Library of Congress, the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution and the largest library in the world, holds more than 160 million items in various languages, disciplines and formats. The Library serves the U.S. Congress and the nation both on-site in its reading rooms on Capitol Hill and through its award-winning website at www.loc.gov.