From science in the Arctic to Arctic science: a transnational study of Arctic travel narratives, 1818-1883 Nanna Katrine Lüders Kaalund A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in Science and Technology Studies, York University Toronto, Ontario April 2017 © Nanna Katrine Lüders Kaalund 2017 Abstract This thesis examines the making and communicating of knowledge about the Arctic from a transnational perspective between 1818 and the First International Polar Year in 1882-83. By examining both well-known and hitherto neglected narratives from Danish, British, and British-Canadian Arctic explorations, I show that changes in ideas about what it meant to be an authoritative observer of Arctic phenomena were linked to tensions in imperial ambitions, national identity, and international collaboration. By framing polar surveying in the broadest sense as the ordering and quantifying of nature through travel, I analyse how abstract notions of the Arctic became tangible in the nineteenth century. I am concerned with the practices of writing the Arctic experience, especially the relationship between science, and the strategies for constructing a trustworthy narrative voice. That is, I investigate the ways in which the identities of the explorers and the organizing bodies shaped the expeditions, and by extension the representation of the ventures, the explorers, and the science they produced. In doing so, I argue that the Arctic played a key role in shaping Western science, and understandings of national and imperial identities, and that travel narratives were a significant resource for communicating this knowledge. This thesis is divided into four chapters that each considers three case studies, roughly organized according to chronology. Drawing on major themes within British and Danish imperial history, Canadian studies, studies in travel writing, history of science, transnational and global history, and environmental studies, I show how perceptions of the Arctic as a field-site for the production of ii scientific knowledge varied according to time and place throughout the nineteenth century, and how this influenced science in the Arctic. In particular, I show the shift from early scientific practices during Arctic explorations, to a more unified Arctic science as part of the International Polar Year. What emerges is a new and interdisciplinary look at how science was produced in the Arctic, how this information was perceived by both a specialist and general reading audiences, and how this process differed depending on national and cultural contexts at different points in the nineteenth century. iii Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank my PhD supervisor, Bernie Lightman, for his continuing guidance and encouragement, both academically and personally. When faced with my notebooks of distracting side-projects and new ideas, Bernie helped me to keep focused, even during the most hectic times. I could not have wished for a better supervisor. I wholeheartedly would also like to thank my two committee-members, Colin Coates, and Ernie Hamm, who made writing this dissertation an amazing experience. Without their suggestions and advice this project would not have been possible. Moreover, my sincere thanks extends to the internal examiner, Deborah Neill, and the external examiner Janet Browne, for their challenging questions and valuable feedback. I am also thankful to Katey Anderson for acting as chair, and facilitating a very pleasant doctoral defense. The PhD program in Science and Technology Studies at York University has been a wonderful place for developing my research and building friendships. In particular, I would like to thank Angela Cope, Jason Grier, Jeffrey Wajsberg, Cam Murray, Ali McMillan, Jordan Bimm, Ellie Louson, and Bernty Isopp for always making themselves available for fun and commiseration during the highs and lows of coursework, comprehensive examination preparation, and thesis writing. I am also thankful to the faculty members in the STS PhD program for stimulating discussions including Jamie Elwick, Tina Choi, Jagdish Hattiangadi, Edward Jones- Imhotep, Kenton Kroker, Michael Pettit, Alex Rutherford, Joan Steigerwald, and the fabulous GPD Aryn Martin, who was always willing to help me navigate York when I iv found myself in an administrative pickle. My thanks also extends to Adrian Shubert who served on my comprehensive examination committee. His guidance during this process was of critical importance to my development as a scholar. Funding from the Ontario Graduate Scholarship scheme supported my doctoral studies, for which I am very grateful. I carried out parts of this research as a Visiting Research Fellow at the Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge. I am grateful to everyone at the SPRI for their support. In particular, I am thankful to Michael Bravo for his advice and suggestions and for supporting my fellowship application. In addition, I wrote part of my thesis as a Visiting Research Fellow in the Leeds Centre for Victorian Studies at Leeds Trinity University. Everyone in LCVS has been very welcoming and supportive, and I would like to express my gratitude to Rosemary Mitchell and Nathan Uglow for supporting my fellowship, and Karen Sayer and Di Drummond for their guidance during the later stages of my thesis writing. Furthermore, my thanks extend to the Moore Institute for Research in the Humanities and Social Studies, particularly to Daniel Carey, Muireann O'Cinneide, Elizabeth Tilley, and Eavan O’Dochartaigh, for their hospitality before and after the ACSI conference in Galway. I first became interested in subjects related to environmental history while I worked as a Student Assistant at the Aarhus University Climate Secretariat during my undergraduate, and I am grateful to Ellen Margrethe Basse for giving me countless amazing opportunities to engage with climate and environmental research, and to Jakob Bek-Thomsen for believing in me enough to hire me for the project. I am also thankful to those who supported me during my BA and MA in v History of Ideas at Aarhus University. Thank you to everyone at the Darwin in Denmark project, which sparked my interest in the history of science during the first semester of my undergraduate. Peter Kjærgaard was a wonderful mentor during my BA, and a great supervisor for my MA dissertation. I am thankful for his continued support while I was applying to do this PhD. Stine Grumsen, Hans Henrik Hjermitslev, Mathias Clasen, Casper Andersen, Chris Kjeldsen, and Peder Bøcher were also incredibly encouraging, and drove me to pursue a PhD. My thanks also extends to them for putting up with me while I was an overzealous undergraduate student. I am also grateful to the Centre for History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Leeds, where I spent a formative year during my MA. In particular, Jonathan Topham taught me the value of paying attention to detail, and gave me the idea for the title to this dissertation. Graeme Gooday continues to be a wonderfully supportive friend and mentor. Finally, I am thankful to my friends and family. Throughout the years many people have helped and supported me, and made it possible for me to both start and finish this project. Sara Kvist has acted as my untiring cheerleader throughout the years, and she patiently listened to me speak about Arctic science without ever showing her boredom. My thanks extends to Geoff Belknap and Jon Livingstone- Banks for proofreading this dissertation, and for their continued friendship and support over the years. Few people are willing to drop everything, rent a car, and pick you up at the airport, and I am lucky to be friends with Michaela Livingstone- Banks. Sidsel Wittendorff Sørensen has been a wonderful friend too. While technically from Hamilton, Christie Busich is surely my favourite Toronto friend. I vi am also thankful to Becky Bowd, Thomas Brouwer, Christina ‘Rex’ Videbech, Megan Shutes, Helene Borgholm, David Allan Feller, Chris Renwick, Laura Mitchell, Sebastian Falk, Jamie Stark, Sidsel Fabricius, Helen Coskeran, Ian Hesketh, Nicolai Cryer, Allison Ksiazkiewicz, Michael Bench-Capon, Alex Hall, Jessica Van Horssen, Andrea and Daniel Cirone Nørregaard, Eva Jørgensen, Julie Budtz Sørensen, Lene Rohde, Maurizio Esposito, Meira Gold, Danielle Gaudet Mcmillan, and Liz Bruton for their friendship and encouragement. I am grateful to my family, in particular my parents and siblings, for believing in me and helping us with the move from Canada to England. Finally, I would like to thank my husband Efram Sera-Shriar, without whom none of this would have been possible. This is for my son Magnus, who makes every day better. vii Table of contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. iv Table of contents .................................................................................................................................... viii List of figures ................................................................................................................................................ x Introduction ................................................................................................................................................