Gary Lee Kvamme

Polar Landscapes Gary Lee Kvamme

The present multifaceted historical study explores my enduring fascination with how polar landscapes were perceived and created as Sublime by the discursive practices of explorers, authors, artists, and the press. It also explores how polar discourse was used and influenced by British imperial rhetoric. Relying on expedition narratives, literary publications, paintings, and press coverage, this work highlights the importance (and fluidity) of intellectual concepts and their influence over the way polar landscapes were imagined by the British. Ultimately, the project seeks to lend insight into the significant connection between polar discourse and World War I discourse, showing how the mythological way of imagining polar landscapes became a catalyst for imagining indescribable landscapes of horror during the most destructive war in European history.