Abstract

Rip Bulkeley is an independent historian of the earth sciences who lives in Oxford. He speaks, or at least reads, several languages including Russian. Since taking degrees in Peace Studies and Strategic Studies in the 1980s his main interest has been in the interaction between international relations and international scientific cooperation. His research into the International Geophysical Year of 1957—58 led him to develop an interest in the history of Antarctica and the (exaggerated) claim that scientific cooperation laid the basis for the Antarctic Treaty. While working in that field he came across the Russian Antarctic expedition of 1819—21, which was only the second voyage in history to cross the Antarctic Circle, 47 years after James Cook. What he found next will be the subject of this short talk about his research project.