Extractivism and Antarctica: making a 'more-than-human' story is a new research project funded by the British Academy and the Wellcome Trust. Dr Katherine Collins at the University of Oxford leads the project, in collaboration with Dr Joanna Wheeler of Transformative Story, and Elleke Boehmer, Professor of World Literature in English at Oxford.
The research will explore how non-human perspectives and elements such as ice, water, rock, scientific data and equipment, animal lives, historical artefacts, and artistic responses can be included as interdependent partners with humans in a collaborative story-making process. Story-making is a method of creative practice as research, which involves elements of story structure and takes place through iteration between versions of stories and modes of expression to help makers refine stories over an extended period. Stories may be told through writing, visuals, sounds, movements, or objects, both digital and tactile, and the aesthetic qualities of the story are as important as its form and content.
In April 2025, the team are organising a workshop in Oxford, bringing together artists and researchers to spend five days together making more-than-human stories about Antarctica. As well as helping to explore how story-making methodologies can be adapted to the stories of non-human entities, these makers will help lay the foundations for wider questions about interdisciplinary research on Antarctica and climate change. The project will culminate in a symposium at the Oxford Centre for Life-Writing in June 2025, where stories will be showcased.
Visit the project website to find out more.
