John Cleves Symmes and the Planetary Reach of Polar Exploration
In 2007, a Russian submarine planted a titanium flag on the seabed under the North Pole, laying the groundwork for Russia’s claim to Arctic oil and gas resources. Blum’s essay explores the prehistory of Russia’s polar land grab in terms of the influential (if satirized) early-nineteenth-century theo...
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fthighwire:oai:open-archive.highwire.org:ddal:84/2/243 2023-05-15T13:42:13+02:00 John Cleves Symmes and the Planetary Reach of Polar Exploration Blum, Hester 2012-01-01 00:00:00.0 text/html http://americanliterature.dukejournals.org/cgi/content/short/84/2/243 https://doi.org/10.1215/00029831-1587341 en eng Duke University Press http://americanliterature.dukejournals.org/cgi/content/short/84/2/243 http://dx.doi.org/10.1215/00029831-1587341 Copyright (C) 2012 Articles TEXT 2012 fthighwire https://doi.org/10.1215/00029831-1587341 2012-07-20T14:53:49Z In 2007, a Russian submarine planted a titanium flag on the seabed under the North Pole, laying the groundwork for Russia’s claim to Arctic oil and gas resources. Blum’s essay explores the prehistory of Russia’s polar land grab in terms of the influential (if satirized) early-nineteenth-century theories of John Cleves Symmes, who believed the earth was hollow and accessible through openings at the poles. In discussing an early-nineteenth-century hollow-earth theorist and his influence on hollow-earth fictions—beginning with the narrative Symzonia (1820)—the essay considers the unexplored possibilities that the Arctic and Antarctic regions offer to hemispheric and transnational conversations, as well as to more recent calls to reorganize critical thinking from a planetary perspective. Blum explores the difference in resources, both material and critical, presented by polar spaces. By resources she refers both to the ecological substance of the polar regions, in their remove from predictable routes and terms of exchange; and to the imaginative and literary outcomes of polar exploration, which themselves did not follow recognizable circuits. Not just another geopolitical space, the polar regions suggest the ecological and critical potential of a nonproprietary, speculative attitude toward resources. Text Antarc* Antarctic Arctic North Pole HighWire Press (Stanford University) Antarctic Arctic North Pole American Literature 84 2 243 271 |
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Articles Blum, Hester John Cleves Symmes and the Planetary Reach of Polar Exploration |
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In 2007, a Russian submarine planted a titanium flag on the seabed under the North Pole, laying the groundwork for Russia’s claim to Arctic oil and gas resources. Blum’s essay explores the prehistory of Russia’s polar land grab in terms of the influential (if satirized) early-nineteenth-century theories of John Cleves Symmes, who believed the earth was hollow and accessible through openings at the poles. In discussing an early-nineteenth-century hollow-earth theorist and his influence on hollow-earth fictions—beginning with the narrative Symzonia (1820)—the essay considers the unexplored possibilities that the Arctic and Antarctic regions offer to hemispheric and transnational conversations, as well as to more recent calls to reorganize critical thinking from a planetary perspective. Blum explores the difference in resources, both material and critical, presented by polar spaces. By resources she refers both to the ecological substance of the polar regions, in their remove from predictable routes and terms of exchange; and to the imaginative and literary outcomes of polar exploration, which themselves did not follow recognizable circuits. Not just another geopolitical space, the polar regions suggest the ecological and critical potential of a nonproprietary, speculative attitude toward resources. |
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Text |
author |
Blum, Hester |
author_facet |
Blum, Hester |
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Blum, Hester |
title |
John Cleves Symmes and the Planetary Reach of Polar Exploration |
title_short |
John Cleves Symmes and the Planetary Reach of Polar Exploration |
title_full |
John Cleves Symmes and the Planetary Reach of Polar Exploration |
title_fullStr |
John Cleves Symmes and the Planetary Reach of Polar Exploration |
title_full_unstemmed |
John Cleves Symmes and the Planetary Reach of Polar Exploration |
title_sort |
john cleves symmes and the planetary reach of polar exploration |
publisher |
Duke University Press |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
http://americanliterature.dukejournals.org/cgi/content/short/84/2/243 https://doi.org/10.1215/00029831-1587341 |
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Antarctic Arctic North Pole |
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Antarctic Arctic North Pole |
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Antarc* Antarctic Arctic North Pole |
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Antarc* Antarctic Arctic North Pole |
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http://americanliterature.dukejournals.org/cgi/content/short/84/2/243 http://dx.doi.org/10.1215/00029831-1587341 |
op_rights |
Copyright (C) 2012 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1215/00029831-1587341 |
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American Literature |
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84 |
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2 |
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243 |
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271 |
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