Peter R. Martin

The Arrival of the Harmony These old photographs,  like ghost ships, seldom bring us what we want.

"Indigenous communities that had already suffered from epidemics of measles and chickenpox were largely abandoned to their fate by the settler colonial government of the Dominion of Newfoundland." @jonwestaway.bsky.social

niche-canada.org/2022/08/11/t...

#envhist #cdnhist #indigenoushistory

A graphic publicising a new Special Section in Area called 'Map Room Conversations'. There are six tiles with the names of papers and authors as follows: 1) Map Room Conversations Stephen Legg, Katherine Parker 2) Mapping Indigeneity in the RGS-IBG map collections Peter R. Martin, Katherine Parker 3) Mapping Language: Names, Speakers and Voices Beth Williamson, Philip Jagessar 4) Map Room Conversations: Mapping Objects George Tobin, Jane Wess 5) Mapping Disjuncture: Internationalism and Palestine Zena Agha, Jake Hodder 6) Maps and Diaspora: Affect, Agency and Epistolary Praxis Rohini Rai, Iqbal Singh

A black tile publicising the new 'Map Room Conversations' Special Section in Area. There is a quote from Stephen Legg & Katie Parker's introduction. It reads: "This Special Section breaks down a false equation of active/passive to outdoor/indoor, or digital/paper, maps. Instead, the papers included show how the map collection is also a space of becoming and creation".

New Special Section in Area!

'Map Room Conversations' guest edited by @stephenlegg11.bsky.social, @kparkerhistorian.bsky.social & Jason Liu

Read the fully #OpenAccess collection here ⬇️

rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc/10.1...

The UK universities cutting geography have lost their bearings From climate change to geopolitics, the knowledge, skills and insights of geographers have never been more relevant, say five professors

Geography's 'combination of STEM, social science and arts and humanities can sit uneasily within university faculty systems, heightening the risk that we are dismantled into separate components.' 1/2

Area | RGS Geography Journal | Wiley Online Library This article summarises and reflects on the ‘Mapping Indigeneity’ Map Room Conversation that formed part of the RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2024. Firstly, the maps from the RGS-IBG collec...

Each pair of #map experts took on a different theme. @peterrmartin.bsky.social and I discussed Indigenous maps and mapping, including responsibilities for non-Indigenous researchers, as well as reparations and returns from colonial collections.

So pleased to be a part of this, and what a fabulous set of papers!

Look out for the cfp from @stephenlegg11.bsky.social at the end - would highly recommend all geographers (and others!) engage with these collections and see what comes out as a result! 🗺️

Arctic Fever: new exhibit finds 19th-century parallels to Trump’s Greenland obsession As far back as 1867, White House officials have viewed Greenland, and Iceland, as having immense strategic value

This looks ace!

"As the focus intensifies once more on the Arctic, it’s important to remember there isn’t one history, there are many histories. People have long moved in all directions, from all places."

Congrats @issygapp.bsky.social and #MarkCheetham!

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...

Historical Geographers!! Do you have any news, cfps, conference sessions, papers, books or events you would like to alert others to in our next #HGRG spring newsletter?
Get in touch with @hcraddock.bsky.social by 13 February and spread the word!
#historicalgeography
#RGS
#news

Review of Adcock, A Cold Colonialism Adcock examines modern northern explorers, revealing how gendered networks and knowledge production enabled Canadian settler colonial power with lasting impacts.

In our latest book review, Lianne Leddy examines @tinaadcock.bsky.social's A Cold Colonialism: Modern Exploration and the Canadian North ( @ubcpress.bsky.social 2025)

niche-canada.org/2026/01/30/r...

#envhist #cdnhist #arctic #bookreview #histsci

Trump’s Greenland threats open old wounds for Inuit across Arctic Demand by US that it take control of Arctic island is for many a reminder of troubling imperial past

Trump’s Greenland threats open old wounds for Inuit across Arctic

The cold war maps that can help us rethink today’s Arctic conflict Donald Trump grew up in cold war America. Maps of the time had an overtly political purpose.

Donald Trump grew up in cold war America. Maps of the time had an overtly political purpose.

Review: Mapping the North: Myth, Exploration, Encounter, by Charlotta Forss — Bodleian Library Publishing, Oxford (2025), 224 pages plus c.120 colour illustrations, hardback. Journal of Historical Geography

New review!

@peterrmartin.bsky.social on 'Mapping the North: Myth, Exploration, Encounter', by Charlotta Forss.

Greenland in the Crosshairs How Donald Trump’s second administration has revived old doctrines and transformed Greenland into an international flashpoint.

This extract from Unfrozen by Mia Bennett and @klausdodds.bsky.social shows how Donald Trump’s second administration has transformed Greenland into an international flashpoint.
yalebooks.co.uk/greenland-in...

States of precarity in UK Higher Education geography Findings from a discipline-focused research project exploring the lived realities of precarious academic work within UK Higher Education geography.

Today we launch States of Precarity in UK HE Geography.

Thank you to the 364 colleagues whose experiences shaped this work.

Download the report, share widely, and join us in advocating for change.

Launch event (1:00-2:30GMT):
www.rgs.org/events/upcom...

Read report:
www.rgs.org/research/hig...

The abstract of an article titled "'The land of the glorious fjords... is so easily accessible': Infrastructure and Identity in Travel Guides to Norway, 1870-1920". The abstract reads: As Norway became an increasingly popular destination in the latter half of the nineteenth century, British travellers turned to guidebooks to structure their travel. Guidebooks to Norway were published in international series by John Murray, Thomas Cook and Baedeker, but also by local travel agents such as Thomas Bennett. Norway seemed to offer an escape from the urban and industrial, yet travellers relied on modern networks of transport and infrastructure. The 1916 guide, Sunlit Norway, was published by the Bergen Steamship Line and the Norwegian State Railways. Visual and textual depictions of infrastructure are prominent and this involvement of transport companies also suggests that the use of certain forms of infrastructure was not simply assumed but actively encouraged. Considering guidebooks as a form of travel writing shows how this travel was fundamentally transnational and highlights the involvement of local people in tourist practices. The presence or absence - of local people in travel guides provides insight into the impact of tourism on local communities. It also complicates the representations of Norway found in travelogues and travel guides in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, reemphasising the modern and alternative ideas of the nation.

I have a new article out in the Journal of Tourism History, looking at how travel guides, infrastructure and photography shaped tourism in Norway. What and who did travel guides depict, in text and photographs, and how? www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Historical Geographies: the basics.

Delighted to see that my friend and colleague's book is out. Well done Cheryl! Well done also to Paul. Order a copy for your library!

The Danish National Archives holds a ground-breaking document proving that President Donald Trump is wrong about Greenland In a high-security storage facility at the Danish National Archives (Rigsarkivet) is a 100 year old sheet of paper with an American promise about Greenland. This is the fascinating story which Preside...

Some US politicians are "asking" why Greenland is Danish territory. For those who care: the president of the USA signed an agreement about this some 110 years ago, on 4 August 1916. (USA got the "Danish West-Indies" in return)

#Greenland #KalaallitNunaat

jyllands-posten.dk/indland/ECE1...

Understanding Cultural Landscapes Understanding Cultural Landscapes provides an introduction to the range of approaches characterising the study of landscape and culture. This textbook discusses the origins, underpinnings, and practic...

Published today! Understanding Cultural Landscapes, by Rachel Hunt & Ben Garlick.
Priveleged to have had a preview of this, and very pleased to recommend it!
#geography #Landscape #CulturalGeography

www.routledge.com/Understandin...

The @scottpolar.bsky.social are looking for a librarian. This is a rare opportunity! Work with (probably) the world's largest dedicated polar library alongside archive and museum colleagues. The dream 😍

📜

Protest over future of University of Nottingham language courses The University of Nottingham has suspended entry for new students on modern language courses.

www.bbc.com/news/article...

Massive thanks to @stephenlegg11.bsky.social for organising the session, and to all the attendees who shared their thoughts on the day!

Full 'Map Room Conversations' special issue coming soon!

Area | RGS Geography Journal | Wiley Online Library This article summarises and reflects on the ‘Mapping Indigeneity’ Map Room Conversation that formed part of the RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2024. Firstly, the maps from the RGS-IBG collec...

Great to see this article with the fantastic Katie Parker (@rgsibg.bsky.social) now out in @areajournal.bsky.social!

Here we reflect on the 'Mapping Indigeneity' Map Room conversation and think about different ways of working with colonial map collections 🗺️

Kunāne Wooton’s sculpture ʻAuamo No Ka Ulu’ which depicts two kneeling wooden figures holding a cracked piece of volcanic basalt on their shoulders. In the background the exhibition's title, 'Fault Lines' can be seen on a wall.

A visitor to the exhibition looks at a short cape in a display case. The cape is made from bright yellow feathers with a pattern created by red feathers.

Visitors to the exhibition looking at contemporary art works by Atheana Picha, consisting of handmade blankets, carved pins and painted drums with photographic portraits of community Elders from wearing these works.

You've only got a month left to see 'Fault Lines: Imagining Indigenous futures for colonial collections'!

Visitors are describing it as "Very moving", "touching, insightful" and a "powerful message"!

Exhibition closes: 21 December 2025

Important new report out on precarious working conditions in Geography in UK HE. Sadly the nature and scale of the findings are grim but unsurprising. www.rgs.org/research/hig...

🚨 New @rgsibg.bsky.social report & action plans from the @statesofprecarity.bsky.social team. Shares findings from our research on the long & short term effects of precarity in UK HEI Geography & includes action plans designed to support more equitable working cultures
➡️ www.rgs.org/research/hig...

Logo featuring intertwined white lines on a gray square with the letters H, G, R, G around it, representing the Historical Geography Research Group.

Join the Society's Historical Geography Research Group for their upcoming conference: 'Practising Historical Geography: Porous Archives 2'.

📍 In person (Newcastle University) and online
📅 Friday 12 December

Find out more and register for free 👉 blogs.ncl.ac.uk/porousarchives

Indigenous Maps - Indigenous Mapping Collective We are now known as the Indigenous Mapping Collective.  The Indigenous Mapping Workshop is only one part of our global Indigenous Mapping Collective. Our goal has always been to give Indigenous…

The Indigenous Mapping Collective is a global network of Indigenous mappers that provides Indigenous Peoples, Nations, and organizations with the tools and training to map their lands, share their stories, and decolonize place and space. buff.ly/8laGNaZ

#GISDay #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth

Call for papers!

We invite proposals for a special issue addressing historical animal geographies, co-edited by Karen M. Morin & Alice J. Hovorka.

Abstract deadline 15 Jan
Accepted submission deadline 15 Jun

Details here: sciencedirect.com/special-issue/327592/historical-animal-geographies

Assistant Professor in Environmental History (111009-1125) at University of Warwick Apply now for the Assistant Professor in Environmental History (111009-1125) role on jobs.ac.uk - the leading job board for higher education jobs. View details.

JOB: Assistant Professor in Environmental History, University of Warwick, Coventry campus (UK) www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPK289/a...
#envhist

📯 The Historical Geography Research Group (HGRG - RGS) warmly invite you to take part in the Practising Historical Geography Conference in person at Newcastle University and online, on the 12th December 2025.

Register:
blogs.ncl.ac.uk/porousarchives

🗓️12th December 2025
@rgs-ibghe.bsky.social

job
Geography - Assistant Professor (Indigenous Geographies)
University of Victoria

Closing Date: December 12, 2025

csn-rec.ca/job-postings...