Australian environmental and cultural historian focusing on Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. Recent work includes 'Wild Sea: A History of the Southern Ocean' (NewSouth 2018, University of Chicago Press 2019). Also environmental histories of rural landscapes and rivers, environmental change, memory and history in rural communities, oral history and storytelling. Current projects: Australians in Antarctica for the National Library of Australia, an environmental history of Antarctic sea ice, and co-authoring a book on law and the world's oceans, seas and foreshores.
I was delighted and honoured to receive an invitation from the National Book Council Tasmania to give a presentation on my book Wild Sea on Thursday 19 May 2022. The welcome to country by Terrill Riley-Gibson was powerful and from the heart, and the audience was warm and enthusiastic. I loved the conversation about the … More National Book Council Tasmania talk
2021 Australian Historical Association conference A wonderful virtual conference this year, with so many sessions to choose from. I was delighted to share a panel on day 2 with James Dunk and Daniel May addressing the theme ‘Big histories’, chaired by Rachel Goldlust. My own paper – ‘On the edge: Towards a more than human … More Unfinished business
After many stops and starts due to COVID, Maps of the Pacific finally opened at the State Library of New South Wales on 13 November 2021. Congratulations to all involved. I’m delighted to have contributed to this wonderful exhibition. Maps of the Pacific | State Library of NSW Explore the beauty, art and science of mapping … More Maps of the Pacific exhibition opens
Exploring the human and natural histories of Antarctica’s sea ice Presentation by Dr Joy McCann to ANU Research Roadshow, November 2020 I am mesmerised by sea ice. It is neither land nor sea, but something else entirely. Below me, invisible currents stir delicate white crystals of ice, pushing them together until they curl up at … More Ice memory
Things have been a bit quieter lately while I’ve been settling into my new life in Tasmania. However, I’ve managed to contribute to a few projects in recent months, including: . Expert contributor to audio guide for State Library of NSW ‘Mapping the Pacific’ exhibition, Sydney, July-October 2021 . N Bax, C Novaglio, KH Maxwell … More A few environmental history activities of late
The Australian Association for Maritime History has announced the winner of the 2019 Frank Broeze Memorial Maritime History Book prize, and Wild Sea was on the shortlist – yay!
Just discovered this wonderful review of Wild Sea by Jean McNicol published in History Today (UK), Vol. 69 Issue 9, September 2019. The reviewer is the author of Ice Diaries: An Antarctic Memoir (ECW, 2016).
Delighted to have contributed to Narissa Bax, Camilla Novaglio, Kimberley H Maxwell, et al, ‘Ocean resource use: building the blue economy’, a multi-disciplinary paper developed as part of the Future Seas project (www.futureseas2030.org). It has been accepted for publication in the Future Seas special issue in Reviews in Fish Biology & Fisheries to be published … More Building the blue economy
Out of the blue 