The 6th Open Assembly of the Northern Research Forum (NRF), "Our Ice Dependent World," is to be held on 24-27 October 2010 in Oslo and Kirkenes, Norway. The deadline for applications has been extended to 1 April 2010.

A gathering of the Nordic Environmental History Network (NEHN), and sponsored by Nordforsk and the Network in Canadian History and Environment (NiCHE), this meeting will feature papers that explore the mutual shaping of people and place in the North. Rather than take the “North” for granted as an entity, this meeting challenges participants to think about how the North should be defined as an object of inquiry for environmental history. The Arctic may be the most obvious northern region, but while the Arctic is a key part of the North, we do not want to focus solely on the Arctic; rather, we are interested in trying to define how the North exists now, and how it has been negotiated historically, as a both a geographical and cultural space.

In an effort to generate discussion in the northern studies community about recent works in the field, book reviews from the upcoming Spring 2010 issue of The Northern Review have been published on the Northern Research Network website. Book titles and reviewers are listed below. Please click on the attachments to read the reviews. NRN members will also find the reviews in the book review section of this website.

Before the Antarctic Treaty came into force, expeditions sailed south in the hope of earning money from whaling, sealing, or the exploitation of other Antarctic resources. Science too was the driver behind many expeditions to explore the white continent, sometimes also with the intent of laying claim to a good part of it for one's own nation in the event of a division of the territory. In this session, the interrelationship of various motivations for Antarctic exploration and research will be discussed in historical context. Organizers invite paper proposals, which can be submitted through the SCAR homepage. Deadline for abstracts and travel fellowships is 1 March 2010

The University of Washington (UW) seeks students to join a field crew in Cape Krusenstern, Alaska, during the summer of 2010. Successful candidates would be part of a joint UW-National Park Service research project, conducting archaeological survey, testing, and GPS mapping at Cape Krusenstern for approximately 6 weeks from late June to early August 2010. Project participants will live at a remote field camp for the duration of the project and will have the opportunity to work with an interdisciplinary team that includes archaeologists, geologists, and community volunteers who will join the crew for part of the field season. The project will provide travel, food, lodging, and a stipend.

The organizing committee of the 17th Inuit Studies Conference to be held at the Val-d’Or campus of the Université du Québec in Abitibi-Témiscamingue from 28-30 October 2010 announce a second call for papers. Those interested in proposing a paper or organizing a seminar or workshop should make their submission by Friday, 2 April 2010. A scientific committee will evaluate the proposals and confirm acceptance by May 2010. For further information, please the attached call for papers.

The Institute for Circumpolar Health Studies (ICHS) at the University of Alaska Anchorage seeks to improve the health of the residents of Alaska and the circumpolar north by understanding and addressing the factors that affect health and inform policy in our region. The ICHS is seeking two scholars who have completed their doctoral training to engage in an intensive two-year postdoctoral training program at the University of Alaska Anchorage. The program will consist of two years of intensive scholar-directed research conducted in collaboration with distinguished faculty mentors at the University of Alaska, and focused on health issues of particular relevance for Alaskan residents. The training curriculum will foster cross-disciplinary thinking and dialogue, as scholars and faculty from different disciplines at the University of Alaska assess and respond to the variety of contextual forces shaping population health in Alaska and the circumpolar north.

In an effort to generate discussion in the northern studies community about recent works in the field, book reviews from the Fall 2009 issue of The Northern Review have been published on the Northern Research Network website. Book titles and reviewers are listed below. Please click on the attachments to read the reviews.

The Northern Review is a peer-reviewed, multidisciplinary journal concerned with exploration of human experience in the North. Yukon College publishes the journal twice a year, in spring and fall. Submissions in the social sciences, humanities and arts are welcome. Contact managing editor Deanna McLeod at dmcleod@yukoncollege.yk.ca or visit http://www.yukoncollege.yk.ca/review.

The Journal of the North Atlantic, an archaeology and environmental history journal that focuses on the peoples of the North Atlantic, their expansion into the region over time, and their interactions with their changing environment, has just successfully completed its second year of publication. In addition to its two regular volumes, there are now three JONA special volumes in production. Two of these, the Hvalsey Norse Greenland conference volume and the Archaeologies of the Early Modern North Atlantic invitational volume, are already partially uploaded. Both volumes are projected to be complete by the end of 2010. Articles for the third volume, Norse Greenland Isotopes and the Norse Greenland Dietary Economy, are in various stages of review. The first articles for this volume will be posted online in 2010. See the attached flyer for an invitation to subscribers, authors, and organizers of potential conference volumes or invitational volumes.

Organizers of PolarCINEMA announce that registration for the program is open. This event will take place as part of the IPY Oslo Science Conference (IPY-OSC) in Oslo, Norway from 8-12 June 2010. PolarCINEMA will showcase and celebrate unique productions that are inspired by and increase the awareness of the polar regions. Organizers invite all filmmakers, reporters, scientists, and educators to send in their polar productions and be part of this festival at IPY-OSC.