ABSTRACT
Students initially think of Arctic place as a wilderness barren of human life, pristine and untouched. A basic orientation to cultural studies and narrative theory is beneficial in helping students deconstruct their view of Arctic place, as well as explore reasons for how and why they held certain expectations. Discussing the range of familiar and unfamiliar features found in course readings is an effective way to illustrate how past experiences in Arctic place shaped Arctic notions of those earlier inhabitants and visitors. The long history of Arctic painting and photography has shaped modern-day expectations of how Arctic place should look, not necessarily as it actually might be. Issues of privilege and power are as much a part of Arctic place as anywhere else, evident in all cases where scientific exploration has accompanied and facilitated colonial and exploitative processes.
