Monuments for the End of the World?

Abstract Drawing on heritage ecologies, this article proposes a role for the environmental humanities in formalizing a shift from predominantly historical to increasingly futures-focused heritage, reflecting the planetary shift from the Holocene to the early Anthropocene. Its geographic focus is Antarctica, a region formally dedicated to peace and science and governed through the Antarctic Treaty System. Historic Sites and Monuments (HSMs) in the Antarctic are designated to commemorate events ranging from late nineteenth century exploration to contemporary scientific endeavors. Some are tourist destinations, many are almost inaccessible, and others have disappeared under ice. One is yet to be located. As an assemblage, the HSMs appear a little unruly, entangled with geopolitics and ambiguous in purpose. Heritage ecologies suggest that natural processes should not be separated from cultural contexts and include relations between human and more-than-human. More nuanced, potentially disruptive interpretations of Antarctic heritage should extend to new sites that both recognize the peace and science principles of the Antarctic Treaty and highlight the Anthropocene’s precarities. This article is thus a provocation within the environmental humanities to rethink heritage practices with respect to nonhuman nature and the Anthropocene and to consider monuments for the end (geographically at least) of the world.