The Arctic from 38,000 Feet

I only realize how infinite the North seems from 38,000 feet above. Just now, as I fly home from Reykjavik to my home in Canada and pass the expanse of blues and whites of the North Atlantic and mull over what is now a completed first semester of the Polar Law Program, I feel a little overwhelmed and very much excited.

It’s always exciting to be the first. Sure, the first ever semester of the University of Akureyri’s Polar Law Program has been about as unpredictable as Icelandic weather or a traditional Icelandic cuisine buffet, but in hindsight it’s been a great four months. Our class, comprised of 12 Icelandic students and 3 international students, have successfully finished courses on security, environmental law, good governance, customary law, and an inspiring Polar Law Symposium. Like the geographic area that I now fly over, we’ve been through a vast array of material. We’ve been challenged by professors, challenged each other, and emerged with a new understanding and appreciation of the North.

This doesn’t mean it will be any easier to answer the inevitable question of what exactly what Polar Law studies are- a question I expect to get within thirty minutes of landing. In fact, I left for Iceland feeling oddly embarrassed that I didn’t know exactly what Polar Law studies were and now I return with that same feeling of academic ambiguity. Instead what I’ve learned is that rather than legal issues in the north being something you can easily list, they encompass every facet of the region’s geographic, environmental, social and cultural life. Polar law isn’t something easily definable because like the region itself, it is complex and ever changing. The difference is, rather than feeling embarrassed when stumbling to answer any questions about my studies I’ll be able to say with honesty that it is exactly the ambiguity of the studies which make it so fascinating and so important.

By Harry, M.A. Polar Law Student 2008-2010, University of Akureyri