Course Description

This course will explore the Circumpolar Arctic from the perspectives of science, culture, geography. sovereignty, and Indigenous Peoples. Dr. Mark Terry, a decorated polar explorer, will share his experiences in the global Arctic through his research and documentary films.

Course Director

Mark Terry
Dr. Mark Terry is a polar explorer, documentary filmmaker, and professor at York University teaching environmental studies and communications. He is also the Executive Director of the United Nations’ Youth Climate Report, a database of short films made by the global community of youth to inform UN policymakers of climate impacts around the world. In November, 2024, he was awarded the J. Robert Cox Award for Environmental Communication and Civic Engagement by the National Communications Association in Washington. He is the first Canadian to win this award in its 110-year history. He has also been decorated for polar exploration by the Explorers Club with their Stefansson Medal and by Queen Elizabeth with her Diamond Jubilee Medal for his international humanitarian work. Dr. Terry has written three academic books: The Geo-Doc: Geomedia, Documentary Film, and Social Change (2020); The Emerging Role of Geomedia in the Environmental Humanities (2022); and Speaking Youth to Power: Influencing Climate Policy at the United Nations (2023). The distinguished scholar is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, and a Fellow of The Explorers Club.

Mark Terry

Term and Time

Winter 2026 – starting January
9:50 am on Friday morning
Room TBA in York Hall

Course Outline

Two weeks before the course starts, you can download a printable PDF giving the 10-week detailed course outline.

NOTE: The course outline opens in a new browser tab where you cannot see the LLIR page header and menu. You can download the outline for future reading and printing. When you are finished, return to our website as follows:
— On a large screen, click the X on the right side of the browser tab to close it.
— On a smartphone, click the back button displayed as a back arrowhead ( < ) .

Lecture Notes

Links to resources such as additional reading or play lists are provided here as the Course Director makes them available during term. Like the course outline, lecture notes open in a new browser tab so that you can download and print them.

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