Seismic Shifts in Mountaineering: Interdisciplinary Perspectives from the Humanities hero image.
Seismic Shifts in Mountaineering: Interdisciplinary Perspectives from the Humanities

High-altitude mountaineering as a sport has continued to rise in popularity, with the 21st century marking a range of dichotomies and cultural, political, and social shifts. For instance, while climbing and popular accounts of ascents are still mostly considered the preserve of men, recent decades have seen a rise in female mountaineering. Furthermore, while mountaineering draws more attention to post-colonial societies, where the world’s highest mountains are located, it has also become a commercially successful venture. Finally, while climbing in general promises physical benefits, it is also a highly risky activity with fatalities on the rise. The increasing popularity of mountaineering is reflected in an increasing academic interest beyond the fields of, for instance, geography and medicine. In fact, as hinted at above, mountaineering relates to a range of topics central to the humanities, including questions of social change, decolonisation, language use, and many others. The Special Collection brings together perspectives from different areas with an interest in mountaineering, such as cultural studies, gender studies, history, linguistics, and literary studies, while incorporating insights from the fields traditionally invested in the sport. Integrating different perspectives advances mountaineering research and highlights the importance of critically engaging with mountaineering from a humanities perspective.

This Special Collection's editors are:

Sven Leuckert, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany
Franziska Röber, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany

Banner image © Franziska Röber, 2025.

Editors: Sven Leuckert (Guest Editor), Franziska Röber (Guest Editor)


Seismic Shifts in Mountaineering: Interdisciplinary Perspectives from the Humanities

Calling the Mountains in East and West: A Contrastive Corpus Analysis on the Language of German Climbing Communities
Calling the Mountains in East and West: A Contrastive Corpus Analysis on the Language of German Climbing Communities

Katharina Claudia Hummel and Robert Cornelis Schuppe

Volume 12 • Issue 2 • 2026

Also a part of:

Special Collection: Seismic Shifts in Mountaineering: Interdisciplinary Perspectives from the Humanities

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Special Collections