Conflicted American Landscapes by David E. Nye

Abstract

Reviewed by: Conflicted American Landscapes by David E. Nye Joel A. Tarr (bio) Conflicted American Landscapes By David E. Nye. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2021. Pp. ix + 201. David Nye is an outstanding and prolific historian of the social construction of technology. Among his numerous books are Technology Matters (2006), America as Second Creation (2003), Consuming Power (1998), American Technological Sublime (1994), and Electrifying America (1990). Conflicted American Landscapes is a collection of ten of his essays, half of which had previously appeared in publications in Britain, Germany, and the United States but were revised for this collection. Others in this volume were specifically prepared to fit his theme of contested landscapes with a more environmental focus than his previous, more technologically oriented studies. [End Page 283] Nations, says Nye, define themselves partly through their landscapes, and in the past, Americans primarily defined themselves with aspects of nature involving elements of both growth and preservation. The difficulty of reconciling these two concepts of landscape throughout American history resulted in conflict, as separate groups wanted different "modified spaces" in the same location. The modifying forces customarily involved the technologies of agriculture, construction, energy, and transportation. Nye maintains that there are six conceptions of nature in the American context—wilderness, pastoral utilitarian, fundamentalist Christian, Native American, and the creation of sacrifice zones. It is, he maintains, impossible to harmonize these six to create a compromise—the result is conflicted landscapes. Nye takes the reader on a journey through various and disparate landscapes over time and geographical space and shows the reader how the six factors interact in a changing discourse on nature. Several of the essays focus on locations in the southwestern United States, including three essays that strikingly explore aspects of the history and transformation of the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon as the "natural sublime" of these magnificent landscapes conflicts with proposals for development. In addition, perceptions of parts of the the Southwest region as "empty wasteland" justified their exploitation as nuclear "sacrifice zones" from a utilitarian perspective. Other essays explore the changing meaning of natural bridges; the development, abandonment, and redevelopment of the Ford River Rouge complex; and the emergence of the skyscraper skyline as an expression of the "utilitarian sublime." These complex and fascinating but, from my perspective, largely dystopian essays reinforced my dispirited sense of the devastation and harm that humans have done to the nation's landscape. Given the message of the essays that compose most of the book, I was surprised to read the optimistic message of Nye's concluding chapter titled "Pragmatic Solutions." Nye argues that "culture is part of nature" and environmental destruction and related phenomena are the result of failures of imagination. A more progressive future is possible, he contends, with the inclusion of a broader set of actors collaborating in the formation of a new pastoralism. This new pastoralism would require acceptance by Americans that they are part of nature and not only its exploiters. Thus, an "ecological sublime" could replace the factors that led to the contested landscapes he describes so well. Let us hope so. [End Page 284] Joel A. Tarr Joel A. Tarr is Richard S. Caliguiri University Professor Emeritus of History and Policy at Carnegie Mellon University. He recently published, with Edward K. Muller, Making Industrial Pittsburgh Modern (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2019). Copyright © 2023 Society for the History of Technology