Perspective Of Environmental History Research Articles

‶Don’t Say Neigh, Say Yay”

‶Don’t Say Neigh, Say Yay”

“¡Abajo los médanos!”: Orígenes del conflicto entre dunas costeras y humanos en la ciudad de Veracruz (siglos XVI-XIX)

The aim of this article is to analyze, from the perspective of environmental history and of history of science, the relationship between médanos (coastal dunes) and humans in the city and port of Veracruz based on the sand removal project of 1880 and through following the conflict between both actors from the 16th to 19th centuries. This conflict had its origin in the construction of a negative vision of thecoastal dunes of Veracruz by colonizers, physicians and naturalists, which implied that this coastal ecosystem had to be destroyed due to being infertile, unhealthy (mainly associated with yellow fever) and hindering modernity. Thus, the configuration of the colonialist, Eurocentric and anthropocentric project of modernity is on the basis of the said negative vision. Through a methodology that combines following and the Actor-Network Theory, besides the use of various sources (press, correspondence, historical maps, a relación geográfica, medical treatises and studies and urbanistic and naturalist works), the collective of human and non-human actors involved in the mentioned conflict is recreated.

Philosophical values and landscape cognition of Orchid Pavilion in Zhejiang from the perspective of environmental history

Philosophical values and landscape cognition of Orchid Pavilion in Zhejiang from the perspective of environmental history

The Great Geographical Discoveries from the Perspective of Environmental History--A book report on The Columbian Exchange

The Columbian Exchange, the masterpiece of the American historian Alfred W. Crosby, is honored as the founding text for researches on environmental history, in which the author Crosby explored an environmental-history perspective that was novel at the time, re-examining the historic events in the Age of the Great Geographical Discoveries including Christopher Columbus's discovery of the Americas and Europeans' colonization there, and interpreting the history by virtue of exchanges and transitions of the environment and the creatures therein. From the perspective of historical research, this ecological-history perspective represented at that time a pioneering research progress.

CHARTING THE STAGES OF ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY : ECOLOGICAL READING OF JAMES MICHENER’S HAWAI’I

This study analyzes James Michener’s Hawai’i to underline how the environment was changed, altered and transformed over time based on differing paradigms of conceptualizing nature and environment. It primarily focuses on how the Native Hawai’ians, American settlers and Chinese immigrants have contrasting ways of perceiving the more-than-human world. The stages of environmental history, as underlined by Worster and Cronon argue how the differing paradigm is intertwined within the cultural contexts and socio-historical circumstances of a particular ethnicity in Hawai’i. Their paradigm manifested through social reproduction resulting from the mode of production, either instrumentalising or respecting the land. Moreover, race, social status and gender also problematize how the environment is conceptualized. From the perspective of environmental history, the environment is positioned as dynamic and changing, contrary to a prior depiction of nature as passive and static. The finding suggests that environmental perspectives in the novel Hawai’i can provide an avenue to reinterpreting human and non-human relationships by considering humanity as part of the natural world.

Controlling the “Wilderness” Through a Rationalised Reindeer Husbandry: The Establishment of the Sámi Nomad School in Sweden, 1906–1917

This article discusses the Swedish nomad school system (nomadskola, 1913–1962), targeting the children of the reindeer herding Sámi, in an environmental history perspective. Earlier research has highlighted demographics (especially social Darwinism), national economy, and reform pedagogy as the ideological foundation of the nomad school system. This article shows that the fixing of a frontier between society and wilderness was at the confluence of all of these ideas. Reindeer as a vehicle for domesticating Arctic “wilderness,” furthering economic goals in peripheries, and modernising indigenous livelihoods has been noted in the North American and Russian/Soviet contexts, as well as in Scandinavia for the second half of the 20th century. This connection has not been explicitly made in the research concerning the early years of the nomad school system. The article concludes that the Swedish government did not have the expertise to control and economically exploit the “wilderness” of the high Scandes, but the reindeer-herding Sámi did. Swedish educational authorities launched the nomad school system in order to harness this expertise and make the reindeer herding livelihood more suitable to the needs of the Swedish economy.

Development and ecological management of flood lands in Western Hebei from the perspective of environmental history (1937-1949)

ABSTRACT Previous studies of environmental history in North China have focused too much on ecological degradation and neglected human dynamism in response to environmental change. Since the fifth year of the Yongzheng era (1727), the government and the people created large-scale agrarian flood lands on both sides of the West Hebei River. However, since the mid-Qing era, the ecological degradation of the watershed has continued to hinder the development of the flood lands, and the flood lands continued to shrink due to frequent flooding. Between 1937 and 1949, initiated by all levels of the CCP-controlled regional governments, the people of western Hebei showed great initiative in managing the ecological environment of the watershed, and the flood lands in western Hebei were gradually restored and has therefore survived. It is thus clear that the regional population has not always been passive and helpless under the pressure of increasing ecological degradation in northern China since the Qing era. After 1937, the renewal of political forces and adjustments of socio-economic policies, as well as conceptual and practical environmental management and a governance of the watershed territories based on ecological principles, encouraged the regional population to adapt to the challenges posed by ecological degradation and to proactively maintain the land as a source of food and clothing.

Active Volcanoes, Active Imaginations: Fire-Spitting Mountains and Subterraneous Roars in the German Territories in the Summer of 1783

Abstract In the summer of 1783, a sulphuric, dry fog that lasted for several weeks covered much of Europe. As a result, the sun, moon and other celestial objects appeared 'blood-red'. Speculation in Europe was rife as to the cause of this unusual weather. In Iceland, the Laki fissure had erupted; from June 1783 to February 1784, it released the greatest volume of lava of any eruption on planet Earth in the last millennium. The ejected gases travelled to Europe and beyond via the jet stream. Unaware of the Icelandic eruption, some contemporaries from the German Territories hypothesised that the dry fog emanated from a local source, namely one or more supposed German volcanoes. This paper traces the reports of these 'eruptions' from the perspective of environmental history and presents translations of pertinent newspaper articles that have, for the most part, remained unstudied, in order to evaluate the possible reasons for the emergence of this idea.

Sandalwood and Human Beings: A Perspective of Environmental History

This study is to examine the interaction between humans and sandalwood from the perspective of environmental history. Sandalwood was originally an ordinary plant in nature, growing naturally. When it was discovered and used by human beings, sandalwood was brought into the world of human history. In the long history of human interaction with sandalwood, it has been placed on the consumption end, trade end, and production end, and has formed a good or bad relationship between man and nature. Based on historical documents, records and previous research results, this study uses the method of document analysis to explain the interactive relationship between human and sandalwood, so as to reveal the relationship between man and nature. We found that, the interaction between people and sandalwood has roughly gone through the stages of “the natural consumption of satisfying life”, “excessive consumption of chasing profit”, “protective consumption of promoting sustainable development”. It is also revealed that human beings constantly reflect on themselves and actively seek the sustainable way to live in harmony with nature.

Facing the Black Death: Sigrid Undset’s Kristin Lavransdatter in Times of Pandemics

At the end of Sigrid Undset’s medieval trilogy Kristin Lavransdatter (1920–1922), the heroine encounters the bubonic plague that so violently hit Europe in the mid-fourteenth century. The aim of this paper is to explore the connections between the 20th century novel and the European tradition of plague literature from the broader perspective of environmental history. Furthermore, it discusses the historical novel’s effect as a distant mirror for 20th and 21st century readers. An underlying argument is that the ethical imperative in Kristin Lavransdatter is affecting the way the protagonist encounters the plague, which may explain what distinguishes Undset from many of her contemporaries.

The Distribution Model and Spatial Structure of Market Towns in the Pearl River Delta during the Ming, Qing, and Min-Guo Periods: A Case Study of Taishan County

Previous studies have clarified that there are certain regularities in the spatial organization of traditional Chinese rural market towns as viewed from the perspective of the economic geography and local society. Nevertheless, the results of some studies concerning distribution patterns and factors influencing these patterns are contradictory, and there are few comprehensive analyses of the influence of interconnected variables. Taishan County in the Pearl River Delta of Guangdong Province is used as an example, and the results of the identification of the distribution pattern of market towns within this county are determined as clustered by using the Voronoi method and the calculated coefficients of variation (Cv). The correlation between the market towns and the physical and social environment is quantified and illustrated through Geographic Information Systems (GIS), logistic regression analysis, and graphic methods, and the application of nuclear density change rates clarifies the development trajectory, which explains the phenomenon of market town clustering with ecological and cultural significance. Overall, the results indicate traditional preferences for sites characterized by low elevation, little slope, proximity to water, and productive agricultural land, while at the local scale, the spatial–temporal arrangement of market towns reflects partitioning and interactions between distinct clans. Further integrating the perspective of environmental history, we propose that the structural relationships of natural ecology, subsistence mode, and social organization crucially constitute the site selection and layout logic of market towns.

Readings in Times of Crisis: New Interpretations of Stories about the Settlement of Iceland

Readings in Times of Crisis: New Interpretations of Stories about the Settlement of Iceland

Community-led land management: historical perspectives, future prospects

ABSTRACT This study introduces community-led land management (CLLM) as a unifying concept, drawn from an environmental history perspective, that both researchers and community members might use in analysis and reflection on land management activities carried out by communities in connection with place. By exploring the histories of three otherwise disparate case studies in south-western Australia – a catchment group, an Indigenous ranger group and an urban bushland friends group – we draw attention to common attributes of community leadership and co-operative, hands-on work in and for a defined geographical area. These case studies also suggest a trend toward increasingly structured controls within the movement, with neoliberal regulation and accountability tending to obscure community origins. While inclusive of many landcare activities, CLLM can be understood as a broader social movement covering diverse groupings, where communities continue both to lead and apply their place-specific knowledge and labour. This social movement is of crucial importance for effectively tackling the escalating environmental problems in Australia and elsewhere.

Exploration and Analysis of Educational History from the Perspective of Educational Environmental History and Environmental History.

The emergence of environmental historiography, for the first time, organically combined the history of the environment and human history and began to pay attention to the close relationship between human social changes and environmental changes. This paper explores the impact of environmental history on education from the perspective of environmental history. This paper explores and analyzes the history of the educational environment from the perspective of environmental history and studies the laws and characteristics behind the evolution of the relationship between education and environment. This paper analyzes the influence of environmental history on the three views of college students under environmental education. Further analysis of educational environmental history is improved to improve the three views of college students and promote the social development of research significance. The study of educational environmental history is of great significance to enlarge the field of educational history research, enrich the content of educational history research, and perfect the discipline construction of educational history. At the same time, the environmental perspective and ecological consciousness of educational environmental history research are the embodiment and adherence of Marxist historical materialism and environmental view.

Environments ofItalianness: for an environmental history of Italian migrations

Italian mobility played a fundamental part in the history of the peninsula, since it was a global phenomenon reaching every continent except Antarctica. The Italian diaspora counted over 26 million expatriates who left the country between 1876 and 1976 and, to date, Italy remains one of the states that has contributed the most to the Great European Migration. Although impressive, these figures do not take into account pre-unitary Italian mobilities or Italian settlements in colonial territories. By adopting the perspective of environmental history of migration, this collection of essays allows us to consider various contextually embedded migratory environments, creating a means to find common constitutive features that allow us to explore and identifyItalianness. Specifically, in this special issue, we intend to investigate how Italians transformed remote foreign environments in resemblances of their distant faraway homeland, theirpaesi, as well as used them as a means of materially re-imagining landscapes ofItalianness. In return, their collective and individual identities were transformed by the new surroundings.

The Nature of Legitimacy: Representations of the Natural World in Iskandar Beg Munshi’s Tārīkh-e ʿĀlam-ārā-ye ʿAbbāsī

This article examines history-writing in Safavid Iran and, in particular, the notable chronicle from the time of Shah ʿAbbas I, the Tārīkh-e ʿĀlam-ārā-ye ʿAbbāsī (TAAA). It rethinks Safavid history-writing via the perspective of environmental history. This article asks, “How was the natural world represented in the chronicle, and in what way did this representation shape the Safavid historical narrative?” It argues that the ways in which the TAAA portrays human encounters with nature suggest ʿAbbas’ unique sovereignty over it. Because of his piety and devotion, he was considered blessed with divine grace, making him the only human being with the ability to regulate natural manifestations—that is, to dominate, to manipulate, to survive, and to contain nature. Against a backdrop of an absence of environmental readings of Safavid history, the article suggests looking at the TAAA’s representation of this natural world as a powerful legitimizing force for ʿAbbas’ reign, as it is one that has not yet been foregrounded.

Extractivismo marino-colonial. Apropiación asimétrica de recursos marinos en el golfo de California (México) siglos XVI-XXI

En la península y en el golfo de California, el proceso de conquista colonial impuso un proceso de antropización-colonización de la relación sociedad-naturaleza a lo largo del tiempo moderno y contemporáneo. Desde el siglo XVI, este cambio se implementó mediante la inserción de los recursos naturales terrestres y marinos disponibles en el territorio sudcaliforniano en el marco de la Economía Mundo. La península y el golfo de California se vieron sometidos a un proceso, a largo plazo, de saqueo y despojo territorial que denomino “Apropiación Asimétrica” (que se traduce en una línea temporal de cuatro momentos históricos, algunos coetáneos, desde el siglo XVI al siglo XXI). En el primer momento de esta línea temporal, se describe en el texto cómo la Corona transfirió, mediante diversos sistemas de cesión territorial, el control de recursos (perlas, acuacultura, guano, sal, etc.) hacia empresarios privados encargados de extraer el capital natural para comercializarlo en mercados globales entre el siglo XVI y el siglo XX. Esta capitalización/privatización de recursos costeros-marinos a lo largo del siglo XX se evidenció en un proceso de especulación financiero territorial, orientado al desarrollo del turismo de masas como eje del modelo de desarrollo económico (tercer y cuarto momento histórico de la Apropiación Asimétrica que se analiza en el texto. La propuesta de metodología de investigación parte del trabajo que desarrollamos en el campo de la Historia Ambiental, entendida como estudio sobre las relaciones entre sociedad y naturaleza a lo largo del mundo moderno y contemporáneo, estudiado mediante el análisis de los documentos archivísticos y bibliografía de coetáneos, viajeros o documentos institucionales. Esta propuesta metodológica supone el estudio de los cambios territoriales, ambientales y socioeconómicos junto al impacto de los mismos en el capital natural del territorio sudcaliforniano, procesos que generan conflictos y luchas contra el extractivismo y despojo como modelo económico. Desde el campo de la Historia Ambiental, el concepto de extractivismo es definido como transferencia de bienes naturales de manejo comunitario hacia la esfera del mercado, enajenados los pueblos y beneficiados sectores empresariales con este proceso de privatización. De igual manera, el concepto de apropiación asimétrica implica la identificación de cómo la transferencia verificada mediante el extractivismo y despojo territorial impacta sobre la arquitectura del modelo de desarrollo económico generando episodios y realidades de injusticia ambiental, dando lugar a importantes desequilibrios territoriales. Estos desequilibrios territoriales tienen una matriz histórica que la Historia Ambiental permite narrar como un contínuum, pero que como práctica de colonización del territorio llega hasta inicios del siglo XXI como demuestra el estudio del impacto del capitalismo financiero en Baja California.

Hunting in the eighteenth century: an environmental history perspective

Hunting in the eighteenth century: an environmental history perspective

Re-evaluating the <em>Wokou</em> Problem in East Asia During the 1220s and 1390s from the Perspective of Environmental History

Re-evaluating the <em>Wokou</em> Problem in East Asia During the 1220s and 1390s from the Perspective of Environmental History

At the Edge of Resilience: Making Sense of COVID-19 from the Perspective of Environmental History

Natural disasters nearly always catch societies by surprise, even though in hindsight historians invariably conclude that being caught off-guard in this way was in fact unfounded as both the existence of the natural hazard which caused the disaster, and the societal conditions making communities vulnerable to the hazard, were clearly present before the event. Both experts and the general public also, again in hindsight, suddenly discover that similar hazards and disasters had previously occurred in the past. In many cases, however, the memory of these precursors had faded or seemed irrelevant because the context had changed so dramatically. When future historians come to write the history of the COVID-19 pandemic currently unfolding, therefore, it will probably resemble the history of other major natural, socio-natural or socio-techno-natural disasters - whether pandemics, earthquakes, tsunamis or nuclear catastrophes (Van Bavel et al. 2020). In retrospect, COVID-19 will become a subject which seems quite familiar to environmental historians used to unravelling the complex and hazardous entanglements of society and nature. What can environmental history offer at this moment, however, when the disaster - crisis or hazard - is still unfolding?