Synopses & Reviews
"Gould's attention to the ironies and ambivalences that abound in the practice of homesteading provides fresh and insightful perspective."and#151;Beth Blissman, Oberlin College
"This luminously written ethnography of the worlds that homesteaders make significantly broadens our understanding of modern American religion. In richly textured descriptions of the everyday lives and work of the homesteaders with whom she lived, Gould helps us understand how the tasks of clearing land, making bread, and building a garden wall were ways of taking on the most urgent issues of meaning and ethics."and#151;Robert A. Orsi, Harvard University
"This is a fascinating, authoritative, and accessible look at one of America's most important subcultures. If you ever get around to building that cabin in the woods, or especially if you don't, you'll want this volume on the bookshelf."and#151;Bill McKibben, author of Wandering Home: A Long Walk Across America's Most Hopeful Landscape
"Rebecca Gould's compelling book on American homesteading brings the study of the religion-nature connection in the U.S. to a new place."and#151;Catherine L. Albanese, author of Nature Religion in America: From the Algonkian Indians to the New Age
"Gould provides brand new data and sheds new interpretive light on familiar figures and movements. At Home in Nature is a model of how to seamlessly blend ethnography and history."and#151;Bron Taylor, University of Florida, editor of the Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature
Review
and#8220;Beautiful. . . . An interesting and detailed account of the religious significance of the river. . . . Eminently readable.and#8221;
Synopsis
For nearly a century, the worldwide anthroposophical movement has been a catalyst for environmental activism, helping to bring to life many modern ecological practices, such as organic farming, community gardening, and green living. Yet the spiritual practice of anthroposophy remains unknown to most environmentalists. A historical and ethnographic study of the environmental movement, Eco-Alchemy uncovers for the first time the profound influences of anthroposophy and its founder Rudolf Steiner, whose holistic philosophies, rooted in spiritual tradition, enriched and inspired the movement. Dan McKanan shows that environmentalism is itself a complex ecosystem, and that it would not be as diverse or transformative without the contributions of anthroposophy.
Synopsis
Celebrated as an aquatic form of divinity for thousands of years, the Yamuna is one of Indiaand#8217;s most sacred rivers. A prominent feature of north Indian culture, the Yamuna is conceptualized as a goddess flowing with liquid loveand#151;yet today it is severely polluted, the victim of fast-paced industrial development. This fascinating and beautifully written book investigates the stories, theology, and religious practices connected with this river goddess collected from texts written over several millennia, as well as from talks with pilgrims, priests, and worshippers who frequent the pilgrimage sites and temples located on her banks. David L. Haberman offers a detailed analysis of the environmental condition of the river and examines how religious practices are affected by its current pollution. He introduces Indian river environmentalism, a form of activism that is different in many ways from its western counterpart. River of Love in an Age of Pollution concludes with a consideration of the broader implications of the Yamunaand#8217;s plight and its effect on worldwide efforts to preserve our environment.
Synopsis
"Very few scholars in religious studies have achieved Haberman's combination of textual and ethnographic authority. The book is groundbreaking, building on his achievements in the study of the religious traditions of Braj; he is widely regarded as a major authority on this area of Hinduism's complex regional matrix. The superior scholarship, combined with the author's personal voice, gives the book additional resonance, bringing to light an urgent environmental and moral challenge."and#151;Paul B. Courtright, co-editor, From the Margins of Hindu Marriage: Essays in Gender, Religion, and Culture
Synopsis
Motivated variously by the desire to reject consumerism, to live closer to the earth, to embrace voluntary simplicity, or to discover a more spiritual path, homesteaders have made the radical decision to go "back to the land," rejecting modern culture and amenities to live self-sufficiently and in harmony with nature. Drawing from vivid firsthand accounts as well as from rich historical material, this gracefully written study of homesteading in America from the late nineteenth century to the present examines the lives and beliefs of those who have ascribed to the homesteading philosophy, placing their experiences within the broader context of the changing meanings of nature and religion in modern American culture.
Rebecca Kneale Gould investigates the lives of famous figures such as Henry David Thoreau, John Burroughs, Ralph Borsodi, Wendell Berry, and Helen and Scott Nearing, and she presents penetrating interviews with many contemporary homesteaders. She also considers homesteading as a form of dissent from consumer culture, as a departure from traditional religious life, and as a practice of environmental ethics.
About the Author
David L. Haberman is Professor of Religious Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington. He is the author of Acting as a Way of Salvation: A Study of Raganuga Bhakti Sadhana, Journey through the Twelve Forests: An Encounter with Krishna, and The Bhaktirasamrtasindhu of Rupa Gosvamin.
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgments
A Homesteading Time Line
Introduction
1. Conversion
2. Getting (Not Too) Close to Nature
3. Homemade Ritual
Interlude: Interpreting Ambivalence: Homesteading as Spiritual and Cultural Work
4. The Reenchantment of the Farm: John Burroughs Goes Back to the Land
5. Scott Nearing and the Social Gospel of Agriculture
6. Ambivalent Legacies I: The Dynamics of Engagement and Retreat
7. Ambivalent Legacies II: Gender, Class, Nature, and Religion
Appendix: Of Hoes and Huckleberries: A Note on Method
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index