Synopses & Reviews
Exploring the shifting ways in which geographers have studied nature, this book emphasizes the relationships and differences between human geography, physical geography and resource and hazards geography.
The first to consider the topic of nature in modern geography as a whole, this distinctive text looks at all its major meanings, from the human body and psyche through to the non-human world, and develops the argument that student readers should abandon the idea of knowing what nature is in favour of a close scrutiny of what agendas lie behind competing conceptions of it. It deals with, amongst others, the following areas:
- the idea of nature
- the 'nature' of geography
- de-naturalization and re-naturalization
- after-nature.
As everything from global warming to GM foods becomes headline news, the use and abuse of nature is on the agenda as never before. Synthesizing a wealth of diverse and complex information, this text makes the significant theories, debates and information on nature accessible to students of geography, environmental studies, sociology, and cultural studies.
Synopsis
As everything from global warming to GM foods becomes headline news, the use and abuse of nature is on the agenda as never before. Is geography just one of several disciplines whose task is to reveal the truths of nature so that governments, businesses and the public can know what threats and opportunities it presents for human well-being?
Nature describes and explains the shifting ways geographers have studied nature, emphasizing the linkages and differences between human geography, physical geography and the middle ground of resource and hazards geography. It argues that it is no easy matter to determine which of these ideas is correct. Instead, these ideas are seen to be part of a high-stakes game in which all sorts of actors--academics, citizens, politicians and the media, for example--determine how we act (or don't act) towards the many different aspects of nature. Indeed, these various actions and inactions we take have profound material and moral consequences as the ongoing controversies about human cloning and global warming indicate.
This distinctive text is the first to consider the topic of nature in modern geography as a whole. Secondly, it considers nature in all the major meanings of the term, from the human body and psyche through to the non-human world. Finally, it develops an original argument, namely that student readers should abandon the idea to know what nature is in favor of a close scrutiny of what agendas lie behind competing conceptions of nature.
Synopsis
Synthesizing complex theories, debates and information on nature this text explores the ways in which nature has been studied, emphasizing the relationships and differences between diverse branches of geography.