04 found 2 records - Research Collections - Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies

Abstract: Concern over ecological and environmental problems grows daily, and many believe we’re at a critical tipping point. Scientists, social thinkers, public officials, and the public recognize that failure to understand the destructive impact of industrial society and advanced technologies on the delicate balance of organic life in the global ecosystem will result in devastating problems for future generations. In The Domination of Nature William Leiss argues that this global predicament must be understood in terms of deeply rooted attitudes towards nature. He traces the origins, development, and social consequences of an idea whose imprint is everywhere in modern thought: the idea of the domination of nature. In Part One Leiss traces the idea of the domination of nature from the Renaissance to the nineteenth century. Francis Bacon’s seminal work provides the pivotal point for this discussion, and through an original interpretation of Bacon’s thought, Leiss shows how momentous ambiguities in the idea were incorporated into modern thought. By the beginning of the twentieth century the concept had become firmly identified with scientific and technological progress. This fact defines the task of Part Two. Using important contributions by European sociologists and philosophers, Leiss critically analyzes the role of science and technology in the modern world. In the concluding chapter he puts the idea of mastery over nature into historical perspective and explores a new approach, based on the possibilities of the liberation of nature. Originally published in 1972, The Domination of Nature was part of the first wave of widespread interest in environmental issues. In a new preface Leiss explores the concept of eco-dominion and the moral obligations of human citizens of the twenty-first century.-- Provided by publisher.

Contents: The Cunning of Unreason -- Mythical, Religious, and Philosophical Roots -- Francis Bacon -- The Seventeenth Century and After -- Science and Domination -- Science and Nature -- Technology and Domination -- The Liberation of Nature?

ISBN: 9780228017257

Accession Number: P2023.08

Call Number: 04 L53t

Collection: Archives Library

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Organizing nature : turning Canada's ecosystems into resources

https://archives.whyte.org/en/permalink/catalogue26201

Medium: Library - Book (including soft-cover and pamphlets)

Published Date: 2023

Author: Biro, Andrew and Cohen, Alice

Publisher: Toronto ; Buffalo ; London : University of Toronto Press

Call Number: 04 B53o

Author: Biro, Andrew and Cohen, Alice

Publisher: Toronto ; Buffalo ; London : University of Toronto Press

Published Date: 2023

Physical Description: xviii, 264 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Medium: Library - Book (including soft-cover and pamphlets)

Subjects: Environment; Environmental conservation; Environmentalism; Ecology; Mining; Oil; Fishing

Abstract: Organizing Nature explores how the environment is organized in Canada's resource-dependent economy. The book examines how particular ecosystem components come to be understood as natural resources and how these resources in turn are used to organize life in Canada. In tracing transitions from "ecosystem component" to "resource," this book weaves together the roles that commodification, Indigenous dispossession, and especially a false nature-society binary play in facilitating the conceptual and material construction of resources. Alice Cohen and Andrew Biro present an alternative to this false nature-society binary: one that sees Canadians and their environments in a constant process of making and remaking each other. Through a series of case studies focused on specific resources--fish, forests, carbon, water, land, and life--the book explores six channels through which this remaking occurs: governments, communities, built environments, culture and ideas, economies, and bodies and identities. Ultimately, Organizing Nature encourages readers to think critically about what is at stake when Canadians (re)produce myths about the false separation between Canadian peoples and their environments."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents: 1. Introduction -- 1.1 From How to Why -- 1.2 From Ecosystem Components to Resources -- 1.3 Politics beyond Policy -- 1.4 Resourcification through Six Channels -- 1.5 Book Outline and Common Themes -- 2. Channels: From Ecosystem Components to Resources -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 Governments -- 2.3 Communities -- 2.4 Built Environments -- 2.5 Culture and Ideas -- 2.6 Economies -- 2.7 Bodies and Identities -- 2.8 Summary and Conclusions -- 3. From Fish to Fisheries -- 3.1 Introduction -- 3.2 Salmon in British Columbia -- 3.3 Cod in Newfoundland and Labrador -- 3.4 Channels in Action: Organizing Fisheries -- 3.5 Summary and Conclusions -- 4. From Forests to Timber -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.2 Growth of Timber: Saint John, New Brunswick -- 4.3 Trees, Not Timber: Port Renfrew, British Columbia, and Darkwoods -- 4.4 Channels in Action: Organizing Forests -- 4.5 Summary and Conclusions -- 5. From Carbon to Energy -- 5.1 Introduction -- 5.2 Coal in Nova Scotia -- 5.3 Oil and Bitumen in Alberta -- 5.4 Natural Gas and Fracking -- 5.5 Channels in Action: Organizing Carbon -- 5.6 Summary and Conclusions -- 6. From H2O to Water -- 6.1 Introduction -- 6.2 Diversions and Damming -- 6.2.1 Diversion -- 6.2.2 Damming -- 6.3 Drinking Water -- 6.3.1 Vancouver, 2006 -- 6.3.2 Walkerton, Ontario, 2000 -- 6.3.3 Asubpeechoseewagong Netum Anishinabek-Grassy Narrows, Ontario, 1962-? -- 6.3.4 Drinking Water: Summary -- 6.4 Channels in Action: Organizing Water -- 6.5 Summary and Conclusions -- 7. From Land to Property -- 7.1 Introduction -- 7.2 Soil -- 7.3 Symbol -- 7.4 Space -- 7.5 Channels in Action: Organizing Land -- 7.6 Summary and Conclusions -- 8. From Bodies to Life -- 8.1 Introduction -- 8.2 Wild(?)life: Non-Human Animals -- 8.2.1 Pets and Other Companion Species -- 8.2.2 Fish and Game: Wildness as Economic Resource -- 8.2.3 Parks as Spaces for Wildlife -- 8.3 Human Resources -- 8.3.1 Blood and Plasma -- 8.3.2 Surrogacy -- 8.4 The Channels in Action: Organizing Life -- 8.5 Summary and Conclusions -- 9. Resources: Organized and Organizers -- 9.1 Channels in Action -- 9.2 Common Themes -- 9.2.1 Commodification -- 9.2.2 Indigenous Dispossession -- 9.2.3 Artificial Nature-Society Binary -- 9.3 Why Does 'Resource Thinking' Matter? -- 9.3.1 Winning and Losing -- 9.3.2 Why Is It Important to Think beyond Policy?

ISBN: 9781487594848

Accession Number: P2023.22

Call Number: 04 B53o

Collection: Archives Library

This material is presented as originally created; it may contain outdated cultural descriptions and potentially offensive content. Read more.