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Anthropology and the Environment
September 1996
Charlie Stevens, Contributing Editor
Recall that as a new section we must have 250 members by the annual meetings in November. Stay tuned for Anthropology and the Environment activities at the San Francisco meetings. Please send me anything you may want to share with the membership to: cstevens@anthro.arizona.edu
Thanks.
There is a new non-profit, international organization devoted to preserving the world's linguistic diversity, and to investigating parallels and links between biological and cultural diversity. In July, at a Symposium on Language Loss and Public Policy held at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, some of the participants began discussing proposals to form an organization to support the preservation of the world's linguistic diversity. Beyond this, these participants determined that any such organization ought to co-ordinate with groups working to preserve the diversity of species and ecosystems, thereby emphasizing the mutually reinforcing importance of culture and biological diversity. After several months work on a Statement of Purpose and on a Prospectus, Terralingua was launched in April and is now in the process of formally organizing.
Terralingua has two basic purposes. First, to preserve the world's linguistic diversity in all its forms, regardless of political, demographic, or linguistic status. That means that we are concerned with the loss of any language, whether it be an endangered language, a disappearing dialect of a non-endangered language, declining bilingual use of a language (endangered or not) within a given country, and so forth. We are also convinced that attempts to preserve either linguistic or biological diversity will ultimately not succeed unless both are preserved; that is, we believe in a holistic view of diversity in culture and nature. Thus, Terralingua's second basic purpose is to promote the investigation of the parallels and links between cultural diversity (of which linguistic diversity is an important part) and biological diversity. We want to build bridges between groups and individuals working to save languages and cultures and those working to save species and ecosystems.
Interested? If you'd like to find out more, please send a message to us and we'll be glad to send a copy of the Terralingua Prospectus. It has complete information on the structures and goals of the organization, and on how to join. contact:
Terralingua
ATTN: David Harmon, Secretary-Treasurer
P.O. Box 122
Hancock, Michigan 49930-0122 USA
gws@mail.portup.com
The Society for Linguistic Anthropology will be presenting the Terralingua Statement of purpose in the October AN Newsletter. This is an interesting interdisciplinary approach towards conservation and research on systemic issues in understanding the interrelationships between the environment, human agency, and language. Give these folks a call if your interested.
To save y'all from having to read all the abstracts in the next annual meeting program, check this out. Sponsored by NASA, the anthropologists, not the rocket scientists, the following session has been organized by Paige West (Rutgers);
Intersections: Place, Space, Nature, History and Science
As anthropologists, many of us have begun to examine the possibility of interactions between scientific discourse and critical cultural theory. During this examination, important details have emerged which center around the nature of science, the efficacy of produced realities, and the usefulness of each of these ways of apprehending reality in anthropological research and theory. In addition to participating in these debates, many anthropologists have begun to imagine sites where theories can interact in a meaningful series of dialogues. One site where the dialogue between science and cultural theory has been especially fluid is current research on human and environmental interactions. Political ecology, while firmly planted in the material reality of environmental degradation, has emerged as a critical perspective on human and environmental interactions and how these relationships have been theorized in the past. Cultural critique has been used by anthropologists to dissect distributions of power in conversations concerning biodiversity, indigenous rights, and the globalization of environmental discourse. New and powerful technologies like GIS and GPS have been used to better understand environmental degradation and to empower local communities. Finally, the discussion of the production of nature and the commodification of nature has emerged as a conversation firmly situated in both ecology and social theory. With these recent advances in anthropological theory and research in mind, this panel will examine the ways that graduate students are researching environmental issues in new and multi-disciplinary ways. The papers on this panel represent a number of diverse theoretical and methodological backgrounds; as well as a wide range of field experiences. The unifying theme that runs through each of the papers is a concern with environmental change and the human components of that change. The participants include, Ann May (Rutgers), Renaud S. Deplaen (Rutgers - Geography), Francisco D. Gurri (Indiana), Paige West (Rutgers), Julie Kunen (Arizona), Robbie Ethridge (Georgia), Thomas Abel (Florida), and Dr. Bonnie McCay, discussant (Rutgers).
Robert B. Bechtel (Arizona - Psychology) is the editor of the journal Environment and Behavior, a environmental psychology journal published by Sage Periodicals. Although a psychologist. Bob has been a member of the AAA since he was a graduate student and he was interested in my getting the word to anthropologists about the journal. Environment and Behavior is an interdisciplinary journal designed to report rigorous experimental and theoretical work focusing on the influence of the physical environment on human behavior at the individual, group, and institutional levels. Articles are sought on: 1) Theoretical work on the relationships between human environments and behavioral systems. Methodological papers will be considered, provided the primary focus concerns the environment-behavioral relationship, 2) reports on research relating to evaluation of environments designed to accomplish specific objectives - e.g., the social effects of different kinds of living accommodations or the effectiveness of hospital treatment areas, 3) Studies relating to the beliefs, meanings, values, and attitudes of individuals or groups concerning various environments - e.g., the meanings and values attached to neighborhoods, cities, transport routes and devices, or recreational areas, 4) Studies concerning physical environments whose human mission is largely implicit or socially underdeveloped, 5) Studies of planning, policy, or political action aimed at controlling environments or behavior. Manuscripts of approximately 16 typed, double spaced pages should be submitted in triplicate (one original and two clear copies, articles should include 100-150 word abstract; and tables and figures should be presented on separate pages.) to: Robert Bechtel, Editor, Environment and Behavior, Environmental Psychology Program, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721.
Malve von Hassell (New York, Independent Scholar) sent in the following item which should be of interest to members who are concerned with the operation of urban community gardens: On May 26, 1996, a day-long pageant, "The Rites of Spring", made its way from one community garden to the next on the Lower East Side of New York City. The procession featured garden spirits, giant puppets, flowers, and figures such as Leguma, the goddess of vegetables, the four elements, a Trash Monster, and Compost personified. They participated in ritualized blessings of the gardens and enacted various "histories" of the Lower East Side along the way. For instance, the earth mother Gaia was kidnapped by developers who were ultimately persuaded by the garden spirits to return her. A communal salad bowl was carried from garden to garden and filled with snippets of greens from each garden. This colorful event represents just one aspect of many involving community gardens in New York City. Urban gardening initiatives represent a vastly fertile (yes, a pun) area for researching the interaction of environment and culture. Microcosms of social, cultural, political, and economic struggles in the inner city, many gardens are situated on vacant lots with little or no legal status. Gardens intersect to varying degrees with housing initiatives, the real estate market, ethnic and race issues, and individual interests versus group or "community interests". The diverse histories and current conflicts over individual gardens throw light on constructions of and contestation over the meaning of community, the complex dynamics in community-based initiatives, and the significance of urban gardening to the environmental and ecological future of cities in the US. Malve is currently in the process of developing a comprehensive study of community gardens in New York City. The focus of the proposed study is on the amount, nutritional value, and patterns of distribution and consumption of food produced in urban community gardens. Malve notes one surprising figure--according to the 1980 US Census, urban metropolitan areas produced 30% of the dollar value of US agricultural production, and by 1990 this figure had increased to 40%.
Finally, Tom Abel (Florida) has put together an Anthropology and Environment Directory. The purpose of this directory is to facilitate connections among ecologically-minded anthropologists, students, and scholars. If you would like to be added to the directory, you can contact Tom at (Abelt@nervm.nerdc.ufl.edu) with some or all of the following information: Name, academic/professional affiliation, email address, mailing address, Home Page address, brief description of research interests (25 words), geographical region of interest.