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Thursday, March 31, 2011

Forest Dreams

For Monday, April 4th: read Nancy Langston, Forest Dreams, Forest Nightmares: The Paradox of Old Growth in the Inland West (U. of Washington Press, 1995), pp. 3-200, 247-264, and 296-306 (the first 6 chapters, the fire chapter, and the conclusion). 

  • Activity--Hanna and Roxanne: explore the use of field data in forest history (we'll go for a walk in the woods, if the weather cooperates, so wear outdoors clothing).
BLOG Due 11:30: QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

How did different sides in the 1990s old growth debates deploy different versions of forest history to support their positions?


OR:


Explore the ways that ecological and social processes influenced each other in shaping landscape change in fire-adapted forests of the West. 

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Soluri, Banana Cultures

Read Soluri, Banana Cultures, pp. 1-127 and 193-end.

For your blog post you may discuss the ways Soluri integrates agroecology, labor history, and medical history to explore the ways bananas transformed forests and people in Honduras.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Amazonia March 21

Dean, With Broadax and Firebrand, pp. 1-143, and final chapter, 348-364. For a global overview of deforesting the tropical world, Williams, Deforesting the Earth, 318-358 is valuable.

Then each of you will read ONE of the later chapters carefully (please skim the other). In class, you will have 3 minutes to summarize that chapter’s arguments for other students, so come prepared with an outline of the chapter’s central argument and supporting evidence. This will reduce the reading load for each of you, and it will also give you experience in teaching the main points of an argument to other students.

Chapter 11 (239-264):  Jo, Emily, Mallory, Diana, Roxanne
Chapter 12 (265-291): Hanna, Dee, Erin, Sam
Chapter 13 (292-318): Alev, Kendall, Katie, Cory
Chapter 14 (318-347): Amanda, Stevie, Matt, John, 



BLOG Due 11:30: QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

Discuss whether Dean seems to believe that the loss of the Atlantic rainforest is irrevocable, or whether the forest can be restored. How could conservationists use forest history to restore the rainforest? For more information about current restoration efforts in the Atlantic forest, you can visit the Nature Conservancy's website for their "plant a billion trees" campaign (all in the Mata Atlantica).

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

African forests March 7

3/7  African forests
Fairhead and Leach, selections, Misreading the African Landscape: Society and Ecology in a Forest-Savanna Mosaic (course mywebspace folder).

For your journal, you may consider: what sources of evidence do Fairhead and Leach use to support their central argument? How else might you interpret those same sources of evidence? 

PAPERS: bring to class one or two potential topics that interest you. In class, we will work in small groups to pose good questions about your potential topics. 

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

2/28: India

For 2/28, please read the Guha and Rangan articles (both in the mywebspace folder.) 

Williams will provide some helpful background information on the British role in Indian forest history: Michael Williams, Deforesting the Earth, 326-348.

Compare and contrast the two scholars' perspectives on the role of the state versus the role of the community in Indian forestry. 

Monday, February 14, 2011

Harrison Feb. 21, 2011

For Feb. 21, read: Robert Pogue Harrison, Forests: The Shadow of Civilization: 19-30, 46-58, 107-124  my webspace 


We will NOT discuss Molly Gloss, Wild Life, this week--because everyone is focusing right now  on the political situation, we'll save the novel discussion for April 14th.
  • Activity--Erin and Joelle: explore the use of literary sources in forest history.
BLOG Due 11:30: QUESTIONS YOU MAY CONSIDER:
Discuss the complex meanings of Wild Men in Forests. Or explore connections between the current political situation and Harrison's discussion of William the Conqueror and Forest Law in England.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

James Scott, Seeing Like A State

James C Scott, Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed, selections
Robert Pogue Harrison, Forests, pp. 61-81. 
optional background: Michael Williams, Deforesting the Earth, pp 87-149 (background information--you may skim this).
  • QUESTIONS YOU MAY CONSIDER:
What is Scott's central argument about the ways the needs of the state affected land tenure and forest diversity? What evidence does Scott use to support his argument? Do you find it compelling
To help guide your reading, here are several critical  concepts we'll consider from Scott. 
    • land tenure
    • cadastral survey 
    • growing power of the state
    • common property
If you're not certain what land tenure means, the FAO has a useful definition on its website (http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/005/Y4307E/y4307e05.htm). 


Amanda and Cory will be leading the class discussion activity next Monday, focusing on Picnic Point. If you want to learn more about cadastral surveys and other types of records that are discussed in Scott's Seeing Like A State, the website for the Lakeshore Preserve has some great resources: 
http://www.lakeshorepreserve.wisc.edu/landscape/landscape.htm