Winner, 2005 K.D. Srivastava Prize for Excellence in Scholarly Publishing
Do Glaciers Listen? explores the conflicting depictions of glaciers to show how natural and cultural histories are objectively entangled in the Mount Saint Elias ranges. This rugged area, where Alaska, British Columbia, and the Yukon Territory now meet, underwent significant geophysical change in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, which coincided with dramatic social upheaval resulting from European exploration and increased travel and trade among Aboriginal peoples. European visitors brought with them varying conceptions of nature as sublime, as spiritual, or as a resource for human progress. They saw glaciers as inanimate, subject to empirical investigation and measurement. Aboriginal oral histories, conversely, described glaciers as sentient, animate, and quick to respond to human behaviour. In each case, however, the experiences and ideas surrounding glaciers were incorporated into interpretations of social relations. Focusing on these contrasting views during the late stages of the Little Ice Age (1550-1900), Cruikshank demonstrates how local knowledge is produced, rather than discovered, through colonial encounters, and how it often conjoins social and biophysical processes. She then traces how the divergent views weave through contemporary debates about cultural meanings as well as current discussions about protected areas, parks, and the new World Heritage site. Readers interested in anthropology and Native and northern studies will find this a fascinating read and a rich addition to circumpolar literature.
Authors
- Bibliography, etc. Note
- Includes bibliographical references: p. [288]-302
- Control Number Identifier
- CaOOCEL
- Dewey Decimal Classification Number
- 979.8/3
- Dewey Decimal Edition Number
- 22
- General Note
- Includes index Issued as part of the desLibris books collection
- ISBN
- 0774811862 9780774851404
- LCCN
- GB2403.2
- LCCN Item number
- C78 2005eb
- Modifying agency
- CaBNVSL
- Original cataloging agency
- CaBNVSL
- Physical Description | Extent
- 1 electronic text (xii, 312 p.)
- Published in
- Canada
- Publisher or Distributor Number
- CaOOCEL
- Rights
- Access restricted to authorized users and institutions
- System Control Number
- (CaBNVSL)gtp00521792 (OCoLC)752549926 (CaOOCEL)404168
- System Details Note
- Mode of access: World Wide Web
- Transcribing agency
- CaBNVSL
Table of Contents
- Contents 8
- List of Illustrations 9
- Acknowledgments 11
- Introduction: The Stubborn Particulars of Voice 16
- Part 1: Matters of Locality 34
- 1 Memories of the Little Ice Age 36
- 2 Constructing Life Stories: Glaciers as Social Spaces 63
- 3 Listening for Different Stories 89
- Part 2: Practices of Exploration 138
- 4 Two Centuries of Stories from Lituya Bay: Nature, Culture, and La Pérouse 140
- 5 Bringing Icy Regions Home: John Muir in Alaska 167
- 6 Edward James Glave, the Alsek, and the Congo 192
- Part 3: Scientific Research in Sentient Places 224
- 7 Mapping Boundaries: From Stories to Borders 226
- 8 Melting Glaciers and Emerging Histories 256
- Notes 273
- Bibliography 301
- Index 316
- A 316
- B 316
- C 317
- D 317
- E 318
- F 318
- G 318
- H 319
- I 319
- J 319
- K 320
- L 320
- M 321
- N 321
- O 322
- P 322
- R 322
- S 322
- T 323
- U 324
- V 324
- W 324
- Y 325