Monday, January 09, 2017

What is Andrew Stuhl reading?

Featured at Writers Read: Andrew Stuhl, author of Unfreezing the Arctic: Science, Colonialism, and the Transformation of Inuit Lands.

His entry begins:
I just finished reading and teaching Chad Montrie's book, A People's History of Environmentalism in the United States. Montrie acknowledges that while most authors point to Rachel Carson and her 1962 book Silent Spring as the start of the environmental movement in America, environmental thought and action in the country have much deeper roots. He explores these roots back to the early 1800s, particularly in industrializing New England and the appreciation for nature made clear by workers in textile mills. He continues to reveal...[read on]
About Unfreezing the Arctic, from the publisher:
In recent years, journalists and environmentalists have pointed urgently to the melting Arctic as a leading indicator of the growing effects of climate change. While climate change has unleashed profound transformations in the region, most commentators distort these changes by calling them unprecedented. In reality, the landscapes of the North American Arctic—as well as relations among scientists, Inuit, and federal governments— are products of the region’s colonial past. And even as policy analysts, activists, and scholars alike clamor about the future of our world’s northern rim, too few truly understand its history.

In Unfreezing the Arctic, Andrew Stuhl brings a fresh perspective to this defining challenge of our time. With a compelling narrative voice, Stuhl weaves together a wealth of distinct episodes into a transnational history of the North American Arctic, proving that a richer understanding of its social and environmental transformation can come only from studying the region’s past. Drawing on historical records and extensive ethnographic fieldwork, as well as time spent living in the Northwest Territories, he closely examines the long-running interplay of scientific exploration, colonial control, the testimony and experiences of Inuit residents, and multinational investments in natural resources. A rich and timely portrait, Unfreezing the Arctic offers a comprehensive look at scientific activity across the long twentieth century. It will be welcomed by anyone interested in political, economic, environmental, and social histories of transboundary regions the world over.
Visit Andrew Stuhl's website.

The Page 99 Test: Unfreezing the Arctic.

Writers Read: Andrew Stuhl.

--Marshal Zeringue