Description
Book SynopsisFocusing on these contrasting views of glaciers between Aboriginal peoples and European visitors in northern Canada and Alaska, Julie Cruikshank demonstrates how local knowledge is produced, rather than discovered, through colonial encounters, and how it often conjoins social and biophysical processes.
Trade ReviewPerhaps the crucial word in the title is “Listen.” The reader must listen carefully to the words as spoken by others in this beautifully crafted book.
Do Glaciers Listen? is a fascinating read. Cruikshank’s discussion of how encounters shape and create perceptions of the world, and how layers of meaning are forced onto landscapes by peoples is thoroughly thought provoking. This book is highly recommended for scientitst, anthropologists, historians, and everyone with an interest in the social construction of landscapes. -- Susan Rowley, Canadian Polar Commission * Meridian, Fall/Winter 2005 *
Cruikshank’s book is sophisticated, rigorous, and exciting. Its pages brim with nuanced takes on epistemology, sensitive descriptions of ice, and rigorous analyses of cultural interactions. This is indeed a tour de force in interdisciplinary studies. -- Eric G. Wilson,Wake Forest University * American Historical Review *
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction: The Stubborn Particularities of Voice
Part 1: Matters of Locality
1 Memories of the Little Ice Age
2 Constructing Life Stories: Glaciers as Social Spaces
3 Listening for Different Stories
Part 2: Practices of Exploration
4 Two Centuries of Stories from Lituya Bay: Nature, Culture, and La Pérouse
5 Bringing Icy Regions Home: John Muir in Alaska
6 Edward James Glave, the Alsek, and the Congo
Part 3: Scientific Research in Sentient Places
7 Mapping Boundaries: From Stories to Borders
8 Melting Glaciers and Emerging Histories
Notes
Bibliography
Index
