{"product_id":"reassembling-the-strange-9781498576055","title":"Reassembling the Strange","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis book examines how Westerners understood and processed Madagascar and its environment during the nineteenth century.  Madagascar's unique ecosystem crafted its reputation as a strange place full of unusual species.  Westerners, however, often minimized Madagascar's peculiar features to stress the commonality of its fauna and flora with the world.  The attempt to understand the island through science led to a domestication of its environment that created the image of a tame and known world capable of being controlled and used by Western powers.  At the heart of the exploration of Madagascar and its transformation in Western eyes from a strange world to a cash crop colony were missionaries and naturalists who relied upon global experiences to master the island by normalizing the peculiar qualities of Madagascar's environment.  This book reveals how the environment played a dominant role in understanding the island and its people, and how current environmental debates have evolved fro\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter One\t\tIntroduction \t\t\t\tEnvironmental Origins \t\t\t\tMalagasy Origins\t \t\t\t\tFramework of the Book Chapter Two\t\tSeeking the Strange \t\t\t\tThe Tropical Eden and a Scientific Turn \t\t\t\tExploration and the Malagasy  \t\t\t\tThe Man-Eating Tree and Scientific Discovery Finding the Strange Legitimizing Folklore Conclusion\t\t\t\t\t Chapter Three\t\tInterpreting the Strange: Global Scientific Theories \t\t\t\tThe Case of the Aepyornis \t\t\t\tNormalizing Fauna \t\t\t\tFrom Lemuria to Biogeography \t\t\t\tConclusion Chapter Four\t\tThe Scientific Community of the LMS \t\t\t\tProtestant Missionaries as Naturalists \t\t\t\tThe Antananarivo Annual and the Scientific Community \t\t\t\tA Global and Scientific Audience \t\t\t\tConclusion Chapter Five\t\tDefining the Malagasy: Language and Race on Madagascar \t\t\t\tLanguage as a Civilizing Tool \t\t\t\tDifferentiating the Malagasy \t\t\t\tMissionary Experiences \t\t\t\tSpreading the Racial Word \t\t\t\tThe Slave Trade and the Merina Kingdom \t\t\t\tConclusion Chapter Six\t\tRedefining the Environment \t\t\t\tThe Tropical Becomes Familiar \t\t\t\tWresting Control from the Malagasy \t\t\t\tReshaping the Environment \t\t\t\tA Plantation Once More \t\t\t\tConclusion Chapter Seven\t\tA French Colonial World \t\t\t\tCreating a Colony \t\t\t\tThe Creation of Forest Reserves \t\t\t\tA New Scientific Madagascar \t\t\t\tConclusion","brand":"Lexington Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51040821182807,"sku":"9781498576055","price":81.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781498576055.jpg?v=1750947956","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/reassembling-the-strange-9781498576055","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}