Details

1. Introduction to Wetland Cultures, Past and Present.- 2. Wetland Aboriginals in Queensland.- 3. Marsh Arabs in Iraq.- 4. Malarial Greeks and their Dispersion.- 5. Paludal Romans and their Dispersion.- 6. Fen Britons.- 7. Bog Irish.- 8. Marais Acadians in Canada.- 9. A Marsh Writer in Canada and the Future of Wetland Cultures.

<p>Rod Giblett<strong>&nbsp;</strong>is&nbsp;Honorary Associate Professor of Environmental Humanities in the Writing and Literature Program at Deakin University, Australia. He has a rich publication history and research focuses on wetland cultural studies, psychoanalytic ecology, conservation counter-theology and Thoreau and Benjamin studies.</p>

“With politically sharp […] scholarship and the author’s personal passion,&nbsp;<i>Wetland Cultures</i>&nbsp;recalibrates our understanding of these watery environments, and at a time of ecological crisis, it provides essential reading for enthusiasts and policymakers alike.”&nbsp;<p>—<b>Dave Pritchard</b>,&nbsp;Coordinator, Ramsar Culture Network, UK<i>&nbsp;</i></p>

<p>“This beautifully composed and curated work takes the reader on a wonderous immersion into the cultural practices and affiliations of a myriad of continuing planetary paludal encounters between humans and wetlands. Encompassing bodily and spiritual entanglements with these complex and dynamic ecosystems, this book is a delicate and joyous watery, marshy sojourn into ways of knowing, seeing and being.”&nbsp;</p>

—<b>Mary Gearey</b>, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography, School of Applied Sciences, University of Brighton, UK<div>&nbsp;<br> “From an exploration of wetland representations in art and literature, to their environmental, spiritual and agricultural values that often reflect the colonial gaze, this book offers critical insight into this rich cultural heritage – the implications of which continue to be overlooked in the mainstream global wetlands discourse.”&nbsp;<p></p>

<p>—<b>Alan Dixon</b>, Professor of Sustainable Development, , University of Worcester, UK&nbsp;</p>

<p>Traditional cultures have a long and vital association with wetlands as sacred places imbued with spiritual and ceremonial significance that provide physical sustenance and sources of materials in paludiculture. Ancient Greek and Roman cultures denigrated wetlands as places of disease, terror, horror, the hellish and the monstrous. Judeo-Christian theology was syncretized with them into the mainstream denigration of wetlands. Wetlands are a marginalized community, an oppressed minority and non-binary, queer bodies of water.&nbsp;</p>

<p><b>Rod Giblett&nbsp;</b>is<b> </b>Honorary Associate Professor of Environmental Humanities in the Writing and Literature Program at Deakin University, Australia. He has a rich publication history and research focuses on wetland cultural studies, psychoanalytic ecology, conservation counter-theology and Thoreau and Benjamin studies.</p></div>

Engages into the cultural dimensions of the human-wetlands relationship Discusses how major civilisations have seen wetlands and integrated these within their development trajectories Places an emphasis on understanding the cultural nuances of conservation and human-nature interface

“With more than 50% of the human body being water, it should be expected that a visceral connection with wetlands runs deep through our diverse cultural histories.&nbsp; Yet much of this has been smothered by marginalising narratives.&nbsp; With politically sharp anthropological scholarship and the author’s personal passion,&nbsp;<i>Wetland Cultures</i>&nbsp;recalibrates our understanding of these watery environments, and at a time of ecological crisis, it provides essential reading for enthusiasts and policymakers alike.” (Dave Pritchard: Coordinator, Ramsar Culture Network, UK)<i>&nbsp;</i><p>“This beautifully composed and curated work is as supple and serpentine as the waterscapes it explores. The reader is taken on a wonderous immersion into the cultural practices and affiliations of a myriad of continuing planetary paludal encounters between humans and wetlands. Encompassing bodily and spiritual entanglements with these complex and dynamic ecosystems, Giblett affords us a glimpseinto other worlds running parallel with our modern lives, to question our relationship with the ancients, with landscapes, with each other. A delicate and joyous watery, marshy sojourn into ways of knowing, seeing and being that questions the very essence of our collective lives together as co-connected biota.” (Mary Gearey, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography, School of Applied Sciences, University of Brighton, UK)&nbsp;</p>

<p>“Rod Giblett presents a fascinating, original and thought-provoking account of how wetlands have shaped people and culture throughout history. From an exploration of wetland representations in art and literature, to their environmental, spiritual and agricultural values that often reflect the colonial gaze, the book offers critical insight into this rich cultural heritage – the implications of which continue to be overlooked in the mainstream global wetlands discourse.” (Alan Dixon, Professor of Sustainable Development, School of Science and the Environment, University of Worcester, UK)</p>