conservation

This volume of RCC Perspectives combines a number of essays in Canadian environmental history and related disciplines. The essays are united by a focus on cultural perceptions of Canadian environments, by an analysis of the interrelationship between nature and culture over time, and by a discussion of the human impact on natural environments.

In this issue of RCC Perspectives, a group of scholars reflect on Ulrich Beck’s influential Risk Society (1986). They seek to critically historicize the concept of risk society, considering how it might be a product of its particular time and place as well as what it means for public debate and scholarship in the early twenty-first century.

On Water showcases the range of disciplines and methodological approaches that are brought together at the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society. In this volume, nine scholars affiliated with the RCC present their research in the fields of history, philosophy, literary studies, geography, and cultural studies.

In this volume of RCC Perspectives, diverse salmon cultures—from the aquaculture industry and biology, to northern Sami and First Nations—speak about life and work with salmon.

Around the world, fields and forests are increasingly dominated by the market, mediated by science, and subjected to new modes of transnational environmental governance. This volume of RCC Perspectives presents ethnographic insights into the impacts of such environmental globalization.

Ecovillages are arguably seen as “pioneers of change.” Yet, thus far, little light has been shed on their potential to effect change beyond their own borders. This issue of RCC Perspectives presents a much needed overview of research on ecovillages, looking at the history and philosophy of utopias and presenting case studies and ongoing research from across the globe.

This issue of RCC Perspectives takes a sweeping look at encounters with and legacies of the book, examining the global impact of Silent Spring over its half century of existence and considering the ways in which Rachel Carson’s ecological worldview equips us to understand and confront current and future challenges to our planet.

The concept of biocultural diversity was introduced by ethnobiologists to argue that the variation within ecological systems is inextricably linked to cultural and linguistic differences. In this volume of RCC Perspectives, scholars from a wide range of fields reflect on the definition, impact, and possible vulnerabilities of the concept.