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University of California Press
Open Access

Rivers of the Anthropocene


by Jason M. Kelly (Editor), Philip Scarpino (Editor), Helen Berry (Editor), James Syvitski (Editor), Michel Meybeck (Editor)
Price: $12.99 / £10.99
Publication Date: Nov 2017
Edition: 1st Edition
Title Details:
Rights: World
Pages: 242
ISBN: 9780520967939
Trim Size: 6 x 9
Illustrations: 34 color photos, 23 charts, 5 tables

About the Book

A free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press’s Open Access publishing program. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more.

This exciting volume presents the work and research of the Rivers of the Anthropocene Network, an international collaborative group of scientists, social scientists, humanists, artists, policy makers, and community organizers working to produce innovative transdisciplinary research on global freshwater systems. In an attempt to bridge disciplinary divides, the essays in this volume address the challenge in studying the intersection of biophysical and human sociocultural systems in the age of the Anthropocene, a new geological epoch of humans' own making. Featuring contributions from authors in a rich diversity of disciplines—from toxicology to archaeology to philosophy—this book is an excellent resource for students and scholars studying both freshwater systems and the Anthropocene. 

About the Author

Jason M. Kelly is Director of the IUPUI Arts and Humanities Institute and Associate Professor of History at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis.
 
Philip Scarpino is Director of the Public History Program and Professor of History at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis.
 
Helen Berry is Reader in British History and Dean of Postgraduate Studies at Newcastle University.
 
James Syvitski is Executive Director of the Community Surface Dynamics Modeling System and Professor of Geological Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder.
 
Michel Meybeck is Emeritus Senior Scientist at the French National Center for Scientific Research and at the METIS laboratory at the University Pierre and Marie Curie (Paris 6).


Table of Contents

List of Figures
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments

1. Anthropocenes: A Fractured Picture
Jason M. Kelly

PART ONE. METHODS
2. Ecosystem Service-Based Approaches for Status Assessment of Anthropocene Riverscapes
Andy Large, David Gilvear, and Eleanor Starkey
3. Political Ecology in the Anthropocene: A Case Study of Irrigation Management in the Blue Nile Basin
Sina Marx
4. Rivers at the End of the End of Nature: Ethical Trajectories of the Anthropocene Grand Narrative
Celia Deane-Drummond
5. Rivers, Scholars, and Society: A Situation Analysis
Kenneth S. Lubinski and Martin Thoms

PART TWO. HISTORIES
6. An Anthropocene Landscape: Drainage Transformed in the English Fenland
Jan Zalasiewicz, Mark Williams, and Dinah Smith
7. A Western European River in the Anthropocene: The Seine, 1870–2010
Michel Meybeck and Laurence Lestel
8. Anthropocene World / Anthropocene Waters: A Historical Examination of Ideas and Agency
Philip V. Scarpino

PART THREE. EXPERIENCES
9. The Great Tyne Flood of 1771: Community Responses to an Environmental Crisis in the Early Anthropocene
Helen Berry
10. Engineering an Island City-State: A 3D Ethnographic Comparison of the Singapore River and Orchard Road
Stephanie C. Kane
11. Decoding the River: Artists and Scientists Reveal the Water System of the White River
Mary Miss and Tim Carter
12. What Is a River? The Chicago River as Hyperobject
Matt Edgeworth and Jeffrey Benjamin

Bibliography
Contributors
Index

Reviews

"This book would be a stimulating choice for a graduate seminar bringing in students and fac- ulty from all across the university to discuss the multiple ways in which we see and value rivers (or other ecosystems, for that matter), and how we might best recognize those multiple viewpoints."
Basic and Applied Ecology
"Rivers of the Anthropocene shows how human relationships with river systems changed along with transformations in society and culture. It compels us to understand the historical perspectives on our relationship with nature that are so important in shaping our attitudes about both the environment and our own societies. This book has immense value for readers across disciplines."—Anik Bhaduri, Executive Director of Future Earth's Sustainable Water Future Programme and Associate Professor, Griffith University, Australia