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from the editor
| THIS ISSUE BEGINS with Douglas Weiner's 2005 American Society for Environmental History presidential address. Weiner picks up the gauntlet thrown down by poststructuralism: What is our subject, if "nature" is a social construction? For Weiner, the poststructuralist challenge to our authority as interpreters of the world is a blessing as well as a curse. By acknowledging that our interpretations are socially constructed, we may see more clearly that the stories we tell all are ultimately about power. |
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In different ways, the articles by Lisa Brady and David Biggs contribute to the growing literature on the environmental history of war. Brady argues that American ideas about nature played a key role in the success of the Union during the Civil War. By attacking the South's farms and plantations, the Union forced the leaders of the Confederacy to face the devastating prospect that their world once again would become a barren wilderness rather than a productive, well- ordered landscape. Biggs considers how war shaped the ways people viewed the U Minh forest in Vietnam. He concludes that decades of struggle intensified a pioneer land-use ethic that now works against international forest-preservation efforts. |
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Gregory Cushman's article on the fate of Peru's guano-producing birds is a provocative study of the strengths and weaknesses of the conservationist "gospel of efficiency." After a period of intense exploitation of the birds in the nineteenth century, Peruvian and American scientists were able to restore their populations in the first decades of the twentieth century. That success had far-reaching economic and intellectual consequences. But the same logic that helped to save the guano birds ultimately condemned them to suffer again. |
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Lynne Heasley's reflection was inspired by Paul Sutter's essay in the January 2003 issue, "What Can U. S. Environmental Historians Learn From Non-U.S. Environmental Historiography?" In that essay, Sutter observed that environmental historians of Africa were less likely than scholars of the United States to "blame humans," and Heasley seeks to explain that difference by analyzing the social and physical conditions typical of research in Africa. To a much greater extent than most Americanists, Africanists conduct their research as members of communities. Heasley ends by suggesting ways that Americanists might benefit by doing more "participatory" research. |
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In the "Gallery" essay, ASEH Executive Director Lisa Mighetto analyzes the imagery of the Pacific Northwest fishing industry at the start of the twentieth century, including the image on this issue's cover. Why would a trade publication put mermaids on its covers? Mighetto's answer is fascinating.
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| IN THE DISCIPLINE of history, the publication of books is the great measure of success, so historians often think about the condition of book publishers. We don't think nearly as often about the institutional support for academic journals. Though we routinely acknowledge the critical role that university presses play in nurturing scholarship, we rarely recognize the support that many journals receive from universities. But that support also is critical. |
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While I have served as editor, Pennsylvania State University has supported the journal in several ways. The university has reduced my teaching load significantly so that I can devote more time to editorial duties. The university also has provided a graduate assistant, some administrative support, and extra funds for journal-related travel. Lastly, Penn State has paid for journal-related supplies, postage, and long-distance telephone. |
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Not every university is willing to invest in journals. When I applied for the editorship, several people told me that they had hoped to apply but couldn't, because they couldn't get institutional support. Of course, the challenge of securing support for journals goes beyond our field. The Society for the History of Technology, which publishes the excellent journal Technology and Culture, recently has begun a campaign to raise an endowment for the journal's editor, since institutional support no longer can be taken for granted. |
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I especially appreciate the commitment of two administrators at Penn State— A. Gregg Roeber, head of the history department when I applied for the editorship, and Susan Welch, dean of the College of Liberal Arts. Their support allowed me to do a job that has taught me much, and enabled me to be creative in new ways. But I also feel grateful to Penn State in a less personal way, just as I feel grateful to the other institutions that have helped Environmental History and its predecessors, including the New Jersey Institute of Technology, the University of Nevada–Las Vegas, and the University of California–Santa Cruz. Their willingness to support journal work has helped our field to grow. Thanks to all! |
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ADAM ROME |
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