Description
Touching on topics ranging from seed banks to science fiction to bird-watching, Callaway argues that there is no set, generally accepted way to measure biodiversity. Westerners tend to conceptualize it according to one or more of an array of tropes rooted in colonial history such as the Lost Eden, Noah's Ark, and Tree-of-Life imagery. These conceptualizations affect what kinds of biodiversities are prioritized for protection. While using biodiversity as a way to talk about the world aims to highlight what is most valued in nature, it can produce narratives that reinforce certain power differentials-with real-life consequences for conservation projects. Thus the choices made when portraying biodiversity impact what is visible, what is visceral, and what is unquestioned common sense about the patterns of life on Earth.
About the Author
Elizabeth Callaway is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Utah.
Reviews
From birding memoirs and science fiction to seed-saving vaults and evolutionary 'supertrees,' this book serves as a primer to biodiversity concepts and explanations for a non-scientific audience.
Book Information
ISBN 9780813944562
Author Elizabeth Callaway
Format Hardback
Page Count 226
Imprint University of Virginia Press
Publisher University of Virginia Press
Weight(grams) 333g