scholarly journals Historical Ecology and Ethnobiology: Applied Research for Environmental Conservation and Social Justice

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chelsey Geralda Armstrong ◽  
James R. Veteto
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Interdisciplinary Research ◽  
Historical Ecology ◽  
Scientific Collaboration ◽  
Applied Research ◽  
Cultural Landscapes ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Environmental Conservation ◽  
Built Environments

Historical ecology provides a research program and toolkit for applied interdisciplinary research in ethnobiology. With a focus on long-term changes in built environments and cultural landscapes, historical ecology emphasizes the need for scientific collaboration between disciplines for more relevant and applied academic research—particularly in service to environmental conservation and social justice.

Archaeology, Historical Sciences, and Environmental Conservation

2015 ◽  
pp. 71-90
Author(s):  
Anneli Ekblom
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Landscapes ◽  
Landscape Heterogeneity ◽  
Species Conservation ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Environmental Conservation ◽  
Traditional Practices ◽  
Sound Management ◽  
Ecological Thinking ◽  
Different Parts

Environmental conservation has long been orientated towards reconstructing or conserving ‘naturalness’. The historical sciences in combination with new ecological thinking have taught us that landscapes are constantly in flux. We now know that many landscapes that previously were regarded as natural in fact have been shaped and reshaped by people over millennia, and that human disturbance of different kinds may enhance landscape heterogeneity and biodiversity. This chapter presents cases from different parts of Africa that demonstrate how archaeology, palaeoecology, and historical analysis have contributed to reform the traditional outlook of environmental conservation and revise misconstrued landscape histories. It shows that historical studies can offer insights that contribute a better understanding of species conservation, ecosystem function, prediction of ecosystem behaviour, and sound management of cultural landscapes. The long-term historical continuities in the landscape raise awareness of the importance of traditional practices and their benefits for environmental conservation.

Making the unfamiliar personal: arts-based ethnographies as public-engaged ethnographies

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 402-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydia N Degarrod
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Embodied Knowledge ◽  
Art Making ◽  
The Public ◽  
New Thinking ◽  
Public Exhibition ◽  
Forms Of Knowledge

I present the installation Geographies of the Imagination, an arts-based ethnography about long-term exile, as a form of public ethnography that unveils the acquisition and transmission of ethnographic knowledge as interactive, emergent, and creative. I will show how the methods of collaboration and art making created bodily forms of knowledge among the participants and the audience at the exhibition of the installation that have the potential for stimulating new thinking. The use of these methods advanced the acquisition of ethnographic knowledge, and heightened the development of empathy among the participants and the researcher. Furthermore, the public exhibition of this installation allowed the participants to exercise social justice, and created a setting for socially experiencing embodied knowledge.

scholarly journals The conceit of activism in the illiberal university

2021 ◽  
pp. 147821032110034
Author(s):  
Bruce Macfarlane
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Think Tank ◽  
The World ◽  
Political Stance ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The University ◽  
Popular Image

The popular image of activism in the university involves students and academics campaigning for social justice and resisting the neo-liberalisation of the university. Yet activism has been subtly corporatised through the migration of corporate social responsibility from the private sector into the university, a trend that may be illustrated by reference to the growing influence of research ‘grand challenges’ (GCs). Attracting both government and philanthro-capitalist funding, GCs adopt a socio-political stance based on justice globalism and represent a responsibilisation of academic research interests. Compliance with the rhetoric of GCs and the virtues of inter-disciplinarity have become an article of faith for academics compelled to meet the expectations of research-intensive universities in chasing the prestige and resources associated with large grant capture. The responsibilisation of the efforts of researchers, via GCs, erodes academic ownership of the research agenda and weakens the purpose of the university as an independent think tank: the essence of the Humboldtian ideal. The conceit of corporate activism is that in seeking to solve the world’s problems, the university will inevitably create new ones. Instead, as Flexner argued, it is only by preserving the independence and positive ‘irresponsibility’ of researchers that universities can best serve the world.

Long-Term Monitoring and Research in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone

2021 ◽  
Vol 55 (6) ◽  
pp. 16-21
Author(s):  
Laurence P. Madin
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Polymetallic Nodules ◽  
Continuous Presence ◽  
Offshore Oil Industry ◽  
Offshore Oil ◽  
Term Monitoring

Abstract The widely recognized need for large-scale transition from fossil to renewable energy sources has led to renewed effort to obtain metals needed for battery-based electric transportation and other functions. A potential source of some of these metals is the deposits of polymetallic nodules on the deep seafloor. If mining of these deposits proceeds in the coming decade, the enterprise creates an opportunity for extensive, long-term oceanographic research in the mining locations. The need to monitor environmental effects of mining activity can best be met with a near-continuous presence of a research platform in the vicinity. The platform could be a ship or potentially a semi-submersible platform like those used in the offshore oil industry. Such a facility might be supported by a consortium of mining companies and also provide opportunities for academic research in ocean and climate science.

Conclusion: What academia can contribute to refugee policy

2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 146-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Idean Salehyan
Keyword(s):  
Academic Research ◽  
Forced Migration ◽  
Humanitarian Assistance ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Security Risks ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Public ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Potential Risks

This conclusion to the special issue highlights the role of scholars in advancing the public discussion about forced migration. As countries around the world are adopting increasing restrictions on the entry of refugees, academic research can help to dispel some of the myths and apprehensions regarding the risks that forced migration entails. While refugees may be linked to conflict and violence in limited circumstances, the research generally demonstrates that robust international cooperation to manage refugee settlements, provide adequate humanitarian assistance, and integrate refugees into host communities, among other policies, can help to mitigate potential risks. Directions for future research and analysis are also discussed. Forced migration scholars should endeavor to collect more individual-level data; seek to understand factors that exacerbate or reduce security risks associated with cross-border militancy; conduct research on the long-term integration of refugees; and seek to understand the causes and consequences of resettlement and repatriation policies.

China and the Revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 192-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randall Peerenboom
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Middle East ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Authoritarian Regimes ◽  
Northern Africa ◽  
Mena Countries ◽  
Turn On ◽  
Potential Sources ◽  
The Government

The 2011 revolutions in the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) led to considerable hope for some people that China would experience a similar political uprising, as well as considerable anxiety for the ruling regime. The government’s immediate response was to downplay the risk of a similar event occurring in China by distinguishing between China and MENA, while at the same time cracking down on activists and other potential sources of instability—including attempts to organize popular revolutionary protests in China. Although the government has so far managed to avoid a similar uprising, neither response has been entirely successful. Despite a number of significant diff erences between China and MENA countries, there are enough commonalities to justify concerns about political instability. Moreover, relying on repression alone is not a long-term solution to the justified demands of Chinese citizens for political reforms and social justice. Whether China will ultimately be able to avoid the fate of authoritarian regimes in MENA countries will turn on its ability to overcome a series of structural challenges while preventing sudden and unpredictable events, like those that gave rise to the Arab revolutions, from spinning out of control.

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