scholarly journals The Eco-space and Female Agency in Bole Butake’s Lake God

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 27-36
Author(s):  
Vivian Ntemgwa Nkongmenec

Abstract The ever-increasing environmental crises and the subsequent decay of the earth is a veritable call for concern which has stimulated man’s consciousness vis-à-vis his own very existence and his natural surroundings. There is therefore, the need for continuous resistance against the socio-cultural, political and economic manoeuvres that place man and his environment at extreme ends. This paper, therefore, focuses on the study of Bole Butake’s play: Lake God. It adopts both the eco-critical and eco-feminist approaches and hypothesizes that Butake’s depiction of a panoply of issues that centre around the female body and the land foreshadow a quest to overcome ecological and female oppression in order to render the land a more fertile ground for sustainable development and female empowerment. The paper contends that Butake’s play resonates a feminist self-consciousness which is suggestive of the need to seek alternative means of combating land exploitation in order to sustain a symbiotic relationship between man and his eco-space. In reading Butake’s work from an eco-feminist perspective, this paper intends to show that the characters he creates and the milieu in which they are positioned place the woman in a precarious state. Drawing therefore, from the global tenets of eco-feminism which posit that the woman and nature are related based on their history of domination and exploitation, this paper intends to revisit the eco-space and female agency in Butake’s work to postulate that the woman has the power to preserve the land and to create a healthy and conducive atmosphere. The paper, thus, exemplifies the author’s admiration for one’s native land which must be treasured and protected.

2017 ◽  
Vol 156 (2) ◽  
pp. 261-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
MATHEW DOMEIER ◽  
TROND H. TORSVIK

AbstractA half-century has passed since the dawning of the plate tectonic revolution, and yet, with rare exception, palaeogeographic models of pre-Jurassic time are still constructed in a way more akin to Wegener's paradigm of continental drift. Historically, this was due to a series of problems – the near-complete absence ofin situoceanic lithosphere older than 200 Ma, a fragmentary history of the latitudinal drift of continents, unconstrained longitudes, unsettled geodynamic concepts and a lack of efficient plate modelling tools – which together precluded the construction of plate tectonic models. But over the course of the last five decades strategies have been developed to overcome these problems, and the first plate model for pre-Jurassic time was presented in 2002. Following on that pioneering work, but with a number of significant improvements (most notably longitude control), we here provide a recipe for the construction of full-plate models (including oceanic lithosphere) for pre-Jurassic time. In brief, our workflow begins with the erection of a traditional (or ‘Wegenerian’) continental rotation model, but then employs basic plate tectonic principles and continental geology to enable reconstruction of former plate boundaries, and thus the resurrection of lost oceanic lithosphere. Full-plate models can yield a range of testable predictions that can be used to critically evaluate them, but also novel information regarding long-term processes that we have few (or no) alternative means of investigating, thus providing exceptionally fertile ground for new exploration and discovery.


Author(s):  
Christof Pforr ◽  
Andreas Megerle

A sharp increase in interest in geotourism worldwide in recent years has transformed many suitable regions into unique geotourism destinations opening up great opportunities for geoconservation and regional sustainable development. To fully capitalize on this potential, however, it is essential to bring together the fragmented stakeholders from the public and private sectors and establish appropriate structures and processes to facilitate their effective communication and collaboration. Only through such a partnership can an adequate knowledge base, built on diverse experiences and expertise, be established to provide certainty and guidance in the sustainable development of local geotourism products. Thus, effective communication networks and an open exchange of information are cornerstones of a successful implementation of geotourism in a region. The Network History of the Earth is a case in point for such a successful geotourism partnership. It was founded in 1997 as a framework for cooperation between a range of diverse stakeholders working together to develop a high quality sustainable tourism product based on the unique georesources of South-West Germany (Pforr and Megerle, 2006). South-West Germany mainly comprises the State of Baden-Württemberg and covers an area of 35,752 square kilometres with a population of around 10.7 million people (see Figure 8.3). A typical feature of the state is its wide variety of natural landscapes which can be subdivided into three main landforms, the Upper Rhine Graben (Oberrheingraben) in the west surrounded by the Black Forest (Schwarzwald) in the east and the Vosges Mountains (Vogesen) on the western French side, the southwestern cuesta landscape (Schichtstufenland) gently sloping towards the south-east as well as the Alpine piedmont (Alpenvorland). These diverse and distinct landscapes form the resource base of tourism, and, in some cases, like the jurassic geopark Swabian Alb and the mining areas of the Black Forest, also for geotourism (Geyer and Megerle, 2003). The service sector industries contribute almost 34 per cent to the state’s economic activities with tourism being an important industry for the state in general, but especially economically significant for regional areas.


Author(s):  
ROY PORTER

The physician George Hoggart Toulmin (1754–1817) propounded his theory of the Earth in a number of works beginning with The antiquity and duration of the world (1780) and ending with his The eternity of the universe (1789). It bore many resemblances to James Hutton's "Theory of the Earth" (1788) in stressing the uniformity of Nature, the gradual destruction and recreation of the continents and the unfathomable age of the Earth. In Toulmin's view, the progress of the proper theory of the Earth and of political advancement were inseparable from each other. For he analysed the commonly accepted geological ideas of his day (which postulated that the Earth had been created at no great distance of time by God; that God had intervened in Earth history on occasions like the Deluge to punish man; and that all Nature had been fabricated by God to serve man) and argued they were symptomatic of a society trapped in ignorance and superstition, and held down by priestcraft and political tyranny. In this respect he shared the outlook of the more radical figures of the French Enlightenment such as Helvétius and the Baron d'Holbach. He believed that the advance of freedom and knowledge would bring about improved understanding of the history and nature of the Earth, as a consequence of which Man would better understand the terms of his own existence, and learn to live in peace, harmony and civilization. Yet Toulmin's hopes were tempered by his naturalistic view of the history of the Earth and of Man. For Time destroyed everything — continents and civilizations. The fundamental law of things was cyclicality not progress. This latent political conservatism and pessimism became explicit in Toulmin's volume of verse, Illustration of affection, published posthumously in 1819. In those poems he signalled his disapproval of the French Revolution and of Napoleonic imperialism. He now argued that all was for the best in the social order, and he abandoned his own earlier atheistic religious radicalism, now subscribing to a more Christian view of God. Toulmin's earlier geological views had run into considerable opposition from orthodox religious elements. They were largely ignored by the geological community in late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Britain, but were revived and reprinted by lower class radicals such as Richard Carlile. This paper is to be published in the American journal, The Journal for the History of Ideas in 1978 (in press).


Author(s):  
Eve Z. Bratman

Sustainable development is among the foremost ideas that guide societal aspirations around the world. This book interrogates the concept through a critical lens, examining both its history and the trajectory of its manifestations in the Brazilian Amazon. The book argues that sustainable development is a concept that is better understood as involving embroilments and ongoing processes of contestation rather than a single end goal. The research offers historical analysis of Amazonian development from the colonial era into the discourse and praxis of sustainable development in contemporary times, and then illustrates the tensions of sustainable development plans that are experienced by people living in the areas geographically the closest to where those plans are being implemented. The history of the Brazilian Amazon is introduced to readers through focused discussions on the tensions between making grand plans for the region and the everyday practices and experiences of sustainable development, which involve considerably more muddling. Case studies explore agrarian reform initiatives that occur alongside road paving projects, the creation of extractive reserves and conservation areas that follow in the wake of assassinations, and the construction of a massive hydroelectric dam. While Amazonian sustainable development is a widely-accepted imperative, the research presented here shows how land use and infrastructure plans conducted in the name of sustainable development often perpetuate and reinforce economic and political inequalities.


This volume vividly demonstrates the importance and increasing breadth of quantitative methods in the earth sciences. With contributions from an international cast of leading practitioners, chapters cover a wide range of state-of-the-art methods and applications, including computer modeling and mapping techniques. Many chapters also contain reviews and extensive bibliographies which serve to make this an invaluable introduction to the entire field. In addition to its detailed presentations, the book includes chapters on the history of geomathematics and on R.G.V. Eigen, the "father" of mathematical geology. Written to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the International Association for Mathematical Geology, the book will be sought after by both practitioners and researchers in all branches of geology.


Nature ◽  
1956 ◽  
Vol 177 (4500) ◽  
pp. 155-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. JACOBS ◽  
D. W. ALLAN
Keyword(s):  

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