Field Life: Science In The American West During The Railroad Era (intersections: Histories Of Environment)
by Jeremy Vetter /
2016 / English / PDF
5.7 MB Download
Field Life
Field Life examines the practice of science in the field
in the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains of the American West
between the 1860s and the 1910s, when the railroad was the
dominant form of long-distance transportation. Grounded in
approaches from environmental history and the history of
technology, it emphasizes the material basis of scientific
fieldwork, joining together the human labor that produced
knowledge with the natural world in which those practices were
embedded.
examines the practice of science in the field
in the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains of the American West
between the 1860s and the 1910s, when the railroad was the
dominant form of long-distance transportation. Grounded in
approaches from environmental history and the history of
technology, it emphasizes the material basis of scientific
fieldwork, joining together the human labor that produced
knowledge with the natural world in which those practices were
embedded.
Four distinct modes of field practice, which were shared by
different field science disciplines, proliferated during this
period—surveys, lay networks, quarries, and stations—and this
book explores the dynamics that underpinned each of them. Using
two diverse case studies to animate each mode of practice, as
well as the making of the field as a place for science,
Four distinct modes of field practice, which were shared by
different field science disciplines, proliferated during this
period—surveys, lay networks, quarries, and stations—and this
book explores the dynamics that underpinned each of them. Using
two diverse case studies to animate each mode of practice, as
well as the making of the field as a place for science,Field
Life
Field
Life combines textured analysis of specific examples of field
science on the ground with wider discussion of the commonalities
in the practices of a diverse array of field sciences, including
the earth and physical sciences, the life and agricultural
sciences, and the human sciences.
combines textured analysis of specific examples of field
science on the ground with wider discussion of the commonalities
in the practices of a diverse array of field sciences, including
the earth and physical sciences, the life and agricultural
sciences, and the human sciences.
By situating science in its regional environmental context,
By situating science in its regional environmental context,Field Life
Field Life analyzes the intersection between the
cosmopolitan knowledge of science and the experiential knowledge
of people living in the field. Examples of field science in the
Plains and Rockies range widely: geological surveys and weather
observing networks, quarries to uncover dinosaur fossils
and archaeological remains, and branch agricultural experiment
stations and mountain biological field stations.
analyzes the intersection between the
cosmopolitan knowledge of science and the experiential knowledge
of people living in the field. Examples of field science in the
Plains and Rockies range widely: geological surveys and weather
observing networks, quarries to uncover dinosaur fossils
and archaeological remains, and branch agricultural experiment
stations and mountain biological field stations.