This paper discusses William Cronon's "The Trouble with Wilderness or Getting Back to the Wrong Nature", which provides a helpful critique of tendencies to encourage a mistake of equating the wilderness with a paradise it is not.
900 words (approx. 3.6 pages), 3 sources, 2005, $ 35.95
Abstract This paper relates that William Cronon's "The Trouble with Wilderness or Getting Back to the Wrong Nature" explains the escape metaphor attached to the wilderness, which draws attention from ecological work to be done in urban areas. The author points out that Cronon traces the long history of how culture addresses the wilderness, especially since the rise of science. The paper refers to three other articles supporting Cronon's thesis,which serves as a kind of warning to environmentalists of the folly of their ways in conceptualizing the environment and the work that needs to be done more accurately.
From the Paper "William Cronon's "The Trouble with Wilderness - or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature", provides a helpful critique of tendencies to encourage a mistake of equating the wilderness with a paradise it is not. (1996) This romantic habit of mind does nothing to promote the ecological revolution the world must see if it is to restore and preserve the greater natural environment. Cronon asks that the reader 'rethink', first of all, what is meant by the term of wilderness, noting that there are various kinds of it, and that the wilderness, under any circumstances is not the Utopia that current environmental activists would have us believe is so."
A comparison of James Axtell's "The Invasion Within: The Contest of Cultures in Colonial North America" and William Cronon's "Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists and the Ecology of New England".
Abstract The paper compares how James Axtell and William Cronon analyze in their respective works, "The Invasion Within: The Contest of Cultures in Colonial North America" and "Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists and the Ecology of New England", the essential aspects of the first interaction between the Native-American peoples of North America and the Europeans that colonized them. The paper explains that both authors aim to analyze the way in which this first contact between the Natives and their colonizers influenced the future development of America as a nation. The paper shows how Axtell focuses on the spiritual history of the two nations, while Cronon concentrates on the outer, external aspects of the meeting between the Natives and the colonizers. The paper posits that although the two authors manage their argumentation very well and make very interesting points about the history of the colonization, Cronon's book seems more remarkable in terms of argumentation and originality.
From the Paper "Axtell's book, as its title indicates, focuses on the way in which the three main ethnicities, the Native Indians, the English and the French attempted a mutual conversion, each struggling to impose its cultural identity over the identity of the other. Axtell thus advocates that ethnohistory is the best instrument for the examination of the confluence between the three cultures, Indian, English and French. He focuses therefore on the way in which each of the three nations perceived the others, and how they struggled to impose their own views over the others. "
Abstract This essay will look at a previous review of Cronon's Nature's Metropolis as well as two short articles by Cronon to show that his argument in his book is deeply part of his vision of the human being who uses nature to build and to dream the great sprawling cities.
Abstract This essay discusses some of the most significant dimensions of William Cronon's article "The Trouble With Wilderness". In this article, Cronon traces historical and social developments that he argues are responsible for providing Americans with an illusionary view of the wilderness, as something that is alienated from them. He offers an alternative to the contemporary, corrupting form of existence.
From the Paper "William Cronon's The Trouble With Wilderness is an essay that debunks many of our modern notions of the dwindling resources of nature andour incompatibility to immerse ourselves in real nature ..."
Tags: nature, frontier, landscape, myth, environmentalism, nineteenth century, perception
Abstract The paper reviews the book "The Trouble with Wilderness" by William Cronon. The paper illustrates the cultural biases inherent in the term, "wilderness". The paper illustrates how wilderness was considered a barren and scary place, but by the end of the 19th century, due to shifts in cultural ideology and the effects of industrialism, the American concept of wilderness changed dramatically. The paper further examines how the Bible presents two dualistically opposed views of wilderness: the Garden of Eden and the dangerous wasteland of the desert and how this dualistic worldview is at the root of the conflicts within the environmental movement. The paper concludes with Cronon's wish that all environmentalists pay attention to the cultural and historical context of wilderness.
From the Paper "Cronon's main motive in writing "The Trouble with Wilderness" is not to criticize the environmental or conservation movements but to "abandon the dualism that sees the tree in the garden as artificial," (387). All nature is sacred and sublime, including the grasses on the prairies and the marshlands in Florida. Labeling some parts of the natural world as "wilderness" makes those parts valuable in the public consciousness and consequentially, the public may ignore the beauty outside their bedroom window."
Abstract This paper reviews the work "What is History", by Edmund Hallet Carr. It looks at how the work redefines the way historical facts are understood and the importance of context in the interpretation of historical facts. It looks at the importance of a historian having an awareness of the time-frame a historical work was written in, the objectives of the writer at that time and his/her own society-based biases. The paper then brings in Cronon's "A place for stories: nature, history, and narrative" and Linda Alcoff's "The problem of speaking for others", as examples of how Carr's ideas have been used by other historians writing on the meaning of history.
From the Paper "Edmund Hallet Carr's book, What is History?, was first published in 1961 and had a major impact on the understanding of history. Reading this book over 40 years later, it still has the same impact, creating a change in the way history is viewed and understood. The lasting impact of Carr's concepts can also be seen by the way they are still applicable to modern ideas on the meaning and purpose of history."
Abstract In "Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England", Walter Cronon uses his historical and ecological expertise to cover the changes in New England's plant and animal communities taking place from the transformation from Indian to European life. It explains that the book shows how the interaction among the Indians, Europeans and the land transformed the New England forever.
From the Paper "Cronon concludes on a bleak note. By 1800, New England was far different than the land the earliest European visitors had described. The Indians were reduced to a small fraction of their former numbers and forced on to less and less usable agricultural lands. Large areas in southern New England were now devoid of animals that previously were common, such as beaver, deer, bear, turkey and wolf. Instead, hordes of European grazing animals placed a heavy burden on the plants and soils. Hundreds of miles of fences, weeds and alien grasses crisscrossed the landscape. Forests still exceeded the cleared land, but, especially near settled areas, remaining forests were significantly altered by grazing, burning, and cutting (159)."
This paper compares and analyzes the two books "The Park and the People: A History of Central Park" by Roy Rosenzweig and Elizabeth Blackmar and "Nature's Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West" by William Cronon.
Abstract In this article, the writer introduces, discusses and analyzes the books "The Park and the People: A History of Central Park" by Roy Rosenzweig and Elizabeth Blackmar and "Nature's Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West" by William Cronon. Specifically, the paper contains a comparative analysis of the two books, including the role of market relationships in the use of urban space and conflict over the meaning of public space in cities. The writer concludes that urban and public spaces owe much of their existence to market relationships in the nineteenth century and beyond. Further, the writer notes that market relationships created the economies that brought people to the cities, and the open spaces provide the incentive to keep them happy once they have arrived.
From the Paper "The meaning and use of public spaces have been contested it seems, since public parks and open spaces first appeared. It has been shown that Central Park was intended as a park for all New Yorkers, but for much of its history, the wealthiest New Yorkers were those who enjoyed it the most. Later in the park's history, different ethnic groups argued over such things as placement of statutes honoring Columbus, and other operational problems, such as funding, park policies, and such. Even as late as 30 years ago, conflicts arose over what ethnic groups could stage festivals or protests in the park, so even today, conflict over the use and who uses the space still abound."
