The new agrarianism : land, culture, and the community of life / [edited by] Eric T. Freyfogle.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Freyfogle, Eric T.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Land tenure--Environmental aspects--United States.

Land tenure.

Land use--Environmental aspects--United States.

Land use.

Land use--Environmental aspects.

Land tenure--Environmental aspects.

United States.

Sustainable agriculture--United States.

Sustainable agriculture.

Conservation of natural resources--United States.

Conservation of natural resources.

Human ecology--United States.

Human ecology.

Physical Description:

xli, 291 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Washington [D.C.] : Island Press, [2001]

Summary:

The engaging writings gathered in this new book explore an important but little-publicized movement in American culture -- the marked resurgence of agrarian practices and values in rural areas, suburbs, and even cities. It is a movement that in widely varied ways is attempting to strengthen society's roots in the land while bringing greater health to families, neighborhoods, and communities. The New Agrarianismvividly displays the movement's breadth and vigor, with selections by such award-winning writers as Wendell Berry, William Kittredge, Stephanie Mills, David Orr, Scott Russell Sanders, and Donald Worster.As editor Eric Freyfogle observes in his stimulating and original introduction, agrarianism is properly conceived in broad terms, as reaching beyond food production to include a wide constellation of ideals, loyalties, sentiments, and hopes. It is a temperament and a moral orientation, he explains, as well as a suite of diverse economic practices -- all based on the insistent truth that people everywhere are part of the land community, as dependent as other life on its fertility and just as shaped by its mysteries and possibilities.The writings included here have been chosen for their engaging narratives as well as their depiction of the New Agrarianism's broad scope. Many of the selections illustrate agrarian practitioners in action -- restoring prairies, promoting community forests and farms, reducing resource consumption, reshaping the built environment. Other selections offer pointed critiques of contemporary American culture and its market-driven, resource-depleting competitiveness. Together, they reveal what Freyfogle identifies as the heart and soul of the New Agrarianism: its yearning to regain society's connections to the land and its quest to help craft a more land-based and enduring set of shared values.The New Agrarianismoffers a compelling vision of this hopeful new way of living. It is an essential book for social critics, community activists, organic gardeners, conservationists, and all those seeking to forge sustaining ties with the entire community of life.

Contents:

Introduction: A Durable Scale XIII

Part I. New Prospects

Chapter 1. Learning from the Prairie / Scott Russell Sanders 3

Chapter 2. Linking Tables to Farms / Dan Imhoff 17

Chapter 3. Substance Abuse / Alan Thein Durning 29

Chapter 4. Prairie University / Stephanie Mills 45

Chapter 5. The Whole Horse / Wendell Berry 63

Chapter 6. What Comes Around / Gene Logsdon 81

Chapter 7. The Urban-Agrarian Mind / David W. Orr 93

Part II. The Sirens of Conquest

Chapter 8. The Decline of the Apple / Anne Mendelson 111

Chapter 9. The Competitive Edge / Don Kurtz 129

Chapter 10. Owning It All / William Kittredge 145

Chapter 11. The Wealth of Nature / Donald Worster 161

Part III. Sharing Life

Chapter 12. Great Possessions / David Kline 181

Chapter 13. Reclaiming the Commons / Brian Donahue 197

Chapter 14. The Common Life / Scott Russell Sanders 217

Chapter 15. The Boundary / Wendell Berry 239.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 263-271) and index.

ISBN:

1559639210

1559639202

OCLC:

47296156