Inventing global ecology : tracking the biodiversity ideal in India, 1947-1997 / Michael L. Lewis.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lewis, Michael L., 1971-

Series:

Ohio University Press series in ecology and history.

Ohio University Press series in ecology and history

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Biodiversity conservation--India.

Biodiversity conservation.

Biodiversity--Monitoring--India.

Biodiversity.

Animal ecology--Research--India.

Animal ecology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (315 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Athens : Ohio University Press, 2004.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Blue Jeans, MTV, Coca-Cola, And... Ecology? We don't often think of conservation sciences as a U.S. export, but in the second half of the twentieth century an astounding array of scientists and ideas flowed out from the United States into the world, preaching the gospel of conservation-oriented ecology. Inventing Global Ecology grapples with how we should understand the development of global ecology in the twentieth century - a science that is held responsible for, literally, saving the world. Is the spread of ecology throughout the globe a subtle form of cultural imperialism, as some claim? Or is it a manifestation of an increasingly globalized world, where ideas, people, and things move about with greater freedom than ever before? Using India as the case study, Professor Michael Lewis considers the development of conservation policies and conservation sciences since the end of World War II and the role of United States scientists, ideas, and institutions in this process. Was India subject to a subtle form of Americanization, or did Indian ecologists develop their own agenda, their own science, and their own way of understanding (and saving) the natural world? Does nationality eve

Contents:

Introduction : tracking elephants

Ch. 1. Tracking ideas : transnational science

Ch. 2. The Gateway to India : Salim Ali, S. Dillon Ripley, and the introduction of the new ecology to India

Ch. 3. Looking for the jungle : U.S. ecologists in India

Ch. 4. Scientists or spies? : ecology and Cold War suspicion

Ch. 5. "Modern" ecology comes to India : Madhav Gadgil and the CES

Ch. 6. Science to save the natural world : the ecology of conservation

Ch. 7. Indian science for Indian conservation : nationalism and wildlife biology

Ch. 8. All nature great and small : designing Indian nature preserves

Epilogue : conservation ecology crossing borders.

Notes:

Originally published: Hyderabad : Orient Longman, 2003.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0-8214-4189-2

OCLC:

80246650