Oral History and the Environment: Global Perspectives on Climate, Connection, and Catastrophe

321 Pages·2022·22.327 MB·English

by  Stephen M. Sloan, Mark Cave

Oral History and the Environment

Oral History and
the Environment
Global Perspectives on Climate, Connection,
and Catastrophe
Edited by
STEPHEN M. SLOAN AND MARK CAVE
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Sloan, Stephen M., editor. | Cave, Mark, 1964- editor.
Title: Oral history and the environment : global perspectives on climate,
connection, and catastrophe / edited by Stephen M. Sloan and Mark Cave.
Description: New York : Oxford University Press, 2022. |
Series: Oxford oral history series | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2022018773 (print) | LCCN 2022018774 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780190684969 (hardback) | ISBN 9780190684976 (paperback) |
ISBN 9780190684990 (epub) | ISBN 9780197668108
Subjects: LCSH: Environmental sciences—Biographical methods. |
Human ecology—Case studies. | Environmental degradation—Case studies. |
Environmental disasters—Case studies. | Environmental protection—Case studies. |
Oral history.
Classification: LCC GE45. B56 O73 2022 (print) | LCC GE45. B56 (ebook) |
DDC 304.2—dc23/eng/20220718
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022018773
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022018774
DOI: 10.1093/o so/ 9780190684969.001.0001
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Paperback printed by Lakeside Book Company, United States of America
Hardback printed by Bridgeport National Bindery, Inc., United States of America
For those who lost their lives to Covid- 19, including Hazra Bi,
Hamida Bi, and Jabbar Khan; and all those narrators
who never had a chance to share their stories.

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Contributors xi
Introduction: Querying Environmental and Human Landscapes 1
Stephen M. Sloan
1. Grim Humor and Hope: Australian Oral Histories of Drought 13
Deb Anderson
2. A Pelican in Her Piety: Perspectives on Wildlife Rescue in
Louisiana Following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill 34
Mark Cave
3. F ragmentary Time: Memory and Politics in the Wake of the
Torrey Canyon 53
Timothy Cooper and Anna Green
4. T he Ghosts of Bhopal: Oral History, Environmental Justice,
and the Literature of Protest 72
Suroopa Mukherjee
5. F loating Reed Islands: Gendered Stories of Resilience during
Ecological Disaster in the Mara Region, Tanzania 88
Jan Bender Shetler
6. F ighting through the Fallout: Maternal and Feminist Resistance
and the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster 113
Heidi Hutner
7. M ore than H O: Exploring the Biophysical and Social
2
Dimensions of Water 135
Javier Arce Nazario
8. E nvironmental Guardians: Learning from Māori Perspectives
on Geothermal Fields 157
Caren Fox
viii Contents
9. W hen Little Fish Encounter a Big Dam: Environmental
Conflict on the Upper Yangtze 181
Dai Qing and Kang Xue
10. T he Free Play of Natural Forces: Wild Methods of
Oral History in Documenting Wilderness 193
Debbie Lee
11 C ulture Keepers: Voices of Renewal in the Eurasian Taiga 214
Tero Mustonen
12. W ho Speaks for the Trees?: Forestry in the Scottish Highlands 239
K. Jan Oosthoek
Epilogue: The Fall and Rise of Oral Testimony in Environmental
History 261
Christopher Sellers
References 281
Index 295
Acknowledgments
Working on this, my second book with Stephen Sloan, has been a won-
derful adventure. I feel so fortunate to have had a chance to work with such
a patient and thoughtful co-e ditor. This is also my second time working
with Nancy Toff of OUP, who has guided Stephen and me from start
to finish (not an easy task). I want to thank my wonderful wife Patricia
Murphy, who has nurtured a menagerie of ducks, herons, possums, turtles,
and many little birds that bring us joy from dawn to dusk. Thanks to my
parents Gilbert and Kathleen, who passed away during our work on this
volume. They raised my sister Terri Potter and me on a farm in Ohio, giving
us many magical moments in the natural world. The Historic New Orleans
Collection, my employer for over twenty- five years, has been dedicated to
our oral history program and has always given me a chance to explore. And
last, but not least, Monkey (a cat), who has been my constant companion
for the past fourteen years. She has had a paw in the editing of every chapter
of this book.
— Mark Cave
If you ever get the opportunity to collaborate with Mark Cave on a project,
jump at the chance. It has been my great fortune to get to do it twice. After
the success of Listening on the Edge: Oral History in the Aftermath of Crisis,
I approached Mark about doing a project to highlight the exciting research
that was being done on the environment around the globe using oral his-
tory. His expertise, standing in the field, and his connections through his
service to the International Oral History Association were indispensable in
producing the present volume. Early conversations with oral historian Jeff
D. Corrigan were also important to encourage me to do this project. I’d also
like to thank my intrepid colleagues at the Institute for Oral History at Baylor
University— Adrienne Cain, Michelle Holland, Dianne Reyes, and Steven
Sielaff. For this project, the guidance of Nancy Toff and the patience of each
of our contributors has been greatly appreciated. The University Research
Committee in the Vice Provost for Research’s office at Baylor University