This book introduces an innovative approach to sustainable and regenerative mountain development. Transdisciplinary to biophysical and biocultural scales, it provides answers to the "what, when, how, why, and where" that researchers question on mountains, including the most challenging: So What! Forwarding thinking in its treatment of core subjects, this decolonial, non-hegemonic volume inaugurates the Series with contributions of seasoned montologists, and invites the reader to an engaging excursion to ascend the rugged topography of paradigms, with the scaffolding hike of ambitious curiosity typical of mountain explorers. Chapter 8 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.
In Pamirian Crossroads and Beyond Hermann Kreutzmann offers insights in his fieldwork-based research in High Asia during four decades. A human-geographical perspective is pursued in which case studies about colonial and post-colonial boundary-making, exchange relations of mountain communities across international borders, the transformation of agricultural and pastoral practices and the effects of modernisation strategies in neighbouring countries are centred in the Hindukush, Wakhan Quadrangle, Pamirian Crossroads, Karakoram Mountains and Himalaya. Empirical evidence is augmented by in-depth archival research, thus allowing a perspective from the 19th to the 21st century. By shifting the focus to mountain peripheries and emphasising spaces in between urban centres of power in Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, and the Central Asian Republics different arenas of confrontation and effective changes emerge.
This encyclopedic work on Islam comprises English translations of all canonical ḥadīths, complete with their respective chains of transmission (isnāds). By conflating the variant versions of the same ḥadīth, the repetitiveness of its literature has been kept wherever possible to a minimum. The latest methods of isnād analysis, described in the general introduction, have been employed in an attempt to identify the person(s) responsible for each ḥadīth. The book is organized in the alphabetical order of those persons. These are the so-called ‘common links’. Each of them is listed with the tradition(s) for the wording of which he can be held accountable, or with which he can at least be associated. Within each article, the traditions are referred to in bold figures in the numerical order as they were distilled from the more than 19,000 isnāds listed in Tuḥfat al-ashrāf bi maʿrifat al-aṭrāf by the Syrian ḥadīth scholar Yusuf b. ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān al-Mizzī (d. 742/1341). Medieval commentaries as well as assorted biographical lexicons were drawn upon to illustrate the text of each tradition in all theological, social, legal and other noteworthy aspects discernible in it. Thus no details of eschatology, superstitions, miraculous phenomena, Jahili practices etc. were left without the clarifying comments of contemporary and later theologians, historians and ḥadīth experts culled from such works as the Fatḥ al-bārī, a major commentary of Bukhārī’s Ṣaḥīḥ by Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī (d. 852/1448) or the commentary by Yaḥya b. Sharaf an-Nawawī (d. 676/1277) of the Ṣaḥīḥ of Muslim b. al-Ḥajjāj. The encyclopedia concludes with an exhaustive index and glossary of names and concepts, which functions at the same time as a concordance. In short, this work presents an indispensable sourcebook of the development of Islam in all its facets during the first three centuries since its foundation as reflected in canonical ḥadīth.
The Angry Earth explores how various cultures in different historical moments have responded to calamity, offering insight into the complex relationship between societies and their environments. From hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes to oil spills and nuclear accidents, disasters triggered by both natural and technological hazards have become increasingly frequent and destructive across the planet. Through case studies drawn from around the globe the contributors to this volume examine issues ranging from the social and political factors that set the stage for disaster, to the cultural processes experienced by survivors, to the long-term impact of disasters on culture and society. In the second edition, each chapter has been updated with a postscript to reflect on recent developments in the field. There is also new material on key present-day topics including epidemics, drought, non-governmental organizations, and displacement and resettlement. This book demonstrates the relevance of studying disaster from an anthropological perspective and is a valuable resource not only for anthropologists but for other fields concerned with education, policy and practice.
Our attitude to nature has changed over time. This book explores the historical, literary and philosophical origins of the changes in our attitude to nature that allowed environmental catastrophes to happen. It presents a philosophical reflection on human societies’ attitude to the environment, informed by the history of the concept of landscape and the role played by the concept of nature in the human imagination and features a wealth of examples from around the world to help understand the contemporary environmental crisis in the context of both the built and natural environment. Thinking Through Landscape locates the start of this change in human labour and urban elites being cut off from nature. Nature became an imaginary construct masking our real interaction with the natural world. The book argues that this gave rise to a theoretical and literary appreciation of landscape at the expense of an effective practical engagement with nature. It draws on Heideggerian ontology and Veblen’s sociology, providing a powerful distinction between two attitudes to landscape: the tacit knowledge of earlier peoples engaged in creating the landscape through their work - "landscaping thought"- and the explicit theoretical and aesthetic attitudes of modern city dwellers who love nature while belonging to a civilization that destroys the landscape - "landscape thinking". This book gives a critical survey of landscape thought and theory for students, researchers and anyone interested in human societies’ relation to nature in the fields of landscape studies, environmental philosophy, cultural geography and environmental history.
Exploring Spatial Scale in Geography provides a conceptual and practical guide to issues of spatial scale in all areas of the physical and social sciences. Scale is at the heart of geography and other spatial sciences. Whether dealing with geomorphological processes, population movements or meteorology, a consideration of spatial scale is vital. Exploring Spatial Scale in Geography takes a practical approach with a core focus on real world problems and potential solutions. Links are made to appropriate software environments with an associated website providing access to guidance material which outlines how particular problems can be approached using popular GIS and spatial data analysis software. This book offers alternative definitions of spatial scale, presents approaches for exploring spatial scale and makes use of a wide variety of case studies in the physical and social sciences to demonstrate key concepts, making it a key resource for anyone who makes use of geographical information.
