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Ethics of Alaska Travel Writing since 1959
An Ecocritical Study
Series: - Arctic Humanities, Volume: 1
Author:
This book digs into environmental themes in Alaska travel writing since U.S. statehood in 1959, drawing on the works of six authors including Barry Lopez, Jonathan Raban, Tom Lowenstein and others. Each work, though disparate in style, advocates for the empowerment of the Alaska Native people by connecting not only with diverse perspectives but with the lived realities in the geographical spaces that have formed them.
In analyzing how these authors have succeeded in depicting the realities of alterities, and where they have perhaps fallen short by more recent standards, we may begin to carve out a system of ethics. This is important as fresh waves of travel writers search for their own place in the environmental conversations surrounding the ever-evolving, 21st century Arctic and its place on the front lines of a changing climate.
In analyzing how these authors have succeeded in depicting the realities of alterities, and where they have perhaps fallen short by more recent standards, we may begin to carve out a system of ethics. This is important as fresh waves of travel writers search for their own place in the environmental conversations surrounding the ever-evolving, 21st century Arctic and its place on the front lines of a changing climate.
Benjamin Ferguson is Visiting Assistant Professor of English at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He is also a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Malaurie Institute of Arctic Research (MIARC) and has published several articles on themes of Travel Writing and Ecocriticism about Alaska.
Acknowledgements
List of Illustrations
Introduction
â1 Peter Matthiessenâs Oomingmak
â2 John McPheeâs Coming into the Country
â3 Barry Lopezâ Arctic Dreams
â4 Tom Lowensteinâs Ancient Land, Sacred Whale
â5 Jonathan Rabanâs Passage to Juneau
â6 Nancy Lordâs Beluga Days
â7 Anglophone Travel Writing: From Mercantilism to the Enlightenment
â8 Anglo-Colonization, the Protestant Work Ethic, and the Last Frontier
â9 Jefferson versus Hamilton
â10 The Rise of Environmental Awareness
â11 Theodore Roosevelt, Gifford Pinchot, and John Muir
â12 Environmental Justice in Alaska
1 The McPhee Conundrum
â1 The Question of Manichaeism in Environmental Writing
ââ1.1 Encounters with the Archdruid
ââ1.2 Annals of the Former World
ââ1.3 Coming into the Country
â2 What Does John McPheeâs Work Mean for Alaska?
2 Masculinity v. Femininity
â1 Libby Beaman
â2 Margaret Murie
â3 Lois Crisler
â4 Ecofeminism in Alaskan Literature
â5 Nancy Lord
3 Native Oral Tradition, Lack of Written Record, and Lack of Respect
â1 Attention to Language in Arctic Dreams
â2 Raban Evokes Wittgenstein, Importance of Names
â3 Tom Lowenstein and the Experiment of Translation
4 Depictions of Alaskan Natives
â1 Rabanâs Conflicted Contribution to Native Peoples
â2 Nancy Lordâs Sensible Objectivity with Regard to Natives
â3 Matthiessenâs Sharp, Concise Reflections on Alaska Natives of Nunivak in Oomingmak
â4 Conclusion
5 Religion and Spirituality
â1 Lordâs Aesthetic Atheism
â2 Peter Matthiessen, the Missing Zen Master
â3 Tom Lowenstein, or, How Does Buddhism Relate to the Inuit?
â4 Wordsworth and Emerson, and their Descendants
â5 âThe Native Eyeâ in Lopez and Lowenstein
â6 Conclusion
6 Animals
â1 Animals Speak in the Work of Barry Lopez
â2 Nancy Lord is Made of Salmon
â3 Tom Lowensteinâs Whales
â4 Matthiessenâs Means of Animal Communication
â5 Do Animals Actually Speak in These Works?
7 Liberty
â1 Rabanâs Fishermen
â2 McPheeâs River People
â3 Lordâs âTake Oneâ Alaska Native Distrust of the White Man
Introduction
8 Perspective on Myopic Writing
9 Psychological Issues and the Middle Way
â1 Introduction to Rationalization as a Social Construct, Linked with Political Journalism and Contemporary Academic History
â2 What in the World Can We Learn about the American Political Dichotomy from an Englishman?
â3 Attention to Language and Tone
â4 The Bloom and Lilla Controversies
â5 Community and (Toxic?) Masculinity: What Could John McPhee Do Better?
â6 Conundrum Conclusion, and a Pre-emptive Defense of the Middle Way
10 Jon Krakauer, John Vaillant, and Dave Eggers: Different Approaches to Sensational Writing
â1 Sensational Non-Fiction
11 âLocal Travel Writingâ in the Country, or Broadly Outside?
â1 What the Walt?
List of Illustrations
Introduction
â1 Peter Matthiessenâs Oomingmak
â2 John McPheeâs Coming into the Country
â3 Barry Lopezâ Arctic Dreams
â4 Tom Lowensteinâs Ancient Land, Sacred Whale
â5 Jonathan Rabanâs Passage to Juneau
â6 Nancy Lordâs Beluga Days
â7 Anglophone Travel Writing: From Mercantilism to the Enlightenment
â8 Anglo-Colonization, the Protestant Work Ethic, and the Last Frontier
â9 Jefferson versus Hamilton
â10 The Rise of Environmental Awareness
â11 Theodore Roosevelt, Gifford Pinchot, and John Muir
â12 Environmental Justice in Alaska
PART 1: Mapping the Ethical Fault Lines
1 The McPhee Conundrum
â1 The Question of Manichaeism in Environmental Writing
ââ1.1 Encounters with the Archdruid
ââ1.2 Annals of the Former World
ââ1.3 Coming into the Country
â2 What Does John McPheeâs Work Mean for Alaska?
2 Masculinity v. Femininity
â1 Libby Beaman
â2 Margaret Murie
â3 Lois Crisler
â4 Ecofeminism in Alaskan Literature
â5 Nancy Lord
3 Native Oral Tradition, Lack of Written Record, and Lack of Respect
â1 Attention to Language in Arctic Dreams
â2 Raban Evokes Wittgenstein, Importance of Names
â3 Tom Lowenstein and the Experiment of Translation
4 Depictions of Alaskan Natives
â1 Rabanâs Conflicted Contribution to Native Peoples
â2 Nancy Lordâs Sensible Objectivity with Regard to Natives
â3 Matthiessenâs Sharp, Concise Reflections on Alaska Natives of Nunivak in Oomingmak
â4 Conclusion
5 Religion and Spirituality
â1 Lordâs Aesthetic Atheism
â2 Peter Matthiessen, the Missing Zen Master
â3 Tom Lowenstein, or, How Does Buddhism Relate to the Inuit?
â4 Wordsworth and Emerson, and their Descendants
â5 âThe Native Eyeâ in Lopez and Lowenstein
â6 Conclusion
6 Animals
â1 Animals Speak in the Work of Barry Lopez
â2 Nancy Lord is Made of Salmon
â3 Tom Lowensteinâs Whales
â4 Matthiessenâs Means of Animal Communication
â5 Do Animals Actually Speak in These Works?
7 Liberty
â1 Rabanâs Fishermen
â2 McPheeâs River People
â3 Lordâs âTake Oneâ Alaska Native Distrust of the White Man
PART 2: Writing beyond the Last Frontier
Introduction
8 Perspective on Myopic Writing
9 Psychological Issues and the Middle Way
â1 Introduction to Rationalization as a Social Construct, Linked with Political Journalism and Contemporary Academic History
â2 What in the World Can We Learn about the American Political Dichotomy from an Englishman?
â3 Attention to Language and Tone
â4 The Bloom and Lilla Controversies
â5 Community and (Toxic?) Masculinity: What Could John McPhee Do Better?
â6 Conundrum Conclusion, and a Pre-emptive Defense of the Middle Way
10 Jon Krakauer, John Vaillant, and Dave Eggers: Different Approaches to Sensational Writing
â1 Sensational Non-Fiction
11 âLocal Travel Writingâ in the Country, or Broadly Outside?
â1 What the Walt?
This book will interest researchers focused on Arctic travel and ecocritical perspectives, but it will also interest research on the intersection of Preservationism and Native Studies more broadly.