Overview
We live in a time of ecological crisis. Both concrete examples of environmental disaster – hurricane, tsunami and earthquake – and impending ones – a potential bird flu epidemic and the melting of the Artic ice cap – consume the public domain. Previously colonised areas least prepared to cope are often host to both natural disasters and environmental degradation, creating a coupling of cultural and environmental crisis. The Caribbean is such a region; a geographic location prone to intense environmental activity and a history of environmental degradation leaves it ecologically and economically vulnerable. Annual hurricanes, tropical storms and floods regularly have devastating affects on national economic growth in a region where agriculture and tourism—both industries completely dependent on the environment—are the main foreign exchange earners. Increased migration to urban centres, continuing poverty and inadequate environmental protection policies add to the problem, while studies on climate change, tourism and agricultural development and the growth of cities forecast the situation to worsen. Divided into two sections, What is this Earthly Paradise? provides a double insight into the Caribbean environment by examining environmental problems in practice and cultural responses. ""Development: Environment in Practice"" identifies and discusses major environmental dangers in the region, including historical trends in island environmental crisis, ghettoisation, the questionable success of ecotourism and the development of ""tropical"" nature. ""Responses: Literature and Environment"" examines positive and negative cultural reflections on the Caribbean environment and environmental problems, embracing writers as diverse as V.S. Naipaul, Sam Selvon, Patrick Chamoiseau, N.D. Williams, Derek Walcott, Shani Mootoo and Ramabai Espinet.
Full Product Details
Author: Chris Campbell ,
Erin Somerville
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Imprint: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Edition: Unabridged edition
Dimensions:
Width: 14.80cm
, Height: 1.80cm
, Length: 21.20cm
Weight: 0.340kg
ISBN: 9781847182388
ISBN 10: 1847182380
Pages: 180
Publication Date: 31 October 2007
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
,
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Out of stock
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.
Author Information
Chris Campbell and Erin Somerville co-organised the ""Trouble in 'Paradise'?"" conference, the first conference to examine Caribbean ecocriticism. Chris is Lecturer in Colonial and Postcolonial Writing at Queen Mary, University of London. Erin is completing her PhD thesis in ecocriticism at the University of Warwick.
