Field Life

Science in the American West during the Railroad Era

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Science, Other Sciences, History, Americas, United States, 19th Century
Cover of the book Field Life by Jeremy Vetter, University of Pittsburgh Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Jeremy Vetter ISBN: 9780822981459
Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press Publication: December 23, 2016
Imprint: University of Pittsburgh Press Language: English
Author: Jeremy Vetter
ISBN: 9780822981459
Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press
Publication: December 23, 2016
Imprint: University of Pittsburgh Press
Language: English

Field Life examines the practice of science in the field in the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains of the American West between the 1860s and the 1910s, when the railroad was the dominant form of long-distance transportation. Grounded in approaches from environmental history and the history of technology, it emphasizes the material basis of scientific fieldwork, joining together the human labor that produced knowledge with the natural world in which those practices were embedded.
            Four distinct modes of field practice, which were shared by different field science disciplines, proliferated during this period—surveys, lay networks, quarries, and stations—and this book explores the dynamics that underpinned each of them. Using two diverse case studies to animate each mode of practice, as well as the making of the field as a place for science, Field Life combines textured analysis of specific examples of field science on the ground with wider discussion of the commonalities in the practices of a diverse array of field sciences, including the earth and physical sciences, the life and agricultural sciences, and the human sciences.
            By situating science in its regional environmental context, Field Life  analyzes the intersection between the cosmopolitan knowledge of science and the experiential knowledge of people living in the field. Examples of field science in the Plains and Rockies range widely: geological surveys and weather observing networks,  quarries to uncover dinosaur fossils and archaeological remains, and branch agricultural experiment stations and mountain biological field stations.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Field Life examines the practice of science in the field in the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains of the American West between the 1860s and the 1910s, when the railroad was the dominant form of long-distance transportation. Grounded in approaches from environmental history and the history of technology, it emphasizes the material basis of scientific fieldwork, joining together the human labor that produced knowledge with the natural world in which those practices were embedded.
            Four distinct modes of field practice, which were shared by different field science disciplines, proliferated during this period—surveys, lay networks, quarries, and stations—and this book explores the dynamics that underpinned each of them. Using two diverse case studies to animate each mode of practice, as well as the making of the field as a place for science, Field Life combines textured analysis of specific examples of field science on the ground with wider discussion of the commonalities in the practices of a diverse array of field sciences, including the earth and physical sciences, the life and agricultural sciences, and the human sciences.
            By situating science in its regional environmental context, Field Life  analyzes the intersection between the cosmopolitan knowledge of science and the experiential knowledge of people living in the field. Examples of field science in the Plains and Rockies range widely: geological surveys and weather observing networks,  quarries to uncover dinosaur fossils and archaeological remains, and branch agricultural experiment stations and mountain biological field stations.

More books from University of Pittsburgh Press

Cover of the book Science and Eccentricity by Jeremy Vetter
Cover of the book Cape Verdean Blues by Jeremy Vetter
Cover of the book Love and Strange Horses by Jeremy Vetter
Cover of the book Luck by Jeremy Vetter
Cover of the book The Homestead Strike of 1892 by Jeremy Vetter
Cover of the book Milk Black Carbon by Jeremy Vetter
Cover of the book White Papers by Jeremy Vetter
Cover of the book Astronomy in India, 1784-1876 by Jeremy Vetter
Cover of the book Here I Throw Down My Heart by Jeremy Vetter
Cover of the book Concrete and Countryside by Jeremy Vetter
Cover of the book Researching Dance by Jeremy Vetter
Cover of the book Rise of the Modern Hospital by Jeremy Vetter
Cover of the book Illness as Narrative by Jeremy Vetter
Cover of the book A Negotiated Landscape by Jeremy Vetter
Cover of the book The Matter of Empire by Jeremy Vetter
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy