A Book of Waves

A Book of Waves explores ocean waves as media that carry ecological, geopolitical, and climatological news, revealing how scientists capture their materiality through abstractions and how waves mark out the wakes and breaks of social histories and futures.

Format: Hardback
Length: 432 pages
Publication date: 03 October 2023
Publisher: Duke University Press

Stefan Helmreich delves into the captivating world of ocean waves as dynamic mediums that transport vital ecological, geopolitical, and climatological information about our planet. Through extensive ethnographic research conducted in the Netherlands, the United States, Australia, Japan, and Bangladesh, Helmreich intricately explores how scientists at sea and in laboratories perceive the materiality of waves through abstract interpretations, aiming to capture their multifaceted nature in technical language. These waves, characterized by their periodic yet irreversible nature, their wild and peaceful coexistence, their fleeting yet eternal presence, and their profound impact on human societies, serve as captivating avatars of nature.

For researchers and the broader public, the meanings of waves extend beyond their scientific significance. They reflect diverse visions of the ocean as an essential environmental infrastructure, supporting trade, travel, warfare, humanitarian rescue, recreation, and managing sea level rise. By interweaving ethnographic chapters with reflections on waves in mythology, surf culture, feminist theory, film, Indigenous Pacific activisms, Black Atlantic history, cosmology, and more, Helmreich showcases the profound ways in which waves delineate the wakes and breaks of social histories and futures. Through his meticulous exploration, Helmreich unveils the intricate connections between waves, human societies, and the broader global landscape, offering a rich and multifaceted perspective on the multifaceted nature of these oceanic phenomena.

Weight: 844g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781478019947