Hydrohumanities: Water Discourse and Environmental Futures

The book "Water in the Modern World" explores the interdisciplinary cultural approaches to water discourse, focusing on agency of water, fluid identities, and cultural currencies. It broadens the concept of water to include not just water in oceans and rivers but also in pipes, ice floes, marshes, bottles, dams, and more.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 270 pages
Publication date: 21 December 2021
Publisher: University of California Press

The discourse surrounding water and power in the modern era has primarily revolved around human control over a finite resource with immense economic potential. Consequently, discussions on water, even within the humanities, have traditionally centered on freshwater for human consumption. However, the increasing frequency of climate extremes, ranging from drought to flooding, is prompting humanities scholars to reexamine water discourse.

This volume serves as a testament to the transformative power of interdisciplinary cultural approaches in shaping water conversations. The manuscript is structured into three emerging themes in water studies: agency of water, fluid identities, and cultural currencies. The first section delves into the properties of water and the ways in which it poses challenges to human attempts at control. The second section explores how water (or its absence) shapes human collective and individual identities. The third section engages with notions of value and circulation to consider how water has been managed and utilized for local, national, and international gains. Contributions from renowned as well as emerging voices across various humanities fields, including history, art history, philosophy, and science and technology studies, are included in the book. Part of a broader objective to shape the environmental humanities, the book expands the concept of water to encompass not only water in oceans and rivers but also in pipes, ice floes, marshes, bottles, dams, and more. Each piece demonstrates how humanities scholarship holds the potential to contribute to achieving more just water futures.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780520380455