Modern Nature

Originally published: Woodstock, N.Y.: Overlook Press, 1994.

In Modern Nature,Lynn K. Nyhart traces the emergence of a “biological perspective” in late nineteenth-century Germany that emphasized the dynamic relationships among organisms, and between organisms and their environment. Examining this approach to nature in light of Germany’s fraught urbanization and industrialization, as well the opportunities presented by new and reforming institutions, she argues that rapid social change drew attention to the role of social relationships and physical environments in rendering a society—and nature—whole, functional, and healthy. This quintessentially modern view of nature, Nyhart shows, stood in stark contrast to the standard naturalist’s orientation toward classification. While this new biological perspective would eventually grow into the academic discipline of ecology, Modern Nature locates its roots outside the universities, in a vibrant realm of populist natural history inhabited by taxidermists and zookeepers, schoolteachers and museum reformers, amateur enthusiasts and nature protectionists. Probing the populist beginnings of animal ecology in Germany, Nyhart unites the history of popular natural history with that of elite science in a new way. In doing so, she brings to light a major orientation in late nineteenth-century biology that has long been eclipsed by Darwinism.

This book presents ten essays about environmental communication. Chapter one introduces the concept of environmental communication and the ways in which it was conceived, imagined, and developed as a form of interdisciplinary enquiry. Chapter two explores the concept of green communication and education for the sustainable development movement. Chapter three is concerned with one of the major underlying socio-cultural influences of the human/nature divide: that of anthropomorphic or anthropogenic reasoning. Chapter four takes an ecological view of economics and develops an argument for the place of economic intangibles in the modern political economy. Chapters five and six explore specialist aspects of environmental communication practices: Chapter five is concerned with the contexts of psychologists' client and practitioner relationships, and chapter six with the communication domain of the expert courtroom witness. Chapter seven is concerned with exploring the phenomenon of 'social presence' within virtual environments. Chapters eight, nine and ten explore communication practices that are essential within the workplace and organizational environment: Chapter eight frames issues involving understanding ambiguity toleration in business communication; chapter nine explores leadership, management and self-esteem in the organizational communication context; and chapter ten discusses the environmental communication contexts of decision-making and organizational trust. The author has written this book for both general and specialist audiences, for students and teachers of environmental communication, and anyone with an interest in the prevalent concerns of 'modern nature' - the current orientation and practices of human communication in natural, virtual and professional spheres. It will also interest students and teachers of workplace organizations, including non-governmental organizations and business practitioners.

Read this meditative and inspiring diary of Derek Jarman's famous garden at Dungeness, which is also a powerful account of his life as an HIV positive man in the 1980s. In 1986 Derek Jarman discovered he was HIV positive and decided to make a garden at his cottage on the barren coast of Dungeness. Facing an uncertain future, he nevertheless found solace in nature, growing all manner of plants. While some perished beneath wind and sea-spray others flourished, creating brilliant, unexpected beauty in the wilderness. Modern Nature is both a diary of the garden and a meditation by Jarman on his own life: his childhood, his time as a young gay man in the 1960s, his renowned career as an artist, writer and film-maker. It is at once a lament for a lost generation, an unabashed celebration of gay sexuality, and a devotion to all that is living. 'An essential - urgent - book for the 21st Century' Hans Ulrich Obrist This new edition features an introduction from Olivia Laing, the author of Crudo

This first full-length study of modern British nature writing is timely and invaluable for literary scholarship in the environmental crisis.

The story of how plants and flowers have shaped interior design for over 200 years From ferns in 19th-century British parlors to contemporary "living walls" in commercial spaces, plants and flowers have long been incorporated into the design of public and private spaces. Spanning two centuries, Nature Inside explores the history and popularity of indoor plants, revealing the close relationship between architecture, interior design, and nature. Studying the international modern interior through the lens of plants in the human environment, author Penny Sparke attributes a degree of the interest in indoor plants to urbanization, and, more recently, the climate crisis, which serve as ongoing reminders that people must maintain a connection to, and respect for, the natural world. While architectural and interior design styles have evolved alongside the popularity of various plant species, the human need to bring nature indoors has remained constant.

This book reflects on the motivations of creative practitioners who have moved out of cities from the mid-1960s onwards to establish creative homesteads. The book focuses on desert exile painter Agnes Martin, radical filmmaker and gardener Derek Jarman, and iconoclastic conceptual artist Chris Burden, detailing their connections to the cities they had left behind (New York, London, Los Angeles). Sarah Lowndes also examines how the rise of digital technologies has made it more possible for artists to live and work outside the major art centers, especially given the rising cost of living in London, Berlin, and New York, focusing on three peripheral creative centers: the seaside town of Hastings, England, the midsized metro of Leipzig, Germany, and post-industrial Detroit, USA.

The most forward-looking spaces designed for rustic living in the twenty-first century. Across the globe, architects are creating innovative houses for country living, reimagining the way we escape into the natural world. Some combine industrial materials like metal and concrete with traditional wood. Others create sophisticated essays in off-grid living, employing the most technologically ambitious green-living strategies. Still others place discreet structures on remote, almost-unbuildable locations. This unique volume profiles new and recent projects that illustrate the inexhaustible potential of the modern house to enter into a dialogue with nature in sustainable yet stylish ways. The collection spans the globe, from the Pacific Northwest to the forests of Japan. Today’s architectural vanguard is represented, as well as established architects working at the forefront of twenty-first-century design, including Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, Rick Joy, Olson Kundig, and Marcio Kogan. These rustic retreats—with comfortable and appealing modern interiors—will resonate with readers of shelter magazines, while the cutting-edge reputations of their architects will interest professionals and students.