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Most people do not realize it, but the Midwest has been at the forefront of ecological restoration longer than perhaps any other region in the United States, dating back to the 1930s. Because of its industrial history, agricultural productivity, and natural features such as the Great Lakes, the Midwest has always faced a unique set of ecological challenges.

Focusing on six cutting-edge case studies that highlight thirty restoration efforts and research sites throughout the region— Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, and Ohio— editors Christian Lenhart and Peter “Rocky” Smiley Jr. bring together a group of scholars and practitioners to show how midwestern restoration efforts have developed, as well as where they are headed. Whether cleaning up contamination from auto plants in Ohio, or restoring native prairie grasses along the Iowa highway, the contributors uncover a vast network of interested citizens and volunteer groups committed to preserving the region’s environment.

This study, intended for researchers, students, and practitioners, also provides an updated synthesis of restoration theory and practice, and pinpoints emerging issues of importance in the Midwest, such as climate change and the increase in invasive species it will bring to the region. Though focusing exclusively on the Midwest, the contributors demonstrate how these case studies apply to restoration efforts across the globe.

Contributors: Luther Aadland, David P. Benson, Andrew F. Casper, Hua Chen, Joe DiMisa, Steve Glass, Heath M. Hagy, John A. Harrington, Neil Haugerud, Constance Hausman, Michael J. Lemke, Christian Lenhart, Jen Lyndall, Dan Shaw, John A. Shuey, Peter C. Smiley Jr., Daryl Smith 
 

A monster stalks the earth—a sluggish, craven, dumb beast that takes fright at the slightest noise and starts at the sight of its own shadow. This monster is the market. The shadow it fears is cast by a light that comes from the future: the Keynesian crisis of expectations. It is this same light that causes the world’s leaders to tremble before the beast. They tremble, Jean-Pierre Dupuy says, because they have lost faith in the future. What Dupuy calls Economy has degenerated today into a mad spectacle of unrestrained consumption and speculation. But in its positive form—a truly political economy in which politics, not economics, is predominant—Economy creates not only a sense of trust and confidence but also a belief in the open-endedness of the future without which capitalism cannot function. In this devastating and counterintuitive indictment of the hegemonic pretensions of neoclassical economic theory, Dupuy argues that the immutable and eternal decision of God has been replaced with the unpredictable and capricious judgment of the crowd. The future of mankind will therefore depend on whether it can see through the blindness of orthodox economic thinking.

A timely consideration of both the history and the current challenges facing practice-based film training, Educating Film-Makers is the first book to examine the history, impact, and significance of film education in Britain, Europe, and the United States. Film schools, the authors show, have historically focused on the cultivation of the filmmaker as a cultural activist, artist, or intellectual – fostering creativity and innovation. But more recently a narrower approach has emerged, placing a new emphasis on technical training for the industry. The authors argue for a more imaginative engagement and understanding of the broader social importance of film and television, suggesting that critical analysis and production should be connected. Examining current concerns facing practice-based film education in the digital era, this book is indispensable for film teachers and students alike. 

America’s cities are increasingly acknowledged as sites of renewal and economic opportunity—but how can city leaders facing physical and financial constraints harness this positive energy to create sustainable development? The story of Cleveland in the early 1980s provides the necessary roadmap. Mayor George V. Voinovich, by drawing on the combined strengths of the public and private sectors, took Cleveland from financial default to becoming “America’s Comeback City,” and he later used the best practices he developed there to tackle state-level challenges as governor of Ohio. The public-private partnership model that Voinovich pioneered has since become the gold standard for cities seeking to maximize resources.

Using lessons from Cleveland, Voinovich developed this handbook for governments and private entities seeking a mutually enriching partnership. It is his legacy to those who will guide America’s cities to new growth and vitality.

Ethnobiology holds a special place in the hearts and minds of many because of its dedication to celebrating the knowledge and values of some of the most distinctive cultural practices in some of the most distinctive places on Earth. Yet we live in a world of diminishing natural and linguistic diversity. Whether due to climate change or capitalism, homogeneity is trumping the once-resplendent heterogeneity all around us.

In this important new collection, Gary Paul Nabhan puts forth a call for the future not only of ethnobiology but for the entire planet. He articulates and broadens the portfolio of ethnobiological principles and amplifies the tool kit for anyone engaged in the ethnobiosphere, those vital spaces of intense interaction among cultures, habitats, and creatures.

The essays are grouped into a trio of themes. The first group presents the big questions facing humanity, the second profiles tools and methodologies that may help to answer those questions, and the third ponders how to best communicate these issues not merely to other scholars, but to society at large. The essays attest to the ways humans establish and circumscribe their identities not only through their thoughts and actions, but also with their physical, emotional, and spiritual attachments to place, flora, fauna, fungi, and feasts.

Nabhan and his colleagues from across disciplines and cultures encourage us to be courageous enough to include ethical, moral, and even spiritual dimensions in work regarding the fate of biocultural diversity. The essays serve as cairns on the critical path toward an ethnobiology that is provocative, problem-driven, and, above all, inspiring.

This collection includes essays by scholars from around the world and five of Ray Browne's essays which he considers signal. The purpose of this book is to chart Popular Culture Studies into the next century.