PRISM :: Browsing by Author "Blue, Gwendolyn"

Browsing by Author "Blue, Gwendolyn"

Now showing 1 - 17 of 17

Open Access
A Space of their Own? A feminist exploration of gendered spatial relations in Professional Women’s Organizations in Alberta's Resource Sector
(2018-05-18) Bjarnason, Alicia Dawn; Blue, Gwendolyn; Sullivan, Rebecca; Miller, Byron
Throughout the life cycle of a geoscience career gender inequalities still exist, even in the face of legislative change. One response in Alberta is the formation of professional women’s groups. Drawing on feminist geography, the objective of this research was to explore the social relations and power structures involved within the work environment that categorized where women’s groups are created, why they are created, and the strategies used in addressing gender disparities and inequality. This mixed methods study included an inventory of current groups that exist in Alberta, an online survey to reach professional STEM women within the geoscience community who have been members of one or more professional women’s groups, and in-depth semistructured interviews with three key actors from one Alberta based group. The intended outcomes are to create evidence-based solutions, which in turn will help contribute to concrete solutions to better support professional female geoscientists in Alberta.
Open Access
Beyond participation and distribution: a scoping review to advance a comprehensive justice framework for impact assessment
(2020-07-22) Blue, Gwendolyn; Bronson, Kelly; Lajoie-O’Malley, Alana
Industrial projects bring about dramatic social change. With the Impact Assessment Act 2019 there is a greater emphasis on the social impacts of development and on the “meaningful participation” of citizens in impact assessment (IA). It is widely believed that meaningful participation can improve the legitimacy of development and even provide a step towards reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, which is a commitment set out explicitly in IAA 2019. To foster meaningful participation and deliver sound decision-making, impact assessments must also be just. Calls have been made for integrating justice more centrally in impact assessment practice and evaluation but work is needed to inform just IA processes. Our report draws on a framework of justice that emerges from environmental justice (EJ) scholarship and activism and defines justice along three interdependent dimensions: distribution, representation, and recognition. Our report tests the hypothesis that there is a gap in research which addresses all three dimensions of this justice framework, and we assess how this gap might translate into a gap in methods for guiding meaningful participation in IA. The objective of this report is (1) to provide an overview of the ways in which existing approaches to IA address EJ, and (2) to outline what an EJ approach to meaningful participation in Canadian federal impact assessment would entail in practice. Based upon a scoping review of 593 academic articles, 20 technical reports and government documents, and 2 blogs/media articles, we conclude that articles which address justice in IA typically focus on either its distributional or procedural dimensions. We recommend (1) future research focusing on recognitional justice as this will be helpful for Canadian IA policy and practice where issues of Indigenous sovereignty and claims for self-recognition are front and centre in IA decisions (and disputes over them); (2) that Canadian best practices be synthesized for practitioner and decision-making communities, and that future scholars integrate IA practice; and (3) that scholarship explore the trade-offs of privileging the nation-states’ duty to decide in the broad public interest, on one the hand, and principles of EJ that emphasize community-driven problem definition and decision-making, on the other.
Open Access
Caribou Conservation Guided, Enacted, and Embodied by Inuinnait and the Killinikmiut Tuktuit
(2024-05-13) Hanke, Andrea; Kutz, Susan; Adams, Cindy; Henderson, Rita; Blue, Gwendolyn; Leclerc, Lisa-Marie; Wilson, Warren; Snook, Jamie; Dumond, Amanda
The fields of environmental and wildlife conservation are working to increase the complexity of their approaches to knowledge in the face of increasing conservation precarity and recognition of the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Epistemic plurality, the focus of many strategies and initiatives, acknowledges the validity and value of multiple ways of knowing, recognizing that a more holistic understanding may be reached by drawing from multiple ways of knowing. In the central Canadian Arctic, Inuinnait share a rich cultural history as a distinct collective of Inuit, including their connection to the Killinikmiut Tuktuit. This herd, also known as the “Dolphin and Union” (DU) caribou herd or Island caribou, is a unique ecotype of caribou who characteristically summers on Victoria Island (Killinik), winters on the adjacent mainland, and crosses the adjoining sea ice during their fall and spring migrations. Conservation of this herd occurs under co-management and must incorporate multiple ways of knowing to make the best decisions for the caribou, the people, and the land. In this thesis, I sought to support the co-management partners for the Killinikmiut Tuktuit by advancing our collaborative understanding of the status and trends of the Killinikmiut Tuktuit with Inuinnait Knowledge and how Inuinnait Knowledge around the Killinikmiut Tuktuit is situated. Through a series of interviews with Inuinnait in Kugluktuk, Ekaluktutiak, and Ulukhaktok, I documented information on Inuinnait systems of knowing caribou, their expected variations, and their combined strengths. This information provides insight into how Inuinnait knowledge must be treated and respected when considered in management decisions. I also documented information on caribou systems, their expected variations, and their current adaptations. This information addresses knowledge gaps in the Killinikmiut Tuktuit management plan and has already supported important conservation decisions. This thesis provides important examples in the processes of negotiations and accommodation, both which are necessary for community-based, collaborative research. More broadly, the research advances the practice of epistemic plurality and supports the implementation of Indigenous/Inuit-led policy documents.
Open Access
Critical Geographies of Biotechnology Governance: A Case Study of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes for Vector-Borne Disease Control
(2024-07-03) Sihota, Roshanne; Blue, Gwendolyn; Burns, Ryan; Wasmuth, James
Biotechnology governance has garnered significant attention in the last decade. One notable example is the use of genetically modified mosquitoes (GMMs) to control vector-borne diseases (VBDs) such as malaria and dengue fever. While promising, GMMs are controversial. Some scientists and public health agencies support GMMs, however not all groups welcome biotechnology as a disease control measure. To date, most field trials have been met with controversial reception. While extensive literature addresses GMM governance, gaps remain including attention to geographical scale and scientific experts’ perspectives on engagement in governance processes. Considering these gaps, the objective of this thesis is to examine academic debates in GMM governance. Using methods such as a scoping review, and semi-structured qualitative interviews (n = 14), this thesis asks two interrelated questions. Drawing on critical geographies of scale, the first question asks: How is scale represented in the academic literature on GMM governance, and what power dynamics do representations of scale uphold or challenge? Drawing on theories of public engagement in science and technology studies (STS), the second question asks: What perspectives do scientific experts hold regarding public engagement for GMMs? First, key findings reveal that in the academic literature, GMM governance is largely framed through global/local scalar binaries which run the risk of perpetuating historical inequalities between regions and groups in ways that limit the potential for democratic engagement. Second, key findings spotlight how the values and visions of scientific experts, who are at the forefront of GMM development, play a central role in how public engagement unfolds. While participants valued the principle of engagement as an integral part of ethical research, most did not consider integrating engagement into research agenda-setting processes beyond GMM field trials. A critical geography lens provides an opportunity to examine how ideas and values around GMMs are embedded in sociocultural contexts. This research is timely given that these applications are in the early stages of development and oversight frameworks are evolving.
Open Access
Cyborg Bodies, Human Minds: Robert Venditti's The Surrogates, Yukito Kishiro's Battle Angel Alita and the Great Myth of Posthumanism
(2015-12-22) Massey, Samantha; Beaty, Bart; Blue, Gwendolyn; Camara, Anthony
The topic of humans altered and improved through advanced cyborg technology—technology that amalgamates animal and machine—has long been of interest in science fiction, gaining popularity in most Western countries and Japan. This paper examines two graphic novel series, Robert Venditti’s The Surrogates and Yukito Kishiro’s Battle Angel Alita, in relation to cyborg humans and the theoretical concept of posthumanism, defined as a state that transcends the limitations of human existence with the help of cutting-edge technologies. The posthuman theory of Donna Haraway suggests that the cyborg has the potential to change humanity for the better, to challenge essentialist dichotomies and harmful identity politics. However, theorists like Katherine Hayles warn about the dangers inherent in technologies that allow humanity to “master” the body—and mortality—completely. This paper critically examines both perspectives and, ultimately, the viability of a utopic posthuman state.
Open Access
Development of Best Strategies for the Control of Butomus umbellatus L. (Flowering Rush) In Alberta
(2018-01-25) Cahoon, Lisa; Vamosi, Jana; Jackson, Leland; Vamosi, Steven; Blue, Gwendolyn
The emergent aquatic perennial, Butomus umbellatus L. is a prohibited noxious weed in Alberta. In this thesis I provide (1) the first comprehensive review on its phenology and cytotype in Alberta; (2) an examination of the effect of cytotype on propagation means and (3) an experimental test of different control methods in two infested Alberta lakes. One of the findings of this study is that a full understanding of the propagation of this species is complicated because there are two cytotypes: fertile diploids and sterile triploids. I describe in this thesis how most populations of B. umbellatus in Alberta appear to be the diploid cytotype, except for a triploid population in Innisfail. My studies found that in diploid plants, sexual reproduction is not the primary means of spread. My results also indicate that all control methods currently in use are equally unsuccessful, largely because B. umbellatus invests so heavily in vegetative reproduction that removing the entire rhizome is difficult. Because of this life history feature, B. umbellatus will likely be most effectively controlled by quickly recognizing new populations and removing all plant material. While revegetation of a reclaimed area with indigenous plants could prove beneficial, my results indicated that B. umbellatus quickly reclaims sites that have been replanted with native species.
Open Access
Discourse of wilderness: Grizzly bears in popular culture
(1998) Blue, Gwendolyn; Acland, Charles R.
Open Access
Discourses of life, machines, and control: How science organisations represent the Earth to the public on Instagram
(2024-04-17) Droboth, Jason Curtis; Dolphin, Glenn; Eaton, David; Dolphin, Glenn; Eaton, David; Dutchak, Alex; Blue, Gwendolyn
Scientific efforts have prompted significant changes in how the average person understands, and thus interacts with, the Earth. To ensure optimum Earth-human interactions, academic and policy leaders must have a clear accounting of exactly what scientific representatives are telling the public about the Earth. Yet, what little research exists tends to prioritise specific topics–climate change in particular–and media environments–like newspapers–at the expense of representations of the whole Earth or representations via new media environments like social media. Using a Multimodal Discourse Analysis, this study produced an inventory of the ways science organisations represent the Earth to the public through their official Instagram accounts. It found that the Earth is represented through, not just written language, but visual imagery, in a wide variety of ways, like ‘Earth is the water planet’, ‘Earth is beautiful’, and ‘humans are harming the Earth’. Nearly all the representations identified, however, contribute in some way to two dominant messages. That 1) the Earth is the blue water planet upon which life flourishes because of Earth’s many mechanistic life-support systems. Thus, 2) we must use science to wisely control earth to promote and protect, especially human, life. The list of identified discourses was then compared with what the National Science Foundation outlined in 2010 as the ‘9 big ideas about the Earth all citizens should know’. The study found that the current ideas science organisations advance align with the aspirational ‘9 big ideas’ in a few ways, especially in centring life as Earth’s most important and consequential attribute. However, they differ in many more, most notably in their evaluation of Earth’s dynamism. Though science organisations may intend to present Earth’s continually changing states–like Earthquakes and extinctions–as natural, they actually represent it as primarily negative and thus regrettable. Further contributing to the imperative for humans to use science to stabilise, and thus control the Earth.
Open Access
Exploring Parental Views on Community Water Fluoridation and Alternative Policy Options in the Context of Cessation
(2018-08-15) Lang, Rebecca; McLaren, Lindsay; Weijs, Cynthia A.; Blue, Gwendolyn; Figueiredo, Rafael L. F.
Background and Rationale: Instances of cessation of community water fluoridation (hereafter ‘fluoridation’), such as the decision to cease fluoridation in Calgary in 2011, have raised broader questions about the acceptability, to members of the public, of population-level preventive measures in public health. In the wake of fluoridation cessation in Calgary, it is important to gain an understanding of how members of the public view population-level interventions in dental health, to ensure that future policies best align with the views of those served by those policies. Conceptual Frameworks: We approached this work through the lenses of public health ethics and public engagement of science. Public health ethics focuses on populations, considering the collective rather than the individual. A public engagement with science lens explores the roles of the scientific community and of the public in framing scientific discussion. Research Objective: We sought to explore perspectives on several possible population-level dental public health interventions held by parents of young children in Calgary, Canada, where fluoridation was previously but is no longer in place. Methods: The target population was parents of young children. Using focus groups and pre- and post-focus group questionnaires, four policy approaches to preventive dental health for populations (i.e., municipal-level fluoridation; state/provincial-level fluoridation; universal dental care; and salt or milk fluoridation) were introduced and discussed. Focus group data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Three themes were developed: 1. Expert/lay relations explores how the public regards and behaves toward others who are understood to have different levels of expertise, knowledge, or credentials, vis-à-vis dental public health policy; 2. Ways of knowing explores how people use different forms and sources of information to determine whether a belief is valid; and 3. Values in public health focuses on people’s core principles regarding the importance and worth of dental public health interventions. Conclusion: Our research confirms the importance of engaging these publics in developing dental public health policies. We also found that of the four policy options presented, universal dental care was preferred, which provides some insight into attributes of population-level interventions that are acceptable to members of the public in Calgary.
Open Access
Identifying barriers to environmentally sustainable tourism: Exploratory findings from the Bighorn Backcountry
(2020-04-03) Tyssen, Rebecca Kathryn; Draper, Dianne; Blue, Gwendolyn; Herremans, Irene M.
Recent interest in actively developing the tourism industry in the Bighorn Backcountry of Alberta has caused concern over the sustainability of such development. There is agreement among tourists, developers, and other stakeholders that the authentic environment, free of large amounts of infrastructure, should be preserved. To maintain a sustainable tourism environment without hard infrastructure mitigating environmental impact, the Alberta Government has identified a target tourist type, authentic tourists. Authentic tourists are considered to have a high level of ecological concern for the destinations that they visit, resulting in the province’s expectation that such tourists will exhibit a high level of responsibility for environmental sustainability. I interviewed tourists staying in the Bighorn Backcountry, representative of the authentic tourist type, in order to explore challenges related to the proposed development model. I identified a conflict between how tourists perceived their responsibility for the environmental sustainability of their destination and the expectation for responsibility that the development plan is reliant on. Use of online platforms is explored as an approach for overcoming the identified conflict. Findings suggest there is potential in the anticipation stage of travel to engage tourists with environmental concerns and initiatives. Requirements for information to be accessed and utilized by tourists include the need for convenience, trustworthiness, and presentation of facts rather than opinion.
Open Access
Methane Emissions from the Global Oil and Gas Industry: A Scoping Review to Characterize Research Trends, Knowledge Gaps, and Priorities
(2022-09) Vollrath, Coleman; Hugenholtz, Chris; Blue, Gwendolyn; Winter, Jennifer
This thesis presents a scoping review – following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) methodology – to document major research trends, knowledge gaps, and priorities involving methane (CH4) emissions measurements from the oil and gas (O&G) sector. The motivation for this thesis is the opportunity to organize and synthesize a rapidly growing body of literature to inform mitigation, policies, regulations, and guide future research directions. A total of 211 peer-reviewed journal articles were identified and reviewed using the PRISMA-ScR methodology to document four major research themes regarding CH4 emissions measurements from land-based O&G sources: geography, measurement scales and methods, emissions sources, and emissions profiles. The majority of articles (73%) focused on the U.S. O&G sector and the upstream supply chain segment, while other major O&G-producing countries like Saudi Arabia, Russia, and China were under-represented. The global knowledge base is therefore derived primarily from research focused on the U.S. Approximately 43% of the articles included in the review reported site-level measurements, mostly focusing on the upstream segment of the O&G supply chain, which precludes identification of equipment and component sources. Of the remaining articles that measured or identified equipment-level sources (16%), the highest emitters were tanks, flares, and compressors. The most common site-level measurement methods included vehicle systems and aircraft. A marked increase in the use of satellites was noted in articles published since 2019. Regardless of the measurement scales and methods used, emissions profiles reveal a consistent heavy-tail distribution, but profiles differ in that those derived with direct measurements are smaller than those derived with aircraft and satellites. This is related to the common finding that bottom-up (BU) estimates of emissions under-estimate measurements of emissions with top-down (TD) methods, suggesting a method-based bias on the size of emissions measured and the resulting emissions profiles. Based on the major research themes, the following research priorities are recommended: geography - more studies in other countries using diverse methods, reconciliation of multi-scale measurements, improve inventories with updated emissions factors (EF's) and statistical techniques, improve understanding of the root causes of emissions, more dedicated research on the temporal variability of CH4, more testing to document the accuracy of measurement-based emissions estimates and the limitations of each method, and clarify the link between measurements of CH4 and emissions mitigation through work practices. In addressing these priorities this thesis proposes that policy developers, regulators, and industry will make better informed decisions on how to cut emissions and improve reporting to track progress and demonstrate reductions.
Open Access
Opening-up to broaden-out: A case study of representational practices as inputs for social assessments of genomic selection technologies for forestry
(2021-01-21) Myles, Kristy; Blue, Gwendolyn; Thomas, Barb R.; Davidson, Debra J.; Hogan, Mél
Genomic selection (GS) is a diagnostic approach in plant and animal breeding that links complex biological information and sophisticated mathematical models. In addition to enhancing growth and volume, scientists argue that the application of GS to tree breeding can enhance the ability to select drought resilient and disease/pest resistant trees at early stages in otherwise long breeding cycles. Due to its complexity, GS can easily be 'black boxed', meaning that the processes and assumptions that shape its development and application can be hidden from view. These complexities are the focus of this study. Using qualitative methodologies informed by Science and Technology Studies (STS) approaches in Geography which seek to observe and understand scientific processes (‘science in action’), I examine the processes and assumptions that inform GS development and application for forestry. Key findings suggest GS for forestry is at once object, social process, narrative, and site of politics that warrants continued scrutiny and debate.
Open Access
Preparing for Climate-Related Migration: An Exploratory Assessment of Capacities and Barriers Facing Calgary-based Immigrant Serving Agencies in Responding to Climate Change
(2023-08) Ashrafi, Zerin Marzan; Blue, Gwendolyn; Holden, William; Keough, Noel
This thesis uses climate justice as a conceptual framework to explore the capacities and barriers of immigrant-serving agencies (ISA) in Calgary, Alberta, in responding to climate migration. The research addresses the limited research conducted in Canada on climate migration and policies at different government levels. This study uses an exploratory qualitative case study approach to answer two research questions. Firstly, to what extent are ISA addressing climate change and climate migration in policies and programs, and secondly, what policies and programs can improve ISA's capacity to address climate migration? The study finds that ISA plays a crucial role in serving the immigrant population in Calgary, with their operations divided into three core areas: education, employment, and socio-cultural. However, ISA's readiness to include climate migrants remains a significant barrier. Five themes emerged from the interview data: funding, policy gaps, restrictive criteria, preparedness, and the need for agencies to support climate justice through EDI (specifically anti-racism) training. The study recommends introducing an officially stated policy on climate migration, which can be achieved in several ways, for instance, by considering climate migrants under section 25 of the Immigration and Refugee Act, holding temporary removal orders, or relaxing the eligible criteria restrictions. To empower climate migrants and enhance their representation, one potential approach is to include ISA as members of a national climate change advisory board or committee. ISAs, as front-line workers familiar with the experiences and needs of immigrant communities, can provide valuable insights and perspectives in shaping climate change policies and strategies. Their inclusion would ensure that the National Adaptation Strategy considers the challenges faced by climate migrants and incorporates their voices into decision-making processes. This research contributes to the literature by addressing the significant gap in research, policy, programming and practices on the climate migration nexus and ISA's capacities and barriers. It also highlights the need for addressing climate migration in policies and programs at different government levels, which can contribute to climate justice and support climate-vulnerable communities.
Open Access
Remaking Nature Through Public Participation in Resilient Calgary
(2022-01) Welker, Preston; Burns, Ryan; Rosol, Marit; Blue, Gwendolyn; Keough, Noel
Cities around the world are embracing agendas to build urban resilience, in part by harnessing “nature” and engaging citizens. Critical geographers have argued that top-down resilience agendas deploy frameworks that homogenize understandings of “urban natures”, legitimate technocratic approaches to urbanism, and disempower citizens. These scholars call for in-depth case studies that situate “urban natures” to bring out crucial politics of how knowledges of these phenomena are used in contexts of contested urbanization. This thesis is an intensive qualitative case study of public participation in urban resilience governance in The City of Calgary, following the 2013 Alberta floods. Through a scholar-activist approach, I employ participant observation and semi-structured interview methods to bring out politics in the redevelopment of a multi-functional infrastructure, the Sunnyside Flood Barrier. Drawing from theory on the “social production of nature” – where discourse and materiality are entangled and iteratively reproduced – I argue that processes of public participation in urban resilience governance operate as power-laden “technologies” in the social production of nature, and can depoliticize contested urban transformations. An analysis of two such technologies – community engagement and a triple bottom line analysis – illuminates how power operates through participatory knowledge production activities to remake actors’ conceptualizations of “nature” in ways that influence decision making and urbanization. The study also expands on participant “counter-conduct”, documenting how this subtle form of resistance can build citizen power in the process. I conclude that public participation offers powerful tools in the social production of nature however, additional research and practice are needed to explore how “nature” might be remade in radical alternative ways that shift our collective praxis towards more sustainable, and socially and environmentally just futures.
Open Access
Technology, Heidegger, Craft
(2022-01-14) Daniel, Arlin; Levey, Ann; Migotti, Mark; Habib, Allen; Blue, Gwendolyn; Withy, Katherine
The first part of this study demonstrates how contemporary debates in the philosophy of technology stumble when trying to explain how technology comes to influence human ends. The second part argues that Heidegger’s philosophy acts as a corrective on the modern debate through understanding technology as a disclosive phenomenon. That is, it reveals the world to be of a certain character, which Heidegger terms ‘standing-reserve’. World-revealing explains not only how technology can come to influence human ends but also the ontological appearance of things in the world. The ontological nature of the problem demands a response to technological revealing that is ontological in character. Heidegger thinks the solution to the problem of modern technology must occur, first and foremost, at the level of authentic thought and language, which he locates in the Greek concept of TECHNE. In the third part, I argue that Heidegger’s account needs supplementation at the level of practical world-building. I forward my own novel response, which advocates for a change at the level of thought and action. I base my response on a return to the roots of TECHNE and its association with craft.
Open Access
The Exclusionary Politics of Secondary Suites in Calgary: Homeowners Seeking Class Monopoly Rents
(2018-06-29) van der Poorten, Kylee Aisha; Miller, Bryon A.; Blue, Gwendolyn; Keough, Noel; Townshend, Ivan Jonathan
Secondary suites, broadly defined as additional rental dwelling units within single-detached properties, have been a contentious topic in Calgary’s municipal politics for the past three decades. In most cases, suites operate in basements and thus conceal living standards and evade the gaze of the local state. To date, Calgary maintains a high restrictive approach to secondary suites in established suburban areas. Evidence suggests an effective opposition from a vocal minority of residents and community leaders has inhibited secondary suite proponents from easing barriers to legalization. These housing politics are the focus of this study. Using a mixed-method approach, I explore the key institutional actors opposing secondary suite legalization, the basis of their opposition, and the mechanisms they use to steer policy toward their interests. A major finding is that exclusionary practices of neighbourhood governance and coalitions among community association leaders have been an integral part of Calgary’s secondary suite outcomes.
Open Access
Visualizing Afghanistan: Cartography and the Imperial Imaginary, from the Anglo-Afghan Wars to the present
(2020-05-14) Boak, Emily Ellis; Peric, Sabrina; Dawson, Peter C.; Blue, Gwendolyn; Yessenova, Saulesh
Afghanistan is currently one of the most imaged places in the world. Satellites, drones, and laser scanners ceaselessly upload data to an ever-expanding mosaic of images and maps in the cloud, on university servers, and in government offices. Knowledge of Afghanistan – whether for scientific or military purposes – is increasingly founded upon an ever-growing archive of foreign image images rather than grounded experience. Countless scientific projects today situate their investigations of Afghanistan in remote-sensed data. Outside of the most recent war and occupation however, Afghanistan has long been a place that foreign eyes attempted to capture and visualize from a distance. In this thesis, I argue that the reading of contemporary satellite imagery is dependent on the larger historical archive of maps of Afghanistan. To understand the implications, I turn to close analysis of the production, circulation, and consumption of maps and images to illustrate the types of understandings, meanings and imaginings of Afghanistan that endure and are transmitted across time through contemporary visualization practices. I do so through archival research at the British Library’s India Office Records and Map Collections, which I bring in conversation with materials from the Soviet-Afghan War (1979-1989), and the ongoing U.S. led War in Afghanistan (2001-present). I argue that while presenting objective and scientific images, historical maps contain and transmit interpretations about Afghanistan, chronicling the character of territories and peoples. Further, maps played an active role in the re-imaging of Afghanistan, as they worked as a tool of governance, reshaping places and the way they were perceived on the ground all while projecting foreign systems of understanding the world which relied upon order, rationality, and measurability. As foreign powers mobilized science and technology to map Afghanistan, they made it possible to imagine Afghanistan as a unitary entity. Understanding the roots of contemporary visual practices in Afghanistan underscores the power behind the reuse and recirculation of images today, and demonstrates the power that foreign militaries have exerted through successive choices in visualizing Afghanistan over the past two centuries.

Browsing by Author "Blue, Gwendolyn"

Results Per Page

Sort Options

Libraries & Cultural Resources