Title
The Invention Of Rivers: Alexander'S Eye And Ganga'S Descent (Penn Studies In Landscape Architecture)
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Dilip Da Cunha Integrates History, Art, Cultural Studies, Hydrology, And Geography To Tell The Story Of How Rivers Have Been Culturally Constructed As Lines Granted A Special Role In Defining Human Habitation And Everyday Practice. What We Take To Be Natural Features Of The Earth'S Surface, According To Da Cunha, Are Products Of Human Design And A Particular Way Of Seeing That Has Roots Stretching As Far Back As Ancient Greek Cartography. Although Alexander The Great Never Saw The Ganges, He Conceived Of It As A Flowing Body Of Water, With Sources, Destinations, And Banks That Marked The Separation Of Land From Water. This Alexandrine View Of The River, Da Cunha Argues, Has Been Pursued And Adopted Across Time And Around The World. With Ever More Sophisticated Mappings Of Its Form And Characteristics, The River'S Essential Features Are Refined And Standardized: Its Source Identified By A Point; Its Course Depicted As A Stroke; And Its Propensity To Flood Imagined As The Erasure Of The Boundary Between Water And Land.While Da Cunha'S Vision Of Rivers Is A Global One, He Takes An Especially Close Look At The Ganges, As He Traces The Ways In Which It Has Been Pictured, Mapped, Surveyed, Explored, And Measured Across The Millennia. He Argues That The Articulation Of The River Ganges Has Placed It At Odds With Ganga, A Rain Terrain That Does Not Conform To The Line Of Separation, Containment, And Calibration That Are The Formalities Of A River Landscape. By Calling Rivers Into Question, Da Cunha Depicts An Ecosystem That Is Neither Land Nor Water But One Of Ubiquitous Wetness In Which Rain Is Held In Soil, Aquifers, Glaciers, Snowfields, Building Materials, Agricultural Fields, Air, And Even Plants And Animals.Printed In Full Color And Featuring More Than 150 Illustrations, The Invention Of Rivers Proposes Rain, Or The Rainscape, As An Alternative Starting Point For Imagining, Understanding, And Designing Human Habitation.
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- Q: What is the main theme of 'The Invention of Rivers'? A: 'The Invention of Rivers' explores how rivers have been culturally constructed and perceived throughout history, focusing particularly on the Ganges and its representation in various contexts.
- Q: Who is the author of the book? A: The book is authored by Dilip da Cunha, who integrates various disciplines such as history, art, and geography in his analysis.
- Q: What unique perspective does the book provide on rivers? A: Dilip da Cunha presents a global perspective on rivers but emphasizes the Ganges, arguing that it challenges conventional views by highlighting an ecosystem of continuous wetness rather than strict land-water separation.
- Q: How many pages does this book have? A: 'The Invention of Rivers' contains 352 pages, providing a comprehensive exploration of its themes.
- Q: When was the book published? A: The book was published on November 30, 2018.
- Q: What type of binding does the book have? A: The book is available in hardcover binding, which ensures durability.
- Q: Does the book include illustrations? A: Yes, the book is printed in full color and features more than 150 illustrations that complement the text.
- Q: Is this book suitable for academic use? A: Yes, given its integration of various academic disciplines and detailed exploration of rivers, it is suitable for both scholarly and general readership.
- Q: What should readers expect to learn from this book? A: Readers can expect to gain insights into the cultural and historical significance of rivers, the impact of human design on natural landscapes, and a new way of understanding ecosystems.
- Q: Is there any specific focus on the Ganges in the book? A: Yes, while the book discusses rivers globally, it specifically examines the Ganges in detail, analyzing its representations and the tensions between its natural and cultural images.