 | A Living Past Though still a relatively young field, the study of Latin American environmental history is blossoming, as the contributions to this definitive volume demonstrate. Bringing together thirteen leading experts on the region, A Living Past synthesizes a wide range of scholarship to offer new perspectives on environmental change in Latin America and the Spanish Caribbean since the nineteenth century. Each chapter provides insightful, up-to-date syntheses of current scholarship on critical countries and ecosystems (including Brazil, Mexico, the Caribbean, the tropical Andes, and tropical forests) and such cross-cutting themes as agriculture, conservation, mining, ranching, science, and urbanization. Together, these studies provide valuable historical contexts for making sense of contemporary environmental challenges facing the region. John Soluri is Director of Global Studies at Carnegie Mellon University, where he teaches courses on food, energy, environment, and commodities in Latin America. He is the author of Banana Cultures: Agriculture, Environmental Change, and Consumption in Honduras and the United States (2006). Claudia Leal is Associate Professor at the Department of History at Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia. She has studied rainforest regions and the formation of societies after emancipation from slavery. She is currently researching the history of Colombian nature conservation. José Augusto Pádua is Professor of Environmental History at the Institute of History, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, where he is also coordinator of the Laboratory of History and Nature. From 2010 to 2015, he was President of the Brazilian Association of Research and Graduate Studies on Environment and Society. John Soluri is Director of Global Studies at Carnegie Mellon University, where he teaches courses on food, energy, environment, and commodities in Latin America. He is the author of Banana Cultures: Agriculture, Environmental Change, and Consumption in Honduras and the United States (2006). |
