Women In The City: Feminist Analyses of Urban Geography

Four different sites of gendered social practice are identified as major concerns of socialist feminist urban geography: the home or domestic sphere; the paid workplace; the city's built environment; and localities. Literature about each is described and reviewed Theoretical implications of the feminist reading of urban geography are then considered in particular the feminist criticisms of traditional models of urban spatial structure, and challenges to existing forms of feminist geography from debates in social theory.     

Ethnobotanies of refusal: Methodologies in respecting plant(ed)-human resistance

Elaborating on conversational exchanges with a Brazilian shaman about biopiracy and interweaving scholarly literature from the ontological and ‘botanical’ turn, the author examines the disciplinary as well as the political ramifications of plant healers and practitioners – particularly indigenous ones – going largely uncited in plant-centred discussions. In Brazil, indigenous claims for territory and political sovereignty gain traction when they are linked to cultural patrimony. Highlighting ayahuasca as an example of the way that certain plants and people can be involved in collaborative survival, the author demonstrates the entwined semiotic-material stakes of the botanical turn within claims for traditional knowledge and territory. Her analysis frames possible ethnobotanies and methodologies of refusal in respecting plant(ed)-human resistance.     

Reconstructing Prehistoric Population Movements: Seeking Congruence in Genetics,Linguistics, and Archaeology

Books discussed here focus upon the initial peopling of the Americas and the worldwide development of food production. They examine postulated historical instances in which genes, languages, and cultural elements appear to correlate, indicating major population movements in prehistory. Recognized experts in historical linguistics, archaeology, and molecular genetics review current methodology, available data, and models of global and regional population history. A more holistic approach and a greater understanding of human population dynamics are called for to improve our reconstruction of these past events.