One of the founding visions of the USSR was a utopian society that was completely devoid of racism. For this reason, many depression-era African Americans immigrated to the USSR in search of a better economic opportunity within a more accepting society. (Interesting TAL episode tangential to this: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/694/get-back-to-where-you-once-belonged/act-one-23 )

Paul Robeson was known to frequently travel to the USSR and was beloved in Russia. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/paul-robeson-tomato

I do agree that soil communicates a sense of hope or opportunity for new growth, but it has a second connotation that I think is more thematically aligned with this essay. Soil may also be understood as an aggregate of decomposed material. These two perspective are obviously related, but it is interesting how the "soil" here is discussed independently of the "land" mentioned earlier in the essay.

Not sure if this field has been changed recently, but it no longer appears to be a football field.

Why are these groups seemingly not involved in decisions surrounding indigenous peoples' depiction in the civic imagery?

The fact that this seal was developed in England before Europeans set off on their voyage is indicative of the intentions to convert the population wherever they arrive, insinuating these people are in need of saving, or inferior. Keeping this in mind, it is difficult to imagine a scenario in which colonization did not lead to millions of indigenous deaths.

Roberto Burle Marx advocates for a planting strategy that leans on native plants, rather than out of place replications of foreign landscapes. In practice, Burle Marx often utilized non-natives from foreign yet similar climates. Ultimately, he recognized the need for a “Brazilian garden” that promoted a resilient ecology that could be legible for years to come. This philosophy of resilient constructed ecologies was echoed by other prominent figures (Such as Ian McHarg) and has become more standard across the profession today.

One of the more contemporary examples of this ideology comes from Thomas Rainer and Claudia West. In their book “Planting in a Post-Wild World” they share a sentiment very much aligned with Burle Marx, against decorative, incongruous landscapes: 

“For too long, planting design has treated plants as individual objects placed in the garden for decoration. Unrelated plants are arranged in. ways that are intended to appear coherent and beautiful. … The heaving bookshelf of garden books leaves us with endless tips and information, but very little real understanding of the dynamic way plants grown together.”

Both authors are making similar cases that prominent ecological knowledge is one of the primary tools which set landscape architectures apart as a profession and give them the ability to create landscapes that are intentional in their form for years to come.

Rainer, Thomas, and Claudia West. Planting in a Post-Wild World: Designing Plant Communities for Resilient Landscapes. Portland, OR: Timber Press, 2016.

Leo Marx describes a nostalgic appeal for nature that is widely held throughout American culture, although it may be a misplaced or slightly counterfeit nostalgia. The portrayal of nature as a pristine wilderness where one can escape the hustle and bustle of urbanized life is supported by the works of the authors mentioned in the passage. This appeal may or may not be ultimately beneficial for the nature in question; increased awareness and attention help secure funds to protect the area, but also bring tourists who disturb the ecosystem. Edward Abbey wrote about the erosion of wilderness to support industrial tourism in his seminal work Desert Solitaire in 1968:

“Arches National Monument has been developed. The Master Plan has been fulfilled. Where once a few adventurous people came on weekends to camp for a night or two and enjoy a taste of the primitive and remote, you will now find serpentine streams of baroque automobiles pouring in and out, all through the spring and summer, in numbers that would have seemed fantastic when I worked there: from 3,000 to 30,000 to 300,000 per year, the “visitation,” as they call it, mounts ever upward.”

Abbey, Edward. Desert Solitaire. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, 2010.

In this passage, Anuradha Mathur describes man’s perception of nature by as an endless, inexhaustible expanse of untold potential. The maidan was originally located on the outskirts of the city and would serve as a sort of buffer zone between the city and the natural world beyond. This is not unlike the relationship between the Egyptians and their landscape portrayed in Dilip da Cunha’s The Invention of Rivers wherein he describes the boundary of the city being fluid and determined by floodplain of the Nile River. Mathur goes on to describe how the well amplifies the expansive, limitless nature of the landscape, and connects the opposing horizontal and vertical nature of the two.

Cunha, Dilip da. “Ocean of Rain.” In The Invention of Rivers: Alexander's Eye and Ganga's Descent. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2019.

John Ruskin used his book Modern Painters to discuss the differences he observed between the contemporary landscape painters at the time and their predecessors. In this passage he mentions one of his own heroes in particular, William Wordsworth, the 19th Century author. His main criticism of Wordsworth is centered around his belief that things are in their most perfect form when untouched by man. The argument the Ruskin expressed is that by observing and dissecting things, we may better come to appreciate them by virtue of the knowledge gained. Ostensibly, Wordsworth believed that the greatest appreciation of a subject was to study it from afar and encapsulate its natural beauty, whereas Ruskin was less willing to let sacrilege stand in the way of progress, because progress would lead to a deeper and more apt appreciation. Jarzombek, Mark. “Recognizing Ruskin: ‘Modern Painters’ and the Refractions of Self.” Assemblage, no. 32 (1997): 70. https://doi.org/10.2307/3171409.

The Egyptians are the first culture we have looked at this semester who perceived their landscape as an ephemeral field rather than a strict border. All of the cultures we have discussed in this class, going back as early as the Sumerians described in the Epic of Gilgamesh, existed within or on top of a landscape that was largely determined. There are examples of cultures claiming lands, such as the early forest clearings described by Girot. There are also examples of cultures laboriously creating new landscapes, such as the landschop practices of the early Dutch civilizations. The Egyptians, by contrast, lived and thrived in a non-determinant setting of an alluvial floodplain, and showed no apparent desire to control or contain the ephemeral nature of the Nile River. Instead, the Egyptians recognized the potential of the natural flood cycle to create new, fertile land and utilized it for this purpose.

The Egyptians are the first culture we have looked at this semester who perceived their landscape as an ephemeral field rather than a strict border. All of the cultures we have discussed in this class, going back as early as the Sumerians described in the Epic of Gilgamesh, existed within or on top of a landscape that was largely determined. There are examples of cultures claiming lands, such as the early forest clearings described by Girot. There are also examples of cultures laboriously creating new landscapes, such as the landschop practices of the early Dutch civilizations. The Egyptians, by contrast, lived and thrived in a non-determinant setting of an alluvial floodplain, and showed no apparent desire to control or contain the ephemeral nature of the Nile River. Instead, the Egyptians recognized the potential of the natural flood cycle to create new, fertile land and utilized it for this purpose.

Relate We have spent much of our time in this class discussing cultures and throughout history and their respective relationships with the land. Most cultures, even including some smaller groups today, believe the world and all of its resources were created explicitly for the use of mankind. There are earlier examples we have discussed, such as Francis Bacon’s call for more rigorous scientific methodology, that hint at the possibility of the natural world being not exclusively made for mankind. In this passage, we see an example of one person’s attempt to manage the natural environment, rather than dominate or exploit it. This transition into the age of scientific forestry was contested by many local people as it limited or removed their access to natural resources. Furthermore, it created conflict between peasants and conservationists.

This passage describes the formation of the Mexican Forestry Society, just one of many conservationist groups created during that time period. The successful lobbying and collective influence of the group went on to restrict the extraction of natural resources found in the greater landscape from the public for the first time in the nation’s history. The speaks to a collective acknowledgement of the environment’s fragility, followed by action being taken to protect it, sometimes at the expense of people.

This passage also entails one example of a prominent conservationist harboring hostility towards peasants for the role they played in environmental destruction. Miguel Angel de Quevedo’s animosity was understandable but misguided. It is true that throughout history, poor people have turned to the natural resources to generate income for themselves, often times at the detriment of the environment. More contemporary examples of deforestation being committed primarily by impoverished groups of people can be seen in the Blue Mountain Range of Jamaica [1] and the Amazon in Peru [2]. This is not because poor people inherently hate the environment, but because they are desperate and do not have the physical means or luxury of time required to responsibly harvest resources from the environment. [1] Weis, Tony. “Beyond Peasant Deforestation: Environment and Development in Rural Jamaica.” Global Environmental Change 10, no. 4 (2000): 299–305. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0959-3780(00)00036-4.

[2] How deforestation is tangled up in the law, and A little-known big producer: Will forest policy reform in Peru support farm-forestry? “Are Smallholders Really to Blame?” CIFOR Forests News, June 29, 2018. https://forestsnews.cifor.org/44155/are-smallholders-really-to-blame-2?fnl=.

Relate: As we have discussed in previous segments of this class, the abuse of land (including but not limited to the brand described in this passage) has been a common pattern throughout American history. Although excessive fertilizer use has become less common since advances in agricultural sciences have demonstrated their inefficacy, plenty of abusive relationships between humans and the landscape persist today. Dominion over the landscape is something we have observed in essentially every society we have discussed during the course of this class thus far.

The use of guano in New York is an interesting take on this week’s theme of “Fields Captured from the Sea” and draws new global connections that I had never considered before. If we consider the guano itself to be a landscape (which, based on the descriptions of Chincha Islands given in the reading, I would argue isn’t that farfetched) then this may be the first example we have seen of a landscape being literally scraped up, put on a ship, and transported thousands of miles away and incorporated in a new landscape, a sort of landscape transplant.

In this passage the author describes the exploitation of land through the overuse and eventual dependence on foreign fertilizers (specifically guano) to facilitate aggressive, capitalist agricultural practices. Many people including Justus von Liebig and Frederick Law Olmsted recognized its short-term performance enhancing abilities, as well as its potential to quickly exhaust the soil. The quick-fix shortcut mentality seen in much of 18th and 19th century America was discussed by Mark Fiege in his novel The Republic of Nature. In Chapter 3, he describes the cycle of abuse slaveowners inflicted on both the land and the people at cotton plantations throughout the southeast. As the growing season progressed, the cruelty inflicted on the slaves increased to make them work faster or harder. This practice was not sustainable however, as the slaves would become weaker and thus slower.

Excessive use of guano in New York and the horrors observed on cotton plantations in the southeast are both examples of the counterproductive and irresponsible relationship America has had with the landscape, which is to take unsustainable shortcuts to find an edge or advantage in a capitalist marketplace with little regard to the environmental or societal impacts.<br> Fiege, Mark. The Republic of Nature An Environmental History of the United States. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2012.

In this section of “Novum Organum”, Francis Bacon attributes the faultiness of the natural sciences in large part to the phenomenon known today as confirmation bias. The eagerness of man to ascribe an order or regularity to nature results in misleading and sometimes categorically false understandings of the natural world. Bacon laments this oversight seen in the natural sciences and seeks to restore the integrity of the field. Accordingly, Bacon draws attention to the human tendency to fall victim to confirmation bias.

Confirmation bias is a psychological phenomenon that leads people to accept bits of information and evidence that support the beliefs they already hold, while ignoring information and evidence to the contrary. This mental error is problematic as it causes people to ignore or deny issues that may disrupt their way of life, for example Republicans denying climate change. It also may result in false attributions in regard to the causality of events or phenomena. As Mark Twain famously said: “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you in trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” In this selection, Francis Bacon warns that this tendency causes a domino effect where more falsities arise, predicated upon that initial bit of misinformation. He asserts that instead, we should seek to disprove what we already believe to be true, and through that method we might systematically identify and root out false assumptions, discovering valuable knowledge as a result.

Kenrick, Douglas T., Adam B. Cohen, Steven L. Neuberg, and Robert B. Cialdini. “The Science of Antiscience Thinking.” Scientific American 319, no. 1 (2018): 36–41. https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0718-36.

Context

Whether or not it was appropriate to plant vegetation in sacred locations was a subject of much contention, most of the authorities in Islamic culture at the time seemed to look at vegetation in this context as a “sullying” of a sacred site. This is surprising given the natural inclination to perceive garden as a symbol of utopia or paradise. Ruggles suggests here that the planted vegetation seen in Islamic Gardens at this time were not the manifestation of ideological links between nature and paradise, but rather a means of producing fruit to give to the caretaker of the property as a form of compensation. Even in this context, there seems to be some differing opinions concerning if it was appropriate to eat the fruits grown on sacred sites.

This negative attitude towards cultivation in sacred areas stands in stark contrast to the churchyards of Catholic churches in European countries. The Catholic churchyard historically played a major role in religious ritual, particularly burials. In fact, having space for burials appeared to be the primary reason for the existence of churchyards in the first place. Sometime between the 16th and 18th centuries the Edict of Nantes forbade burials in churchyards for sanitary reasons. Afterwards, the practice of surrounding churches with green space did not cease, but the primary goal of the churchyard transformed from burial spaces to gardens designed to orchestrate a peacefulness and serenity which could in turn facilitate a spiritual connection.

Kaczyńska, Małgorzata. “The Church Garden as an Element Improving the Quality of City Life – A Case Study in Warsaw.” Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 54 (2020): 126765. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2020.126765.

Relate

This passage reveals an attitude of superiority towards nature on behalf of the Islamic authorities mentioned within. This is not entirely surprising as most human cultures throughout history have felt superior to the forces of nature, or that nature was meant to be bent to the will of man. However, the degree of contempt for nature expressed here is surprising. The passage seems to suggest that to entertain endeavors of cultivation or gardening in a particularly sober area designated for spiritual communion was inappropriate or tone-deaf. This is surprising given the relationship between spirituality and nature seen in both the ancient Chinese cultures we discussed in week 4 as well as western religions today. The prevalence of gardens and intimate outdoor spaces on church campuses seems to point towards a communion between the soul and the natural world.

One thing I found surprising was the notion of cultivating fruits for the sole purpose of compensating the caretaker of the property. It is unclear whether this fruit is the caretaker’s primary income, or if taking care of the mosque was something they did in addition to their regular job. If the ladder is true, does the caretaker feel a spiritual obligation to tend to the mosque?

The concept of ziran here is used to describe the Sage, a person who has a strong connection with his inner nature. Here the term nature is used to describe the tendencies of a thing or its base-line level of operating. This natural, spontaneous way of life gives form to the other definition of the term, the living and evolving wilderness. The natural world is a manifestation of the ziran qualities of life. Misha Tadd asks: “Yet, what if the ziran in early Daoist classics need not only be read as ‘authenticity’ but instead can also be logically understood as ‘authority’?” This points towards what we know today about the natural world, that it is not entirely spontaneous. The driving force behind evolution is natural selection, which leads to species with a greater adaptation to their environment(s). This enhanced adaptation affords an easier life which can be understood here to be a manifestation of its ziran or “natural way of being”. In this example, the apparent ease with which things exist is actually a representation of accumulated evolutionary work.

Tadd, Misha. “Ziran: Authenticity or Authority?” MDPI. Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, March 18, 2019. https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/3/207/htm.

This passage is interesting when considered in relation to the Christian perspective laid out by Merchant that the fall from Eden gave humanity purpose: to rebuild the garden of Eden. While the Christian perspective depicts the earth as a fallen or cursed land in an ongoing restoration project, Cicero's perspective paints a picture of a land rich with resources ready to be manipulated and exploited by humanity. These two perspectives are not mutally exclusive, it is possible that the land is in need of manipulation in order to restore it to its former glory. From this perspective, the resources gained are tied to the ongoing effort and work of restoring paradise.

Context: Merchant describes here how the course of human history has been an extended version of a redemption narrative, aimed at rebuilding and reclaiming the Eden we lost in our original fall from grace. The biblical narrative of the Fall from Eden through this perspecive bestows purpose to all of human endeavor: to recapture the lost paradise. There are still some Christian groups around today (as recently as 2017) tasked with the responsibility of rebuilding Eden. (https://web.archive.org/web/20120306060009/http://fore.research.yale.edu/religion/christianity/projects/restoring_eden.html)

The topic we are covering this week is “Irrigation and Paradise” and it is easy to understand how a lush botanical garden located within an arid desert is a product of irrigation that amounts to a paradise. What is surprising, is that the term “paradise” actually has its roots in the historical context of walled gardens; the word itself roughly translates to “a wall enclosing a garden or orchard”. The passage puts into perspective the extent of human inventiveness, labor, and maintenance necessary to build these ancient gardens. It also explains the exclusivity of paradise in this context. It sharp contrast to the forest clearing, which sought to bring many people together towards a common good, the walled garden exploited the work of many to serve a few social elites. In this context, paradise is not something that is afforded to the common man, or even something the common man could work hard to obtain. Instead, paradise is an endowment related to social glass.

In "The Course of Landscape Architecture" Christophe Girot chronicles the original archetypes of man-made landscapes: the forest clearing, and the walled garden. In this passage, Girot describes the careful placement of the walled garden in relation to its topography. This was to ensure the even flow of water to the botanical curation harbored within the walls, the paradise.

The word “paradise” originated from walled gardens and translates to “the Garden of Eden” in many ancient languages and cultures. (https://www.etymonline.com/word/paradise)

Testing again