merefaith: discipleship in the ruins of empire

I was very pleased yesterday to discover a series of books on the new agrarianism that has been published by the University of Kentucky Press over the past three years. Entitled "Culture of the Land," this series is edited by the Christian philosopher and agrarian (and a Baptist, to boot!) Norman Wirzba, who began this academic year his tenure as Professor of Theology, Ecology and Rural Life at Duke Divinity School. You can read Divinity Magazine's article on Wirzba's work here. The advisory board for the series includes another Dukie - Ellen Davis, Old Testament professor and author of Scripture, Culture and Agriculture. The members of the board have a range of experience and education in the physical sciences, agriculture, and law and policy. Among their ranks one will find Bill McKibben, Wendell Berry, Michael Pollan, Wes Jackson, and Vandana Shiva.

According to the series web page, its purpose is the following:

This series is devoted to the exploration and articulation of a new agrarianism that considers the health of habitats and human communities together. Far from being a naïve call to return to the land, and thus merely a reverse exodus to the country, the books in the series Culture of the Land show how agrarian insights and responsibilities can be worked out in diverse fields of learning and living: history, politics, economics, literature, philosophy, urban planning, education, and public policy. Agrarianism is a comprehensive worldview that, unlike other forms of environmentalism that often presuppose an antagonistic or exclusive relation between wilderness and civilization, appreciates the intimate and practical connections that exist between humans and the earth. It stands as our most promising alternative to the unsustainable and destructive ways of current global, consumer culture.

Books in the series include and Ents, Elves and Eriador: The Environmental Vision of J.R.R. Tolkien and Beyond Biotechnology: The Barren Promise of Genetic Engineering. I have ordered Eric Freyfogle's Agrarianism and the Good Society, for which used copies in good condition are available for eight bucks at Amazon. You can get the complete list of advisors and books at this page.

Labels: Agrariana

Posted by Chris Schelin on Friday, March 27, 2009 at Friday, March 27, 2009 | Permalink