A Cultural History of Plants in the Modern Era (The Cultural Histories Series)

A Cultural History of Plants in the Modern Era covers the period from 1920 to today - a time when population growth, industrialization, global trade, and consumerism have fundamentally reshaped our relationship with plants. Advances in agriculture, science, and technology have revolutionised the ways we feed ourselves, whilst urbanization and industrial processing have reduced our direct connection with living plants. At the same time, our understanding of both ecology and conservation have greatly increased and our appreciation of the meanings and aesthetics of plants continue to suffuse art and everyday culture. The modern era has witnessed a revolution in both the valuation and the destruction of the natural world - more than ever before, we understand that the vitality of our relationship with plants will shape our future. The six-volume set of the Cultural History of Plants presents the first comprehensive history of the uses and meanings of plants from prehistory to today. The themes covered in each volume are plants as staple foods; plants as luxury foods; trade and exploration; plant technology and science; plants and medicine; plants in culture; plants as natural ornaments; the representation of plants. Stephen Forbes is an independent scholar and writer, based in Australia. A Cultural History of Plants in the Modern Era is the sixth volume in the six-volume set, A Cultural History of Plants , also available online as part of Bloomsbury Cultural History, a fully-searchable digital library (see www.bloomsburyculturalhistory.com). General Editors: Annette Giesecke, University of Delaware, USA, and David Mabberley, University of Oxford, UK. A Cultural History of Plants presents a global exploration of how plants have shaped human culture. Covering the last 12,000 years, it is the definitive history of how we have cultivated, traded, classified, and altered plants and how, in turn, plants have influenced our ideas of luxury and wealth, health and well-being, art and architecture. Chapter titles are identical across each of the volumes. This gives the choice of reading about a specific period in one of the volumes, or following a theme across history by reading the relevant chapter in each of the six. The themes (and chapter titles) Plants as Staple Foods; Plants as Luxury Foods; Trade and Exploration; Plant Technology and Science; Plants and Medicine; Plants in Culture; Plants as Natural Ornaments; The Representation of Plants. The six volumes 1 Antiquity (10,000 BCE to 500 CE); 2 Post-Classical Era (500 to 1400); 3 Early Modern Era (1400 to 1650); 4 the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries (1650 to 1800); 5 the Nineteenth Century(1800 to 1920); 6 Modern Era (1920 to the present). The page extent for the pack is 1744pp. Each volume opens with Notes on Contributors and an Introduction and concludes with Notes, Bibliography, and an Index. The Cultural Histories Series A Cultural History of Plants is part of The Cultural Histories Series. Titles are available both as printed hardcover sets for libraries needing just one subject or preferring a one-off purchase and tangible reference for their shelves, or as part of a fully-searchable digital library available to institutions by annual subscription or on perpetual access (see (http://www.bloomsburyculturalhistory.com) www.bloomsburyculturalhistory.com ). A Cultural History of Plants in the Modern Era covers the period from 1920 to today - a time when population growth, industrialization, global trade, and consumerism have fundamentally reshaped our relationship with plants. Advances in agriculture, science, and technology have revolutionised the ways we feed ourselves, whilst urbanization and industrial processing have reduced our direct connection with living plants. At the same time, our understanding of both ecology and conservation have greatly increased and our appreciation of the meanings and aesthetics of plants continue to suffuse art and everyday culture. The modern era has witnessed a revolution in both the valuation and the destruction of the natural world - more than ever before, we understand that the vitality of our relationship with plants will shape our future. The 6 volume set of the Cultural History of Plants presents the first comprehensive history of the uses and meanings of plants from prehistory to today. The themes covered in each volume are plants as staple foods; plants as luxury foods; trade and exploration; plant technology and science; plants and medicine; plants in culture; plants as natural ornaments; the representation of plants.Stephen Forbes is an independent scholar and writer, based in Australia. Volume 6 in the Cultural History of Plants set.General Editors: Annette Giesecke, University of Delaware, USA, and David Mabberley, University of Oxford, UK. Cover 1 Contents 6 List of Illustrations 7 List of Tables 12 Series Preface Annette Giesecke and David J. Mabberley 13 Introduction: Plants and Culture Stephen Forbes 14 1 Plants as Staple Foods: Feast and Famine in Global Food Systems Derek Byerlee 26 2 Plants as Luxury Foods: Affordability in an Environmentally Uncertain Future Frederica Bowcutt 52 3 Trade and Exploration: The Impact on Plant Diversity Sara Oldfield 76 4 Plant Technology and Science: Advances in Crop Improvement Peter Langridge and Geoff Fincher 102 5 Plants and Medicine: From Imperial Divergence to Global Convergence Jean-Paul Gaudillière 120 6 Plants in Culture Mark Tredinnick and Stephen Forbes 140 7 Plants as Natural Ornaments Kate Cullity, Stephen Forbes, Jen Lynch, and Mike Maunder 162 8 The Representation of Plants Geoff Bil 184 Notes 205 Bibliography 208 Notes on Contributors 249 Index 251 "A Cultural History of Plants presents a global exploration of how plants have shaped human culture. Covering the last 12,000 years, it is the definitive history of how we have cultivated, traded, classified, and altered plants and how, in turn, plants have influenced our ideas of luxury and wealth, health and well-being, art and architecture. Chapter titles are identical across each of the volumes. This gives the choice of reading about a specific period in one of the volumes, or following a theme across history by reading the relevant chapter in each of the six. The themes (and chapter titles) are: Plants as Staple Foods; Plants as Luxury Foods; Trade and Exploration; Plant Technology and Science; Plants and Medicine; Plants in Culture; Plants as Natural Ornaments; The Representation of Plants."-- Provided by publisher