Mechanized Landscape: Statecraft and Environment in the Tennessee Valley
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Author: Micah Rutenberg and Avigail Sachs
In 1933 the United States government created the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and gave it jurisdiction over a demarcated region – the watershed of the Tennessee. The TVA was authorised to develop the resources in the Valley and promote the welfare of its residents. The book examines this comprehensive effort as a form of statecraft – the art of government persuasion and diplomacy – manifested through environmental transformation. It follows the TVA’s physical transformations and its investment in infrastructural power – programs that extended the state’s capacity to reach even the most remote residents. The product of this process, the mechanised landscape, is a testament to the TVA’s complex approach to democracy, its racial and middle-class biases, and its technical and managerial acumen. By bringing together original photography, newly created maps, and text, this book offers a well-researched, visually compelling appraisal of the TVA’s plans and their implementation. Rather than following a linear textual narrative, readers are invited to explore the complexity of the mechanised landscape through multiple media.
ISBN 9781961856646. Applied Research & Design. pb. 200 pages. 21 x 29 cm.
available
In 1933 the United States government created the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and gave it jurisdiction over a demarcated region – the watershed of the Tennessee. The TVA was authorised to develop the resources in the Valley and promote the welfare of its residents. The book examines this comprehensive effort as a form of statecraft – the art of government persuasion and diplomacy – manifested through environmental transformation. It follows the TVA’s physical transformations and its investment in infrastructural power – programs that extended the state’s capacity to reach even the most remote residents. The product of this process, the mechanised landscape, is a testament to the TVA’s complex approach to democracy, its racial and middle-class biases, and its technical and managerial acumen. By bringing together original photography, newly created maps, and text, this book offers a well-researched, visually compelling appraisal of the TVA’s plans and their implementation. Rather than following a linear textual narrative, readers are invited to explore the complexity of the mechanised landscape through multiple media.
ISBN 9781961856646. Applied Research & Design. pb. 200 pages. 21 x 29 cm.
available