Jacklyn Cock

Rebecca Olive

War, State and Society

Alison R. Bernstein

This passionate, intelligent commentary is an invigorating look at the implications of difference and diversity in two contrasting but similar societies: the United States and South Africa. Melting Pots and Rainbow Nations addresses how differences--of gender, race, culture, biology, and sexual orientation - are variously understood and acted on in both countries. The authors argue that the concepts of difference and diversity, although valuable, are hollow if disconnected from specific social and historical contexts in which power relations create and perpetuate disadvantage. Their thoughtful exploration includes accounts of their own experiences of difference and their perspectives on such pioneering women as Elizabeth Bishop, Frene Ginwala, Audre Lord, Ruth First, Jane Goodall, and Mamphela Ramphele.

Conversations about Difference in the United States and South Africa

Melting Pots & Rainbow Nations

"The future of the environment, and the destructive impact of unregulated market-led growth on it, has become the defining socio-political issue of the 21st century. This book, by taking a holistic approach to the subject, will attract readers who are interested in the section on the origin, growth and social composition of bird-watching through to those who see capitalism on a suicidal course in its drive to exploit nature for profit." --Eddie Webster, director of the Sociology of Work Unit, University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa) "This is a refreshing, important and timely work: refreshing because of the personal perspective of the author; important because it goes beyond the personal to make a significant statement about current states of affairs in South Africa; timely because its message goes beyond (South) Africa--it is an urgent plea for universal environmental sanity." --Dr. Kai Horsthemke, Wits School of Education, University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa) For many people "nature" means wilderness and wild animals. It is experienced indirectly through magazines and television programs or through visiting the highly managed environments of national parks. Nature, however, is not external, separate from the world of people--we live in nature and interact with it daily. In this book, Jacklyn Cock describes how these intricate and complex interconnections, seen and unseen, are often ignored. Each of the ten chapters examines an aspect of our relationship with nature. The War Against Ourselves compels us to reexamine our relationship with nature, to change our practices and dissolve present binary divisions such as people vs. animals, economic growth vs. environmental protection, "nature" vs. "culture." It demonstrates the need for an inclusive politics which brings together peace, social, and environmental justice activists who believe that another world is both possible and necessary. Jacklyn Cock is professor emeritus in the Department of Sociology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (South Africa) where she has lectured for twenty-five years. She is also an Honorary Research Professor in the Sociology of Work unit (SWOP). She has been involved in the environmental movement since the 1970s.

Nature, Power and Justice

The War Against Ourselves

Writing the Ancestral River is an illuminating and unusual biography of the Kowie River in the Eastern Cape. This tidal river runs through the centre of what used to be called the Zuurveld, a formative meeting ground of different peoples who have shaped our history: Khoikhoi herders, Xhosa pastoralists, Dutch trekboers and British settlers. Their direct descendants continue to live in the area and interact in ways that have been decisively shaped by their shared history. Besides being a social history, this is also a natural history of the river and its catchment area, where dinosaurs once roamed and cycads still grow. As the book shows, the natural world of the Kowie has felt the effects of human settlement, most strikingly through the establishment of a harbour at the mouth of the river in the 19th century and the development of a marina in the late 20th century. Both projects have had a decisive and deleterious impact on the Kowie. People are increasingly reconnecting with nature and justice through rivers. Acknowledging the past, and the inter-generational, racialised privileges, damages and denials it established and perpetuates, is necessary for any shared future. By focusing on this `little' river, the book raises larger questions about colonialism, capitalism, `development' and ecology, and asks us to consider the connections between social and environmental injustice.

Jacklyn Cock

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