Kirjahaku

One little question propels both author and reader on a genre-bending quest to find the elusive essence of a Canadian province built on sturdy stereotypes of oil-spoiled, beef-eating, bible-thumping rednecks devoid of class or culture. Through essay, interview, colourful observation, and whatever other exposé it takes to amplify the hyperbolic absurdity of seeking a simple answer to an incendiary question, Geo Takach spotlights the cultural complexity of this perplexing province. Readers will be delightfully edified after a dizzying romp around Wild Rose Country with Geo and a cast of citizens and celebs (alive and dead).

This book explores methods of bringing environmentalist, art-based and Indigenous ways of knowing and being into dialogue to improve relationships with the Earth and Her First Peoples. Geo Takach argues two of the most massive, complex and horrifying crimes visited by humanity on the Earth and its renters are, first, environmental devastation on multiple fronts, and second, the continuing dishonour, dispossession and attempted eradication and erasure of the planet's First Peoples. This work addresses these crises by allying two compatible modes of thought and inquiry situated beyond dominant 'Western' research paradigms in pursuit of sustaining a healthier planet and a more just society. The first of these modes is arts-based research, drawing on methods of information-gathering, synthesis, analysis and presentation from artistic disciplines to engage and inspire our hearts as well as our minds. The second is Indigenist research, which follows guiding principles that may be compatible with arts-based and environmentalist thought. Rooted in communication and cultural studies, this multimodal exploration builds an analytical foundation for such an alliance by exploring causes and challenges common to forms of colonization that have led to ongoing global crises. From there, Takach investigates how Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists, knowledge-keepers and scholars can interweave arts-based and Indigenous perspectives to make meaning and create evocative communications impressing the urgent need for greater environmental protection - while also building and maintaining more respectful relationships with Indigenous Peoples and their ways of knowing and being.

Tar Wars offers a critical inside look at how leading image-makers negotiate escalating tensions between continuous economic growth mandated by a globalized economic system and its unsustainable environmental costs. As place branding assumes paramount importance in an increasingly global, visual, and ecologically conscious society, an international battle unfolds over Alberta’s bituminous sands. This battle pits independent documentary filmmakers against professional communicators employed by government and the oil industry. Tar Wars engages scholars and students in communications, film, environmental studies, social psychology, PR, media and cultural studies, and petrocultures. This book also speaks to decision makers, activists, and citizens exploring intersections of energy, environment, culture, politics, economy, media and power.

This volume explores how to engage audiences both beyond and within the academy more deeply in environmental research through arts-based forms. It builds on a multi-pronged case study of scripts for documentary film, audio-visual and stage formats, focusing on how the identity of a place is constructed and contested in the face of environmental concerns around fossil-fuel extraction in a globalized, visual society--and specifically on the rising, international public-relations war over Alberta’s stewardship of the tar sands. Each script is followed by discussion of the author’s choices of initiating idea, research sources, format, voices, world of the story, structure and visual style, and other notes on the convergence of synthesis, analysis and (re)presentation in the script. Included are lively analysis and commentary on screenwriting and playwriting theory, the creation and dissemination of the scripts, and reflections to ground a proposed framework for writing eco-themed scripts for screen, audio-visual and stage formats.

This volume explores how to engage audiences both beyond and within the academy more deeply in environmental research through arts-based forms. It builds on a multi-pronged case study of scripts for documentary film, audio-visual and stage formats, focusing on how the identity of a place is constructed and contested in the face of environmental concerns around fossil-fuel extraction in a globalized, visual society--and specifically on the rising, international public-relations war over Alberta’s stewardship of the tar sands. Each script is followed by discussion of the author’s choices of initiating idea, research sources, format, voices, world of the story, structure and visual style, and other notes on the convergence of synthesis, analysis and (re)presentation in the script. Included are lively analysis and commentary on screenwriting and playwriting theory, the creation and dissemination of the scripts, and reflections to ground a proposed framework for writing eco-themed scripts for screen, audio-visual and stage formats.