Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Submitting a Book Proposal For the Cultural Environment, Cultural Justice Series, University of Alabama Press



Proposals Are Solicited
Series theme:  The cultural environment – that is, those aspects of the natural and built environment to which human beings ascribe cultural significance – tends to be compartmentalized for purposes both of research and of management.  Archaeologists study the leavings of past cultures; cultural anthropologists and sociologists study living cultures; architectural historians study old buildings.  Historic buildings and archaeological sites get attention in land management, urban planning and environmental impact assessment; most other aspects of the cultural environment do not. 

This series aims to promote a more holistic approach to understanding and characterizing the cultural environment.  It also seeks to explore why and how the cultural environment can be and should be conserved in the contexts of democracy, cultural diversity, globalization, economic development, environmental justice, sustainability, and national/ international law.

Subthemes:  Volumes are solicited addressing subthemes like the following:

·         Cultural Justice – seeking ways to ensure that the cultural environments of indigenous, minority, and low-income communities are not disproportionately impacted by economic development, land management, and other contemporary activities.
·         Critiques of existing governmental and industrial methods of addressing the cultural environment writ large and with reference to specific aspects, generally with reference to the need for cultural justice.
·         Little-considered aspects of and impacts on the cultural environment
·         Examples of aspects:  Culturally significant animals, plants, landscapes, viewsheds, traditional land uses, property rights, neighborhood and community character.
·         Examples of impacts: 
o   Impacts of “green” energy development on culturally valued landscapes, plants, animals, viewsheds;
o   Impacts of endangered species protection on cultural practices, land uses, and cultural uses of wildlife;
o   Impacts of official historic or other special designation on traditional uses of the cultural environment;
o   Impacts of deep-ocean fishing and other commercial activities on historically and culturally important shipwrecks;
o   Impacts of war-fighting and military intelligence on local cultural systems and their environments.
Format:  Relatively short (150-200-page) books, clear, straightforward prose, minimal jargon.  Lots of latitude for authors as to structure, but a general outline might be:
·         Introduction – What is the book about? 
·         The main issues or problems
·         What is and isn’t being done about the issues or problems?
·         What should be done about them?  In what contexts?
·         Further reading
o   Up to ca. 12 photos and/or figures (maps, etc.), up to ca. 8 tables.

Target audiences: 
·         Graduate students in anthropology, geography, sociology, environmental studies. 
·         Practitioners in cultural resource management, historic preservation, environmental impact assessment. 
·         Government officials and policy makers in heritage, environmental, cultural, land management, and urban/regional planning agencies.
What We Need From You:

·         a cover letter
·         a prospectus including a description of your proposed work and its intended audience, the length or anticipated length of the manuscript, the number or anticipated number of illustrations, and the anticipated date of completion if your work is still in progress
·         a table of contents
·         competition, if any (author/title/year) and how your book differs from competitors
·         a list of potential peer reviewers with whom you do not have a close relationship
·         a resumé or curriculum vitae (if an edited work, please include brief bios of contributors).
·         If available, also send an introduction and/or a sample chapter or two.

Contact:  Tom King at tomking106@gmail.com
Postal address:                 410 Windsor Street, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA