Water, Creativity and Meaning

At a time of great turmoil and crisis, environmentally, socially and politically, water has emerged as a topic of huge global concern. Moreover, many argue that what is needed in order to change our relationship with the environment is a cultural paradigm shift. To this end, this volume brings together diverse approaches to exploring human relationships with the watery world and the other living things that rely upon it. Through exploring multiple creative ways of engaging with water and people, the volume adds to the current zeitgeist of writing about water by expanding the discussion about this vital substance and how, as humans, we relate to it. Chapters focus on creative explorations and explorations of creativity in relation to developing these understandings, including concepts such as hydrocitizenship and responses to drought and flooding. Drawing on the in-depth research and experience of arts practitioners including participatory artists, as well as academics from a variety of fields including geography, anthropology, health studies and environmental humanities, the book provides a rich and multidisciplinary perspective on water and creative ways of engaging and understanding human–water relationships. It represents a valuable source and inspiration for academics, arts practitioners and those involved in environmental policy and governance.

"Water, Creativity and Meaning makes an insightful contribution to current understandings of human-environmental relationships. Centering on creative practices, it explores the intimate and interconnected engagements with water that people experience and embody at a personal and local level, showing how these generate important memories and meanings; enable the composition of individual and community identities; and encourage deep and affective relations with place." - From the Foreword, Veronica Strang, University of Durham, UK "Beyond the empirical richness of the collection the most striking themes for me that emerge from the essays are a range of conceptual explorations at the leading edge of water research. I was very interested to see emerging interest in different forms of "attunement", attentiveness, and materiality, posing questions in terms of research methodology as well as the interpretation of different kinds of developments that span human and other-than-human realms." – From the Afterword, Matthew Gandy, Professor of Cultural and Historical Geography, University of Cambridge, UK"This volume crosses disciplinary borders to combine history, literature, arts, anthropology, and traditional narratives of water. The result is a powerful critique of methodology and interpretation, offering productive ways of engaging with new ways of doing research on water. The hardcover book is beautifully designed with an evocative cover, and is pleasant to hold in one’s hands, adding a rare sensory component to its reading." - Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt, Water Alternatives

Liz Roberts is a cultural geographer currently working at the University of West of England, UK, on an RCUK project on digital storytelling and water scarcity (www.dryproject.co.uk). Katherine Phillips is a social researcher at the University of West of England, UK, with interests in sustainable living, human–environment relations and the mainstreaming of radical alternatives.