Picturing Tropical Nature (ART, SCIENCE, SOCIAL SCIENCE, TROPICS)
Stepan, Nancy; Stepan, Nancy Leys
Language: English
Published by Cornell Univ Pr, Ithaca, New York, U.S.A., 2001
Series: Book 3 of 18 - Picturing History
- Hardcover
- New

Seller: BWS BKS, Ferndale, NY, U.S.A.BWS BKS
AbeBooks seller since June 4, 2026
Condition: New
US$ 1,976.00
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
010999; HUMAN ECOLOGY PHILOSOPHY NATURE TROPICS.
Seller Inventory # 10999
- Title
- Picturing Tropical Nature (ART, SCIENCE, SOCIAL SCIENCE, TROPICS)
- Author
- Stepan, Nancy; Stepan, Nancy Leys
- Publisher
- Cornell Univ Pr, Ithaca, New York, U.S.A.
- Publication year
- 2001
- Condition
- New
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 0801438810
- ISBN 13
- 9780801438813
- Series
- Book 3 of 18: Picturing History
- Seller catalogs
- All
Whether as sublime landscape, malignant wilderness, or a site for environmental conflicts and eco-tourism, tropical nature is to a great extent an American and European imaginative construct, conveyed in literature, travel writing, drawings, paintings, photographs, and diagrams. These images are central to Nancy Leys Stepan's view that a critical examination of the "tropicalization of nature" can remedy some of the most persistent misrepresentations of the region and its peoples.
Picturing Tropical Nature reflects on the work of several nineteenth- and twentieth-century scientists and artists, including Alexander von Humboldt, Alfred Russel Wallace, Louis Agassiz, Sir Patrick Manson, and Margaret Mee. Their careers illuminate several aspects of tropicalization: science and art in the making of tropical pictures; the commercial and cultural boom in things tropical in the modern period; photographic attempts to represent tropical hybrid races; anti-tropicalism and its role in an emerging environmentalist sensibility; and visual depictions of disease in the new tropical medicine.
Essential to Stepan's analysis are the responses to European projections of artists, scientists, and intellectuals living in tropical regions. She examines the long-standing Brazilian fantasy of the tropics as a racial democracy, and offers an evaluation of the impact of tropical plants and European conceptions of the jungle on the anti-mimetic, modernist aesthetics of the brilliant landscape designer Roberto Burle Marx.
In a fascinating inquiry into the aesthetic and political, Stepan demonstrates the conflicts over meaning that have shaped the emergence of the tropics, and in doing so questions the nature of representation itself.
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
Nancy Leys Stepan was formerly Professor of Modern History and Senior Fellow of the Wellcome Unit in the History of Medicine at the University of Oxford and is currently Professor of History at Columbia University. Her previous books include The Hour of Eugenics, also from Cornell, The Idea of Race in Science, and Beginnings of Brazilian Science.
"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping rates within U.S.A.
| Item | 5 to 14 business days | 3 to 6 business days |
|---|---|---|
| First item | US$ 3.00 | US$ 5.50 |
Payment methods
Store description
Expect Exemplary Service With Our “Customer-First Philosophy” OUR STAFF IS CONTINUOUSLY GLOVED & MASKED WHEN PACKING YOUR BOOK ORDER. *** ALL OF OUR BOOKS ARE IN STOCK & AVAILABLE FOR IMMEDIATE SHIPMENT. *** SPECIALTY: ART BOOKS *** We offer one of the world’s largest selections of rare and in stock art and design books including artists and subjects from all periods and all regions comprising all related fields: Art, Architecture, Photography, Monographs, Limited Editions, Catalogues Raisonnés, art history survey texts and scarce auction and exhibition catalogues from galleries and museums and publishers worldwide. *** BOOKS FROM ALL FIELDS: We offer a broad range of publications including scholarly reference works and textbooks in all areas of medicine (including the history of medicine) ranging from psychiatry, genetics, neurology, dermatology, OBG, surgery, psychology; as well as publications in all areas of the sciences and humanities and the arts, such as: philosophy, history, economics, politics, physics, chemistry, computers, biology and medicine, along with music, literature, and painting. *** COLLECTIONS IN ALL AREAS OF THE ARTS: We welcome inquiries about our vast collections under Amazon headings including: paintings, watercolors,drawings, etchings, lithographs, autographs, letters, rare documents and artist albums. *** INQUIRIES WELCOME SHIPPING UPGRADE: DOMESTIC USA FREE COURIER SERVICE: FedEx / Courier Free Upgrade for customers in the US where applicable.*** EUROZONE & OTHER CUSTOMERS OUTSIDE THE US: Free or Discounted FedEx or USPS Priority Shipping Upgrade available for shipments to customers outside the US. Please inquire for details on this offer. Customer responible for all VAT…
Specialty
BOOKS FROM ALL FIELDS: We offer a broad range of publications including scholarly reference worksSeller's business information
Bernard W. Schlesinger Foundation, Incorporated
278 Route 52
Liberty, NY U.S.A. 12754
Terms of sale
Expect Exemplary Service With Our “Customer-First Philosophy”
ALL OF OUR BOOKS ARE IN STOCK & AVAILABLE FOR IMMEDIATE SHIPMENT. ***
SPECIALTY: ART BOOKS *** We offer one of the world’s largest selections of rare and in stock art and design books including artists and subjects from all periods and all regions comprising all related fields: Art, Architecture, Photography, Monographs, Limited Editions, Catalogues Raisonnés, art history survey texts and scarce auction and exhibition catalogues from galleries and museums and publishers worldwide. ***
With our exemplary service and “Customer First” Philosophy, we guarantee careful and personalized attention to every detail: from order fulfillment to extremely careful and protective packaging; we offer an upgrade to courier shipping and insurance with signed-for delivery (see details below). Our search capabilities are unrivaled permitting us to make the claim that we can provide virtually any publications our customers require.
BOOKS FROM ALL FIELDS: We offer a broad range of publications including scholarly reference works and textbooks in all areas of medicine (including the history of medicine) ranging from psychiatry, genetics, neurology, dermatology, OBG, surgery, psychology; as well as publications in all areas of the sciences and humanities and the arts, such as: philosophy, history, economics, politics, physics, chemistry, computers, biology and medicine, along with music, literature, and painting. ***
INQUIRIES WELCOME: We welcome inquiries: Simply send us an email message with your contact number (include hours of availability) and we will freely provide our expertise and exemplary service to assist you in every way possible with your Abebooks purchasing decision. Please request information about our unique “Customer-First” Philosophy ***
SHIPPING UPGRADE:
DOMESTIC USA FREE COURIER SERVICE: FedEx / Courier Free Upgrade for customers in the US where applicable.***
EUROZONE & OTHER CUSTOMERS OUTSIDE THE US: Free or Discounted FedEx or USPS Priority Shipping Upgrade available for shipments to customers outside the US. Please inquire for details on this offer. Customer responsible for all VAT.
Shipping terms
SHIPPING UPGRADE:
DOMESTIC USA FREE COURIER SERVICE: FedEx / Courier Free Upgrade for customers in the US where applicable.***
EUROZONE & OTHER CUSTOMERS OUTSIDE THE US: Free or Discounted FedEx or USPS Priority Shipping Upgrade available for shipments to customers outside the US. Please inquire for details on this offer. Customer responible for all VAT.
With our exemplary service and “Customer First” Philosophy, we guarantee careful and personalized attention to every detail: from order fulfillment to extremely careful and protective packaging; we offer an upgrade to courier shipping and insurance with signed-for delivery (see details below). Our search capabilities are unrivaled permitting us to make the claim that we can provide virtually any publications our customers require.