UAA and APU announce the 2009-2010 Books of the Year

UAA and APU announce the 2009-10 Books of the Year

By: Staff Apr 15, 2009

“Responding to Climate Change in Alaska” theme for new Books of the Year

ANCHORAGE, AK – The University of Alaska Anchorage/Alaska Pacific University Books of the Year program has selected two books for its 2009-10 series. Based in Alaska and written by Alaskans, these two faculty-selected books provide an introduction to rural Alaska ways of life. Together they reveal many of the changes that have occurred over the past half century and demonstrate what’s at stake for rural communities facing the effects of climate change.

“The Whale and the Supercomputer” by Charles Wohlforth is a non-fiction account of how climate change is affecting life on Alaska’s North Slope. The book describes the philosophies, methods and reactions of the local Inupiaq whaling culture and the Western scientific community, and demonstrates the valuable insights each provides into what is happening in the Far North.

“Shopping for Porcupine” by Seth Kantner is a series of essays about growing up in the wilderness north of Kotzebue. These essays describe life without Western technology, show how people can live with a small carbon footprint and provoke questions about how much of our own ways of life we might be willing to forgo in the face of climate change.

Both books contrast the ways Alaska Native people and scientists acquire and use knowledge. They call upon both Native wisdom and Western science to address the problems associated with climate change, and they illustrate how profoundly climate and cultural change can affect both people and entire ecosystems.

UAA and APU started the Books of the Year program in 2006 as part of a Ford Foundation Difficult Dialogues initiative, to provide a catalyst for discussions on challenging and relevant topics. The theme for this year’s Books arose from the need for more Alaskans to understand the issues and challenges relating to climate change.

For more information on the UAA/APU programs and its selected Books of the Year, call (907) 786-6374 or visit http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/books-of-the-year/.