Miles Richardson – författare

How did our relationship with nature become broken, why does it matter and how can we fix it? From a past in which we were embedded in the natural world, revolutions in farming, science and industry have seen the human bond with nature eroded with the promise of prosperity offering happiness and meaning in life. This mindset may have delivered comfortable living for many, but there is growing recognition that the root cause of wildlife loss and the warming climate is people’s disconnection from nature, which is also an important factor in our mental health. Yet solutions focus on technical fixes to treat the symptoms of that damaged relationship, such as reducing carbon emissions and increasing habitat. What we urgently need is a whole new way of thinking.Reconnection explores our hidden links with nature through the science of nature connectedness, setting out a way to revivify the relationship across society. Here is a route to a meaningful life that unites both human and nature’s wellbeing for a truly sustainable future. What's more, everybody has a role to play. From business leaders to conservationists, teachers to medics, from drivers to walkers, we can all reduce the damage we do and find new ways to bring nature into our lives. This timely book considers the problems scientifically, then offers simple, practical, positive steps for how we can all work towards a better world.

How did our relationship with nature become broken, why does it matter and how can we fix it? From a past in which we were embedded in the natural world, revolutions in farming, science and industry have seen the human bond with nature eroded with the promise of prosperity offering happiness and meaning in life. This mindset may have delivered comfortable living for many, but there is growing recognition that the root cause of wildlife loss and the warming climate is people’s disconnection from nature, which is also an important factor in our mental health. Yet solutions focus on technical fixes to treat the symptoms of that damaged relationship, such as reducing carbon emissions and increasing habitat. What we urgently need is a whole new way of thinking.Reconnection explores our hidden links with nature through the science of nature connectedness, setting out a way to revivify the relationship across society. Here is a route to a meaningful life that unites both human and nature’s wellbeing for a truly sustainable future. What's more, everybody has a role to play. From business leaders to conservationists, teachers to medics, from drivers to walkers, we can all reduce the damage we do and find new ways to bring nature into our lives. This timely book considers the problems scientifically, then offers simple, practical, positive steps for how we can all work towards a better world.

Unlike the literary tradition of ethnographic fiction that attempts to bridge the gap between the world of the Western reader and the world of the exotic other of distant places, the fiction presented here focuses on the bridge itself. Richardson documents the emergence of the anthropologist's life in the context of the culture of the American South.

Winner of the James Mooney Award of the Southern Anthropological Society In this bracingly original anthropological study, Miles Richardson draws on forty years of empirical research to explore the paradox that while humans must die like all evolving life forms, they have adapted a unique symbolic communication that makes them aware of their natu­rally occurring fate; and through word and artifact, they dwell upon that discovery. Using the concepts of culture and place, he illuminates how two groups, Catholics in Spanish America and Baptists in the American South, create ""being-in-Christ"" and thereby ""put death in its place."" The book combines biological, cultural, archaeological, and linguistic anthropology; a rigorous evolutionary framework; and a postmodern dialogic stance to view humanity as inescapably a product of nature without sacrificing the interpretative social constructions that ""turn a primate into a poem."" Hard-won ethnographic detail and moving reli­gious insight make this an enthralling work.

The globalization of Christianity, its spread and appeal to peoples of non- European origin, is by now a well-known phenomenon. Scholars increasingly realize the importance of natives rather than foreign missionaries in the process of evangelization. This volume contributes to the understanding of this process through case studies of encounters with Christianity from the perspectives of the indigenous peoples who converted. More importantly, by exploring overarching, general terms such as conversion and syncretism and by showing the variety of strategies and processes that actually take place, these studies lead to a more nuanced understanding of cross-cultural religious interactions in general—from acceptance to resistance—thus enriching the vocabulary of religious interaction. The contributors tackle these issues from a variety of disciplinary perspectives—history, anthropology, religious studies—and present a broad geographical spread of cases from China, Vietnam, Australia, India, South and West Africa, North and Central America, and the Caribbean.

In this groundbreaking, collaborative book, Indigenous knowledge keepers and Western scientists offer a revolutionary blueprint for environmental healing.Reconciling Ways of Knowing invites readers into a powerful, ongoing conversation about how to bring together Indigenous knowledge systems and Western science in ethical, practical, and transformative ways. Rooted in the insight that Indigenous Peoples hold expert, place-based knowledge of lands, waters, and more‑than‑human relatives—knowledge built over millennia—this book argues that true reconciliation must also be an epistemic one: a reconciliation of ways of knowing.Conceived by longtime collaborators and friends Kilslaay Kaaji Sding Miles Richardson (Haida leader) and Dr. David Suzuki (geneticist and environmental leader), and convened with Anishinaabe Elder Dr. Dave Courchene and ethnobotanist Dr. Nancy Turner, this project brought together an impressive range of Indigenous and non-Indigenous leaders, Elders, scholars, and practitioners. During the Covid‑19 pandemic, they met online in a series of rich, nearly monthly dialogues to ask tough questions:How should we care for the Earth, not merely “manage resources”?What does ethical collaboration between Indigenous and Western knowledge actually look like in practice?How can we transform decision‑making in nation‑states such as Canada, the United States, Australia, and Aotearoa/New Zealand—societies shaped by centuries of colonization?Curated by the lead organizers of the Reconciling Ways of Knowing: Indigenous Knowledge and Science project, this book gathers the most urgent ideas, critiques, and proposals that emerged from those conversations. It shows how Western science, while responsible for many advances, has also produced grave unintended harms—from ozone depletion and toxin biomagnification to the worsening climate emergency—and why integrating Indigenous knowledge, values, and responsibilities is essential to charting a different course.At once sobering and hopeful, Reconciling Ways of Knowing offers:Inspiring examples of cross‑cultural collaboration and environmental leadershipA clear-eyed critique of the limits of Western science when it stands aloneA forward-looking vision for living respectfully with each other and our more‑than‑human relativesFor readers of environmental studies, Indigenous studies, science, policy, and anyone seeking pathways toward a just, sustainable future, this book is both a call to action and a guide for rethinking how we come to know—and care for—our shared planet.Published in Partnership with the David Suzuki Institute

'A wonderful "rough guide" to the planet we live on... Read it and pass it on as a gift of love from you to those around you so they can learn to feel comfortable in their own skins and ultimately, be happy.' ― Sir Tim Smit, The Eden Project An almanac, focused on reconnecting with the great outdoors for the benefit of both us and nature.Each month in The Blackbird's Song, Miles Richardson delves into the science and mythology behind our relationship with nature, exploring everything from our kinship with plants to the way in which nature influences our moods.Along the way, he offers a range of activities to help us access the benefits of the natural world.Whether it be 'joy-watching' birds, rediscovering wonder, foraging for Christmas crafts or going on an urban safari, this book contains all the tools and inspiration you need to unlock the transformative power of nature and find real meaning in your life.