In academic writing, an author is usually inspired by an overriding motive, which is mainly to make a significant contribution in his or her area of study. An author’s primary purposes will usually be dictated by what is already known and thought about in the ongoing debate in his or her field of research and the contributions that he or she intends to make so as to be part of that debate (Taylor, 1989).
In the articles, “Human Geography and the “New Ecology”: The Prospect and Promise of Integration” by Karl S. Zimmerer and “The bricolage of the here: young people’s narratives of identity in the countryside” by Michael Leyshon and Jacob Bull, the authors were motivated by different reasons in producing the works.
In writing the article, Zimmerer intended to reformulate an existing point of view in the field of biological ecology. In this way, he wanted to ensure that the new version makes a better explanation. He posits that the concept of the “new ecology” takes into consideration the role of non-equilibrium conditions in biophysical environments as well as a reorientation of biological ecology based in part on biogeography, which had been propagated by earlier postulations.
To this end, Zimmerer wrote the article to “explain the contributions of the “new ecology” and investigate its significance for the examination of biophysical environment in human geography” (Zimmerer, 1994, p. 125). This is an attempt in reformulation of certain essential ecological postulates such as “generalized carrying capacity, area-biodiversity postulate, and biodiversity-stability postulate” (Zimmerer, 1994, p. 125).
The concept of the “new ecology” therefore offers better explanations concerning the significant premises of biological ecology qua systems that were prevalent fifty years ago and it is also antagonistic to the notion of constant stability in environmental systems.
On the other hand, in writing the article, Leyshon and Bull had the motive of conceding to the fact that memories are essential for our construction of place but that further elaborations are needed to determine “the function of memory in creating identity, the political processes involved through which memories become interwoven into understanding of place, and the formation of a bricolage of the here” (Leyshon and Bull, 2011, p. 159).
Further, the authors suggest that qualifications are also to be made regarding the “storied-self as a resolution of the competing constructions and expenses of personal continuity and the inconsistencies and constant change in the project of the individual” (Leyshon and Bull, 2011, p. 159).
Thus, the authors wrote the article as an attempt to provide these elaborations and to explain that memories play a crucial role in the assemblage of space, place, and identity of an individual.
The two texts have a unique version of truth in their fields of study that they are trying to propagate. The article, “Human Geography and the “New Ecology,” focus on the instability, disequilibria, and disorganized variations that typify several environmental systems. The term, “new ecology”, which has been in existence for close to three decades now offers a challenge to the primeval postulation regarding systems ecology; that is, nature always has the tendency to move toward achieving equilibrium or a homeostatic state.
The development of the concept of the “new ecology” can be ascribed to experiential and theoretical improvements and the rise of new metaphors, displacement of the cyclical time of systems ecology since natural catastrophes take place more often and over more significant regions than initially perceived, and the need to address the delicate issue of the “subjectivity” of non-human organisms.
Further, the article points out that the concept of the “new ecology” is extensive with insinuations for the benefit of other areas of study, especially the ones that deal with issues related to the biophysical environment. Notably, the field of human geography appears to be particularly well oriented to analyze the many-sided problems that the concept addresses.
Worth mentioning, “new ecology” has gained increased importance in investigations related to preservation of the environment as well as issues of economic growth. Thus, the text argues that incorporating all the aspects of the “new ecology” can increase the ability of human geography to make a significant input to fathoming how preservation of the ecosystem is associated to economic growth.
On the other hand, the article, “The bricolage of the hire…”, is trying to produce the knowledge that more attention should not be paid to identity only, but investigations should be aimed at finding out how a person generates his or her identity and history of life through experiences as well as the narrative employment of memories.
In terms of identity, the text has pointed out that it is an iterative reworking and redefining process of the self that necessitates the understanding of the person as a stable and coherent image.
In addition, the text points out that the process of developing coherent notions of identity is a narrative process that performs at least two related functions. These are as machinery for symbolizing the world and as way of elaborating different disorderliness and lack of consistency that may be present in an area of study.
References
Leyshon, M. and Bull, J., 2011. The bricolage of the here: young people’s narratives of identity in the countryside. Social & Cultural Geography, 12 (2), p. 159 — 180.
Taylor, G., 1989. ‘Interpretation: reading and taking notes’ The Student’s Writing Guide For the Arts and Social Sciences. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Zimmerer, K. S., 1994. Human Geography and the “New Ecology”: The Prospect and Promise of Integration. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 84(1), p. 108-125.