Rodney James Giblett

An oral and natural history of the Forrestdale Lake area, largely based on interviews conducted in 1999 by Cath Drake at the instigation of the Friends of Forrestdale. The interviewees recalled the way the area used to be and how they grew up there, describing the community and the landscape and telling of the changes to the ecology of the Forrestdale Lake area. As well as maps and archival photographs, the text is interspersed with illustrations of the area's fauna and flora by local artist Bryony Fremlin.… (plus d'informations)

I was taught by Professor Rod Giblett while studying media studies at university, and found this text to be invaluable.

Our wetlands, or 'swamps', have often been demonised, or alternatively romanticised, since time immemorial. They are considered feminine places, of goddesses who eat people and devour life, of demons who kill and destroy. The symbolism and iconography of the swamp in today's post-modern media is both detailed, complex, and warrants more intense investigation.

Through our understanding of the demonised, feminine landscapes, we come to understand our own western viewpoints. We understand what inspires them, feeds them, and how they might in turn be damaging to our body, our worldview and our health.

An excellent academic text, a great text in support of environmentalism - not just in the places we romanticise easily, but also in the ecologically rich places that defy boundary and crest upon the frontier, and a fantastic media text for those who study media.… (plus d'informations)