The Geography of Rivers: Morphology, Ecology, and Culture
2013 Austin Water - CER Lunchtime Lectures move to Wednesdays!
Twice a month from NOON to 1pm
Second Wednesday of the Month - Dougherty Arts Center
1110 Barton Springs Road, Austin, Texas
Same Lecture Repeated on another Wednesday Each Month - City Hall
Boards and Commissions Room 1101, Austin, Texas
Free and Open to the Public – bring a lunch and learn
The Geography of Rivers: Morphology, Ecology, and Culture
2013 is the tenth year of CER Lunchtime Lectures, and, as I did last year with natural history, the 2013 lectures will all focus on one topic and unfold like a course. The 2013 Lunchtime Lectures will explore the geography of rivers. The metaphor of the “round river” which flows back into itself provides the structure of the lectures. We begin with the mythical, metaphorical river which runs so deeply in human culture and specifically in American culture. We next explore the physical geography and ecology of rivers as fluvial systems and terrestrial habitats. The last part of the year returns us to culture as we look at human impacts on American rivers which have transformed the landscapes of American rivers into cultural landscapes shaped both by humans and nature.
And so, join me for a river journey in 2013 as we explore the Geography of Rivers.
The Culture of Rivers – January to April
Humans have ancient and complex cultural relationships to rivers revealing the deep significance rivers have for the human psyche. The river as a symbol of Being can be found throughout mythology, and, from the Pre-Socratic philosopher Heraclitus, we supposedly learned that one cannot step in the same river twice. Moreover, the visual arts, music, and literature of rivers reveal the rich imaginative engagement of human culture with the meaning of rivers.
January 9 at Dougherty Arts Center – The Round River: Myth, Meaning, and Rivers
January 30 at City Hall - The Round River: Myth, Meaning, and Rivers
February 13 at Dougherty Arts Center – Riverrun: Language, Art, and Rivers
February 20 at City Hall – Riverrun: Language, Art, and Rivers
March 13 at Dougherty Arts Center – Riversong: American Rivers and Music
March 20 at City Hall – Riversong: American Rivers and Music
April 10 at Dougherty Arts Center – Strong Brown God: the Poetry of Rivers
April 17 at City Hall – Strong Brown God: the Poetry of Rivers
River Systems – May to August
Rivers write their way across the surface of the Earth, inscribing deeply or shallowly depending on how resistant the surface is to the flow of water and sediment carried by the river. This morphology of the physical geography of the Earth is the starting point for geography, but a geographer must go beyond the physical shapes and shaping of rivers in order to fully understand them. The living river begins with the geochemistry of flowing water which merges with the biochemistry of aquatic organisms and then further merges with the terrestrial ecology of organisms living along the river’s riparian and bottomland zones.
May 8 at Dougherty Arts Center – River Process: the Fluvial System and River Hydrology
May 15 at City Hall - River Process: the Fluvial System and River Hydrology
June 12 at Dougherty Arts Center – River Life: the Ecology of Flowing Water
June 19 at City Hall - River Life: the Ecology of Flowing Water
July 10 at Dougherty Arts Center – Riparia: Life at the River’s Edge
July 17 at City Hall - Riparia: Life at the River’s Edge
August 14 at Dougherty Arts Center – Bottomland: Floodplain Habitats
August 21 at City Hall - Bottomland: Floodplain Habitats
Rivers of Culture – September to December
The keystone organisms that impact all aspects of river systems are humans, who settle along rivers and transform hydrology and ecology as we turn natural landscapes into cultural landscapes.
September 11 at Dougherty Arts Center – Rivers of Empire: American Rivers
September 18 at City Hall - Rivers of Empire: American Rivers
October 9 at Dougherty Arts Center – Waters the Land: Texas Rivers
October 16 at City Hall - Waters the Land: Texas Rivers
November 13 at Dougherty Arts Center – Another Colorado: Rivertown Austin
November 20 at City Hall - Another Colorado: Rivertown Austin
December 11 at Dougherty Arts Center – Goodbye to the River: A Summary
December 18 at City Hall - Goodbye to the River: A Summary
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