Copyright

Kathleen Ann Myers

Published On

2024-03-05

Page Range

pp. 2–43

Language

  • English

Print Length

42 pages

Introduction

  • Kathleen Ann Myers (author)
Chapter of: A Country of Shepherds: Cultural Stories of a Changing Mediterranean Landscape(pp. 2–43)
This chapter provides an overview of pastoralism. As well as telling the long history of this mode of subsistence that involves grazing animals on grasslands, the author describes its ongoing practice in Spain and how this is affected by recent issues such as climate change and capitalism. The chapter challenges misconceptions by presenting pastoralism as a complex, dynamic, and resilient practice that may influence our future behaviour as we recognize the value of shepherds’ methods. Case studies and interviews offer authentic accounts of hard-working, strong individuals who are, simultaneously, preserving the traditions of shepherds who came before them and forging new paths in the contemporary world. Key terminology and geographical information provide the contextual background necessary for the discussion of pastoralism in subsequent chapters.

Contributors

Kathleen Ann Myers

(author)
Professor of Spanish and History at Indiana University Bloomington

Kathleen Ann Myers is Professor of Spanish and History at Indiana University-Bloomington. She received her doctorate in Hispanic Studies from Brown University. She has published widely on a variety of topics, including books about women writers in colonial Mexico (Liverpool 1993, Indiana University Press 1999, Oxford 2003) and the Spanish conquest and colonization of the Americas (Texas University Press 2007). Her recent studies include books on cultural geographies and coloniality in contemporary Mexico (University of Arizona Press 2015, University of Toronto 2024). This research has been generously funded by a variety of organizations, including Indiana University, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Fulbright Scholar Program, the Spanish Ministry for Education and Culture, the Centro de Estudios de Ciencias Sociales (Mexico), the American Philosophical Association, the Huntington Library, and the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas of Spain (CSIC).