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by James Randall (Author)
Island Studies can be deceptively challenging and rewarding for an undergraduate student. Islands can be many things: nations, tourist destinations, quarantine stations, billionaire baubles, metaphors. The study of islands offers a way to take this 'bewildering variety' and to use it as a lens and a tool to better understand our own world of islands.
An Introduction to Island Studies is an approachable look at this interdisciplinary field - from the islands as biodiversity hotspots, their settlement, human migration and occupation through to the place of islands in the popular imagination. Featuring geopolitical, social and economic frameworks, James Randall gives a bottom-up guide to this most modern area of study. From the geological analysis of island formation to the metaphorical use of islands in culture and literature, the growing field of island studies is truly interdisciplinary. This new introduction gives readers from many disciplines the local, global, and regional perspectives that unlock the promise of island studies as a way to see the world. From the struggles and concerns of the Anthropocene--climate change, vulnerability and resilience, sustainable development, through to policy making and local environments--island studies has the potential to change the debate.Author Biography
James (Jim) Randall teaches at the University of Prince Edward Island, Canada, where he is also the coordinator of the Island Studies program, leads the Institute of Island Studies and is the UNESCO Chair in Island Studies and Sustainability. A geographer by training, Jim developed a love of Island Studies later in his career. His research spans many aspects of this interdisciplinary field, with a special interest in development, quality-of-life, and islander-newcomer relationships on small islands.
