Jacqueline Vadjunec

co-author and editor of Amazonian Geographies: Emerging Identities and Landscapes

February 4, 2013

Jacqueline Vadjunec is an Assistant Professor of Geography at Oklahoma State University.

Amazonia exists in our imagination as well as on the ground. It is a mysterious and powerful construct in our psyches, yet shares multiple (trans)national borders and diverse ecological and cultural landscapes. It is often presented as a seemingly homogeneous place: a lush tropical jungle teaming with exotic wildlife and plant diversity, as well as the various indigenous populations that inhabit the region. Yet, since Conquest, Amazonia has long been linked to the global market, and after a long and varied history of colonization and development projects, Amazonia is peopled by many distinct and 'other'-defined cultural groups, who continue to remain invisible to the outside world despite their increasing integration into global markets and global politics. Millions of rubber tappers, neo-native groups, peasants, river dwellers, and urban residents continue to shape and re-shape the cultural landscape as they adapt their livelihood practices and political strategies in response to changing markets and shifting linkages with political and economic actors at local, regional, national, and international levels. This book explores the diversity of cultural and political landscapes emerging in different corners of this rapidly changing region.

URL: https://library.okstate.edu/news/celebratingbooks/2013-honorees/jacqueline-vadjunec

Last Updated: 12 January 2022