No. 4 (2023)

Miniature on a initial “D” with a scene representing teeth (dentes). A dentist with silver forceps and a necklace of large teeth, extracting the tooth of a seated man. Originally published in James le Palmer, Omne Bonum (London, 1360–75). Wikimedia Commons. Public domain. This image has been cropped and edited.

The fourth issue of Springs leads us across four continents, from the streets of downtown Los Angeles to the Ecuadorian Amazon, into the woodlands of southwest Nigeria, and along Ukraine’s Dnipro river. Frank Zelko yanks the root causes of tooth loss in industrial societies from the long history of dental ecology. Jens Kersten implores the democratic states of the Global North to transform their constitutional orders and embrace their responsibility for planetary health. As we digest the marvelous images of Amelia Fiske and Jonas Fischer’s “Crude Encounters,” we are asked to consider the ecological and psychological impacts of oil extraction. Brady Fauth sits down with Francesca Mezzenzana to discuss her research into children’s human–nonhuman relationships. Joseph Adedeji encourages us to experience the power of built heritage as a symbol of hope for a harmonious coexistence of society and the nonhuman world. Irus Braverman’s “Mother Drone, Mother Nature” holds under the microscope the ongoing convergences in technological innovation, nature conservation, and the Israeli military. Jenny Price pulls us through the looking glass, into the unique world of mockstitutions. The Dnipro river, a major focus of Soviet industrialization, is the subject of Paul Josephson’s “Rivers as Battlefields.” Serenella Iovino writes about Italo Calvino’s The Baron in the Trees and uncovers the author’s unique political ecology.

Published: 31-10-2023