Gendering mining landscapes

Abstract

Mining landscapes are among the most dramatic and visual material expressions of the human past (Fig. 13.1). They reflect the cumulative history of human-environmental interactions and the transformation of Nature into Culture. The transformation involves social and cultural constructions of the material world of mining; it takes place by means of distinctive land use and circulation patterns, the organization and material expression of mining technologies, responses to landforms and other natural features, the layout or spatial arrangement of landscape components, and the material expression of the symbolism of cultural traditions and ideologies. Sex/gender systems are among the most distinctive of the social and cultural constructions expressed in mining landscapes. They played a significant role in transforming landscapes during the colonization and establishment of mining frontiers in the American West. © 2010 Springer-Verlag New York.