The Oyster Question

The Oyster Question: Scientists, Watermen, and the Maryland Chesapeake Bay since 1880 is a 2009 book by Christine Keiner. It examines the conflict between oystermen and scientists in the Chesapeake Bay from the end of the nineteenth century to the present, which includes the period of the so-called "Oyster Wars" and the precipitous decline of the oyster industry at the end of the twentieth century.[1] The book engages the myth of the "Tragedy of the Commons" by examining the often fraught relationship between local politics and conservation science, arguing that for most of the period Maryland's state political system gave rural oystermen more political clout than politicians and the scientists they appointed and allowing oystermen to effectively manage the oyster bed commons. Only towards the end of the twentieth century did reapportionment bring suburban and urban interests more political power, by which time they had latched on to oystermen as elements of the area's heritage and incorporated them and the oysters into broader conservation efforts.[2] An important theme is the "intersection[] of scientific knowledge with experiential knowledge in the context of use," in that Keiner "treats the knowledge of the Chesapeake Bay’s oystermen alongside that of biologists."[3] "Through her analysis, Keiner effectively reframes how environmental historians have analyzed histories of common resources and provides a working model for integrating historical and ecological information to bridge the histories of science and environmental history."[4]

The Oyster Question
AuthorChristine Keiner
CountryUSA
LanguageEnglish
SubjectEnvironmental history; history of science; conservation
Published2009
Media typePrint
Pages352
ISBN978-0820326986

Awards

The book won the 2010 Forum for the History of Science in America Prize.[5] It shared the 2010 Maryland Historical Trust's Heritage Book Award, and received an Honorable Mention for the Frederick Jackson Turner Award from the Organization of American Historians in 2010.[6][7]

References
  1. Benson, Keith R. (2011). "Review". History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences. 33 (3): 421–422. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  2. de Boer, Tycho (December 2010). "Review". The Journal of American History. 97 (3): 839–840. JSTOR 40960035.
  3. Hersey, Mark D.; Vetter, Jeremy (November 1, 2019). "Shared ground: Between environmental history and the history of science". History of Science. 57 (4): 432. doi:10.1177/0073275319851013. PMID 31675260. S2CID 207833643.
  4. Rumore, Gina (Summer 2010). "Review". Journal of the History of Biology. 43 (2): 407–409. doi:10.1007/s10739-010-9233-9. JSTOR 40802747. S2CID 189843505.
  5. Dube, William (November 30, 2010). "Chronicle of Chesapeake Oyster Industry Wins National History Prize". RIT College of Liberal Arts News. Rochester Institute of Technology. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  6. "Maryland Preservation Awards Archives". Maryland Historical Trust. Maryland Historical Trust. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  7. "Frederick Jackson Turner Award Winners". Organization of American Historians. Organization of American Historians. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
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