After-Eden: Narratives of Nature, Degradation, and Poverty in Amazonian Discourse

In this article, I consider the environmental narratives of an Amazonian expedition at the turn of the 21st century, called Amazon Quest, a seemingly novel program that connected a team of explorers to elementary students in the United States. Situating the program within a longer discursive history of Amazonian nature, I examine how Amazon Quest’s portrayal of contemporary Amazonia comes to be defined by degradation and poverty. Unlike many popular accounts, Amazon Quest is less a story of unspoiled nature and exotic culture and more a narrative of degraded lands and peoples. I discuss how poverty and degradation are not merely elements in Amazon Quest’s narration, but rather iconic simplifications, ways of knowing the Amazon, its landscapes, its people, and its future. Resumen: En este articulo, considero las narrativas del medio ambiente de una expedicion amazonica a la vuelta del siglo 21, llamado Amazon Quest, un programa que conecto un equipo de exploradores a los estudiantes de primaria en los Estados Unidos. Situando el programa dentro de una historia de discursos sobre la naturaleza amazonica, examino como la representacion de la Amazonia contemporanea de Amazon de Quest viene a ser definida por la degradacion y la pobreza. A diferencia de muchas cuentas populares, Amazon Quest es menos una historia de la naturaleza virgen y la cultura exotica y mas de una narrativa de las tierras y los pueblos degradados. Discuto como la pobreza y la degradacion son mas que elementos de la narracion de Amazon busqueda, pero simplificaciones iconicas, formas de conocer la Amazonia, sus paisajes, su gente, y su futuro.