Escaping the False Binary of Nature and Culture Through Connection Richard White’s The Organic Machine: The Remaking of the Columbia River

In The Organic Machine, Richard White fruitfully undermined the ease of separating nature from culture by emphasizing their relationship rather than their distinct identity. Now a staple of university curricula, White’s text has become the standard bearer for a methodology that befits environmental history as well as all manner of environmental studies. With his nuanced presentation of the political, ethical, social, and technological dynamics of land and water management, White has offered students and scholars the framework and model with which to move beyond binary approaches to nature and culture issues. The work is particularly well-regarded for its philosophical clarity and subtle consideration of environmental and technological ethics, standing as one of the few treatments of the postmodern era to argue against simplistic dichotomies while remaining outside the fray of constructivist counter-critiques. This article treats The Organic Machine for its deepening relevance to environmental scholarship ...