Penury into Plenty

Penury into Plenty: Dearth and the Making of Knowledge in Early Modern England is an original examination of cultural meanings of dearth and famine in England at the turn of the sixteenth century. It focuses on the socio-economic and ecological crises of the 1590s investigating the effects of widespread fears of famine on mundane activities and knowledge making by analyzing the remedial measures undertaken by the early modern English to illustrate their commitment to resource management. The activities theories and publications of the prolific âdearth scientistâ Sir Hugh Platt are considered alongside other forms of literature such as sermons plays poetry and prose fiction to explain not only what dearth or famine meant in the period but how contemporaries understood sustainable resource management. By drawing upon environmental economic scientific and literary history and theory Penury into Plenty allows modern readers to see that sustainability is not a wholly modern concept and the investigation of cultural forms of ecological consciousness and social consequences of past environmental change is vital for understanding contemporary concerns. . Language: English