A Green Place, a Good Place: Agrarian Change, Gender, and Social Identity in the Great Lakes Region to the 15th Century

In A Green Place, A Good Place, David Schoenbrun depicts a complex dynamic of historical transformation characterized by the interplay of environmental, social, and philosophical change. This interplay of historical forces developed around an enormously varied tapestry of forms of power which Great Lakes peoples understood to work in their world. Schoenbrun elegantly weaves the diverse methodologies of historical and comparative linguistics, and comparative ethnography and archaeology, into a broadly conceived social history of interlacustrine peoples' ideas about health, politics, gender, and social life.

This book suggests new ways to compose histories of societies for which there exist no written records, oral traditions, or conscious memories. Schoenbrun's research strategy demonstrates his extraordinary capacity to recover the achievements of ancient Africans. His book will be required reading for Africanist scholars across disciplinary boundaries. Other scholars interested in the effectiveness of interdisciplinary research methodologies will find the book highly valuable as well.