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Water Ways

Laurie Taylor explores human relationships with water and water poverty in England and Wales.

Water Ways: Laurie Taylor wades into the deep end with an exploration of human relationships with water. He talks to Veronica Strang, Professor of Anthropology, affiliated to Oxford University, whose latest study takes us from nature worship to the environmental crisis. Early human societies worshipped ‘nature beings’, including water serpent deities who manifested the elemental and generative powers of water. Such beliefs supported collaborative co-existence with the non-human world. How might an understanding of the role and symbolism of water serpents help us turn back the tide of ecological disaster?

They’re joined by Anna Mdee, Professor in the Politics of Global Development at the University of Leeds, who argues that water poverty isn't confined to the Global South, but takes a different form in the western societies, impacting around 20% of households in England and Wales.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Available now

29 minutes

Last on

Mon 18 Sep 2023 00:15

Guests and further reading

- Veronica Strang - Professor of Anthropology affiliated to Oxford University

Water Beings: From Nature Worship to the Environmental Crisis Ìý(Reaktion Books)

Ìý

-Ìý - Professor in the Politics of Global Development at the University of Leeds

Paper: ’ in the ÌýWater Policy Journal April 2023 (with Ruth Sylvester and P Hutchings)


Broadcasts

  • Wed 13 Sep 2023 16:00
  • Mon 18 Sep 2023 00:15

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