Field work undertaken on the Mississippi River dissolves the distinction between field and archive, evidencing not just attempts to alter the river’s flow, but similarly shifting cultural and political dynamics.

Canoeing as energy historical research

Taking as a starting point the notion of the Mississippi as a “working river,” Thomas Turnbull traces the various—often futile—attempts to harness the river’s power by establishing human sovereignty over it. Having explored these histories as a traveler on the Anthropocene River Journey, he observes how experiences on the river essentially dissolved the distinction between field and archive, with the water itself evidencing not just efforts to alter the Mississippi’s flow, but the similarly shifting cultural and political dynamics that have accompanied such endeavors.