An interdisciplinary approach to the concept of paradise

This topic submitted by Abby King, Amanda Swisher on 2/14/03. [ Rivers Team: Abby King, Amanda Swisher-Section: Cummins/Kaufman]

1. Introduction
"Paradise- a place of ideal beauty or loveliness." This dictionary.com definition shows that paradise is an interesting concept, one that we believe deserves a closer look. For our rivers semester-long investigation our research team would like to compare a stream on the island of Oahu, HI to Four Mile Creek here in Oxford, OH. "Hawaii is paradise with a punch!" (Orbitz.com), but hardly anyone would describe the area around Oxford, OH as such. We are looking to investigate the ecological, geological, chemical, and human impacts on these two very different places to attempt to come up with a better understanding of the idea of paradise. To begin our research we will first have to figure out exactly which of the things mentioned above, maybe none or maybe all, makes a place a "paradise." Is it simply a place that is seemingly exotic and different from the everyday environment that the observer is used to? Or does paradise entail more than just a fresh perspective? Maybe it has to do with the temperature; air and water, the presence of vegetation, the presence of a beach, sunny blue skies, perhaps even a rainbow, or the presence of wildlife. We want to know what exactly the components are that make up a "paradise with a punch!" We may find that the same anthropocentric actions taken on Four Mile Creek that detract from its natural beauty are ignored in Hawaii because of our need to support the fantasy of the paradise. We plan to take photographic evidence of both Four Mile Creek and our stream of choice in Hawaii to further illustrate how exactly paradise is seen visually. For our final product we will use our photographs as our primary tool for conveying our findings about the concept of paradise.
2. Lit review
Peirce, Neal R. The Pacific States of America; people, politics, and power in the five Pacific Basin States. W. W. Norton: New York. 1972.
This book will give us good insights into the culture of the Hawaiian people through the context of American culture.

Taylor, Albert Pierce. A narrative of the romance, adventure and history of the Hawaiian Islands, a complete historical account. Advertiser: Honolulu, HI. 1926.
This book will give us a solid understanding of the culture and history of the Hawaiian Islands.

Furnas, J. C. Anatomy of paradise: Hawaii and the islands of the South Seas. W. Sloane Associates: New York. 1948.
This book is going to be great. It gives a detailed analysis of what exactly makes Hawaii a paradise.

Goodrich, Joseph King. The coming Hawaii. A.C. McClurg & co: Chicago. 1914.

Graves, William. Hawaii. Washington, National Geographic Society. 1970.
This book contains lots of wonderful pictures of the perception of paradise in Hawaii.

Lee, W. Storrs. Hawaii; a literary chronicle. Funk & Wagnalls: New York. 1967.

Caslte, William R. Hawaii past and present. Dodd, Mead: New York. 1917. This book can act as a direct cultural artifact, a resource that shows historical perceptions of Hawaii that have led to todayÕs cultural constructions.

Judd, Gerrit Parmele. Hawaiian anthology. Macmillan: New York. 1967.

Palmer, Albert Wentworth. The human side of Hawaii; race problems in the mid-Pacific. The Pilgrim press: Boston, Chicago. 1924.

Sylvia, Mary, Sister. Nostalgia for paradise. Desclee: New York. 1965.
This books compares the idea of paradise to the bible. We feel that this may be important in determining where common perceptions and ideas of what exactly makes up a paradise come from.

Jacoby, Mario. The longing for paradise: psychological on an archetype. Sigo Press: Boston. 1985.
This book lays out the construct of paradise through a psychological lens.

Huet, Pierre-Daniel. A treatise of the situation of Paradise. James Knapton: London. 1694. This will also provide a historical basis for the development of our concept of paradise.

Heinberg, Richard. Memories and visions of paradise: exploring the universal myth of a lost golden age. J. P. Tarcher: Los Angeles. 1989. This may be less applicable to the idea of a paradise in terms of an Eden, but will allow us to understand the broader context of a paradise and societal ideals that serve as escapes.

Ashton, John. The quest for paradise: visions of heaven and eternity of the worldÕs myths and religions. Harper: San Francisco. 2001.
This book will give us insight into the deeper meaning behind the idea of paradise. It describes in depth where the idea of paradise plays into human interpretation and understanding.

Armstrong, John. The paradise myth. Oxford U. P.: London, New York. 1969. This will help us get another perspective on the fantasies and myths that help us escape our culture.

Sanders, Randall E. A Guide to Ohio Streams. Streams Committee, Ohio Chapter of the American Fisheries Society: Colombus, OH. 2002).
Ohio Guide to Streams This guide provides some very practical facts about Ohio ecosystems that surround streams, giving us an appropriate knowledge of the watershed that includes Four-Mile Creek.

http://www.tecsoc.org/culture/whatsculture.htm
This website outlines the specific reasons for why studying culture is important.

NAWQA Home for Great and Little MiamiRiver basins: http://oh.water.usgs.gov/miam.html This the where the National Association for Water Quality Assessment posts there study unity information, data and other facts about the watershed that includes Four Mile Creek. It has maps showing land use, population, psyiogrpahic reiogns, etc.

NAWQA Home for Oahu: http://wwwdhihnl.wr.usgs.gov/nawqa/index.html
This site gives the same information for the Hawaiian island of Oahu.

NAWQA data for Hawaii
http://wwwdhihnl.wr.usgs.gov/nawqa/site_waihee.html
The significance of this site is in its links that describe geological processes of the Hawaiian islands.

www.usgs.gov
The water quality link on this site allows us to look at technical manuals for many water testing processes.

3. Interdisciplinary approach

As stated in our introduction, we are looking at cultural and social factors, based on direct observation and synthesis and othersÕ commentary, and scientific data. The science data will include simple observations coupled with sampling that will cover disciplines such as geology, geomorphology and ecology. We combine this with the information gathered from humanities disciplines, such as American Studies, philosophy and history, we will be able to develop a concept of paradise that can be critically applied to streams at two separate locations.
4. Research design.
The first step for our research will be coming up with a cultural and social concept of wilderness. We will use interpretations of the concept of paradise as well as direct cultural artifacts that point to a contemporary American understanding of paradise. Literature, art and academic articles can allow us to understand a historical context and basis for this construction. Is the construction related to our beginnings as a nation? Perhaps, this land was once a paradise that others sought out. Do our social constructions, our institutions, laws and support this concept, or are they so far from it that they make this concept a fantasy and escape from our society? These types of questions will lead us to a balanced concept to use to develop the rest of the research. When we have this concept we will better know if we need to compare t the ecology, geomorphology, physical characteristics or chemical characteristics of the streams. Depending on our concept of paradise, temperature and other ecological factors or sediment load and other factors that impact appearance could become extremely important. We will need to have a clear idea of this concept by March 7, when we fly to Oahu, Hawaii. While on Oahu, we will take to time to sample two streams, an urban stream and a mountainous stream on the island. We may be unable to precisely determine which streams previous to our trip because it will depend heavily on accessibility of the streams. The U.S. Geological Society in Honolulu will be a valuable resource for advice and perhaps data. In addition to sampling the streams, we will begin a photo essay that shows what makes Hawaiian streams part of this cultural construct, but also that shows any parts of the ecosystem that we might ignore to uphold our idea of paradise. We will gather cultural evidence, mostly from tourist areas and activities that illustrate the allure of Hawaii as a paradise.
Upon return to the Midwest, we will repeat the process with Four-Mile Creek. We will delve into the creek, finding portions of it that conform to our concept and discovering what keep sit from that distinction. We will look at human additions to the ecosystem and attitudes toward the creek. A Butler County organization, such as a park board, chamber of commerce, or tourist board, may be able to provide us with descriptions of the creek that are meant to attract visitors. The same samples will be taken and analyzed and we will approach the stream with a camera, as we did in Hawaii. With all of this information, we will be able to synthesize our cultural, social and scientific resources and data to discover if there is something inherently different about the various streams. Do the differences in the ecosystems causes us to be fascinated with the fantasy of one and not the other or is the fascination is entirely derived from the construct of paradise?
5. Materials and Methods
The most important part of our methods will be field research, spending time at the streams, sampling and developing part of the product. More specifically, our scientific methods will depend on the concept of paradise we discover and what factors it shows are important. We definitely plan on considering characteristics that require some form a water sampling that can be done on our trip.

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