Words, Water, and Work: Literature and History in the Columbia River Basin introduces educators to poets, novelists and essayists who have written about the social and ecological transformation of the Columbia River Basin, from the 1930s to the present.
2008 Castles Fellow Chad Wriglesworth, University of Iowa Ph.D. candidate and former Language Arts teacher presented this workshop on February 20, 2010. The agenda and a site-based bibliography are available below, in addition to case studies and primary documents for analysis using this Big Dam History Detectives Scaffolding Exercise.
The world’s largest hydroelectric dam, the Three Gorges Dam was scheduled for completion in 2009. The size of the project and its potential destruction of cultural resources and communities have sparked many debates about the project’s impact on the natural environment and human populations.
“Dams are the temples of modern India.” Jawarhalal Nehru during a speech after Indian independence in 1947.
The Narmada River is located in the western states of Madya Pradesh and the northeastern state of Gujarat, India.The Sardar Sarovar Dam, begun in 1987 to provide hydroelectric power to Gujarat, is the biggest of 30 dams proposed on the Narmada River.
Photo courtesy of Manoj Saranathan and Subramanya Sastry
Above. The Narmada River wends its way across the fertile Nimad Plains famous for its agricultural produce and the breathtaking Satpura hills before crossing Gujarat and into the Arabian Sea. Considered one of India’s holiest rivers, Ma Rewa as it is called is also witness to a unique parikrama or circumambulation by pilgrims walking its entire stretch.
To learn more about the Narmada River and the Sardar Sarovar Dam, download this Narmada River Fact Sheet, which includes a timeline.
Images
Domkhedi, Madhya Pradesh submerged after the 2003 monsoon. Photo courtesy of Manoj Saranathan and Subramanya Sastry.Luvhariabai pointing to his submerged house in 2003. Photo courtesy of Manoj Saranathan and Subramanya Sastry.
Document
Narmada Newsletter updates, July 2005 from Narmada Bachao Andolan, a non-governmental organization (NGO) that mobilized tribal people, adivasis, farmers, environmentalists and human rights activists against the Sardar Sarovar Dam.
Jawarhalal Nehru, speaking to the 1958 annual meeting of the Central Board of Irrigation and Power:
“We want to show that we can build big dams and do big things … but the idea of having big undertakings and doing big tasks for the sake of showing that we can do big things is not a good outlook at all.”
“I have been beginning to think that we are suffering from what we may call disease of giganticism.”
The Big Dams Curriculum was developed Big in conjunction with the public conference “Reversing the Flow: Big Dams, Power, and People in Local Context” presented November 6 & 7, 2009 in Vancouver, Washington, and available here.
Using this Big Dam History Detectives Scaffolding Exercise educators can help students of all ages to follow a trail of historical discovery connected to building big dams and their impacts in the Columbia Basin and worldwide.
This curriculum includes Big Dam fact sheets for regional and world dams, primary documents, photographs, and video lectures from the big dams conference. Students can also work with a variety of resources on the CCRH website to explore the history and impacts of big dams, including the CCRH community history sites located on the community history section of the CCRH website.
Each of the eight Web sites features extensive primary sources, including maps, oral history interviews, documents, newspapers, and photographs. Bibliographies contribute additional information about each community, and audio excerpts and curriculum questions enrich the exhibit tour.
This section includes informational fact sheets about big dams on the Columbia and around the world. Click on Big Dam resources to your left and find images, documents, and video presentations from the day-long conference, “Reversing the Flow: Big Dams, Power, and People in Global Perspective.”
Power lines at Bonneville Dam, ca. 1950s. Image courtesy of Army Corps of Engineers
