Sushi in Cortez

Interdisciplinary Essays on Mesa Verde

By David Taylor, Steve Wolverton

The Mesa Verde region is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world and is an area fraught with complexities, anomalies, and layers of histories. Sushi in Cortez is a collection of essays by an interdisciplinary group of academics, artists, and cultural observers that explores this diverse landscape and heritage by combining and sharing the differing perspectives provided by various disciplines. Poetry, film, environmental philosophy, nature photography, native Pueblo perspectives, and archaeology are used to touch on the common questions people ask about the value of their work and lives as well as the value of visiting ancient sites such as Mesa Verde. The authors share personal stories about the difficulties, joys, confusions, and epiphanies they experienced as they crossed the boundaries of their professional lives, coming to understand how incomplete any single rendition of place can be. Find additional images on our website www.uofupress.com.

Take a look inside the authors’ Mesa Verde experience in this short film,“Location Fracture” by Melinda Levin.

David Taylor is a visiting professor of sustainability at Stony Brook University. His publications include Praying Up the Sun; The Log from The Sea of Cortez: A Poem Series; and Lawson’s Fork: Headwaters to the Confluence.

Steve Wolverton is an associate professor in environmental archaeology and conservation paleozoology in the Department of Geography at the University of North Texas. He is coeditor of Conservation Biology and Applied Zooarchaeology.

Praise and Reviews:

“We are brought into the world of sharing, humor, humility and exploration that transcends the traditional limitations of academic or scholarly work. Given the recent interest in interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary work, this book has the potential to fill a real niche.”
—Sylvia D. Torti, dean of the Honors College and assistant research professor of biology, University of Utah

“The volume would be very effective for all incoming college freshmen. It would create a platform for discussion of what happens intellectually as one trains to become a professional in any field, and for discussion of the pros and cons of this kind of professionalization.”
—Shirley Powell, vice president of programs, Crow Canyon Archaeological Center

“I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the joys and the challenges of truly interdisciplinary work. Sushi in Cortez is creative, provocative, and wise. It deserves a wide readership among all who care about conversations across intellectual, professional, and personal walls.”

--David George Haskell, author of the Pulitzer finalist, The Forest Unseen: A Year’s Watch In Nature