MONTREAL/June 20, 2005—
Communication Studies Professor Peter C. van Wyck has won the 2005 Robinson Book Prize for his book Signs of Danger: Waste, Trauma and Nuclear Threat.
The prize is awarded annually by the Canadian Communications Association for the best book in communications written by a Canadian scholar or one who works and lives in Canada.
In its decision, the jury was unanimous in its praise of Dr. Van Wyck. They wrote, ìThis is a brave, creative, and mature work that bridges the fields of environmental communications, memory studies, and art. Dr. Van Wyck has produced an original and highly visionary piece of scholarship that not only makes a compelling contribution to the field, but actually propels us forward into new vistas of learning and imagination.î
Signs of Danger explores the controversial Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad, NM, where the US government has begun piling nuclear waste in a vast underground pit. The impetus for Van Wyck's analysis is the problem of marking that space and its many threats to public safety not only for today but for 300 generations to come. What begins as a scientific and bureaucratic problem quickly morphs into one of language, culture and memory. At this juncture, a host of complex issues surrounding the semiotics of nature and of danger, communication across time and space, and the growing blurriness between physical and virtual environments are revealed and critically assessed.
The Robinson Book Prize is named in honour of the many contributions of Professor Gertrude J. Robinson to the discipline of communication in Canada and around the world. It was initiated by Professor David Taras, President of the Canadian Communication Association in 1998-1999.
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Source :
Tanya Churchmuch
Senior Media Relations Advisor
Concordia University
