Scorpio Books and Totara Press warmly invite you to join us for an author talk. An Uncommon Land: From an Ancestral Past of Enclosure Towards a Regenerative Future by Catherine Knight is out now. The author will be in-store for one night only to discuss her latest publication with Dr Paul Dalziel of Wellbeing Economy Alliance Aotearoa.
All welcome, refreshments provided. Please send in your RSVP. There will be books for sale on the night for $49.99.
ABOUT THE BOOK
An Uncommon Land is a story of enclosure, dispossession, colonisation and – ultimately – hope for a better future. Through the lens of her ancestors’ stories, Catherine Knight throws light on the genesis and evolution of the commons, its erosion through enclosure and the ascendency of private property in parallel with the rise of capitalism – a history that has indelibly shaped New Zealand society and its landscape.
Like other European settlers, the lives and future prosperity of the author’s ancestors had their foundations in war, land appropriation and environmental destruction – but in their histories lie glimmerings of the potentiality of commons: tantalising hints of an alternative path to a re-commoned, regenerative future. From a past of enclosure, resource exploitation and exponential growth, this book shines light on the potentiality of a different future, taking inspiration from our collective history.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr Catherine Knight is an award‑winning environmental historian and author of several acclaimed books including New Zealand’s Rivers: An environmental history, Beyond Manapouri: 50 years of environmental politics in New Zealand and Ravaged Beauty: An environmental history of the Manawatu. Catherine works in public policy and is an Honorary Research Associate at Massey University. She has a strong interest in post-growth economy and writes on these topics on Newsroom, The Spinoff and on Substack.
Her newest work, An Uncommon Land, weaves together ancestral family stories and wider social and environmental history to trace the process of enclosure and the rise of private property, and offers a compelling vision for a regenerative, re‑commoned future.
ABOUT THE FACILITATOR
Dr Paul Dalziel has published 11 books, 84 journal articles and more than 400 publications on his research. He received five awards from Lincoln University for excellence in teaching, excellence in research and for contributions to the statutory responsibility of universities as critic and conscience of society. He has also received awards from the Regional Studies Association, from the Australia and New Zealand Regional Studies Association International and the New Zealand Association of Economists.
After retiring as Professor of Economics at Lincoln University at the end of 2024, Paul joined the Wellbeing Economy Alliance Aotearoa staff team as Research Economist.
