The Rivers Project

The Rivers Project is an interdisciplinary research project comparing the Ohio River and the River Tyne. Approaching the rivers and their landscapes not simply as natural phenomena but as human artifacts, faculty collaborators from Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis and Newcastle University seek to provide a rich comparative history of the interactions between humans and their river environments. By mapping the cultural, social, political, and scientific histories of the Ohio and Tyne river valleys, the research project will provide insight on current issues of relevance to heritage management, public policy, and environmental conservation. As the first interdisciplinary and international comparative study of river environments, it will provide a model for other similar projects.