Overview

At the start of the twenty-first century, it can be argued that human societies have a greater impact on the environment than ever before. We have always been dependent upon, and interacted with, the 'natural' environment. However, the dramatic social changes of the past three centuries, have altered the form of our relationship with non-human nature to the extent that some would see people/planet relations as in a situation of crisis. Environment and Society is an introduction to the sociological study of the environment. It emphasizes the ways in which our conceptualization of the relationships between environments and human societies differ historically and cross-culturally. Beginning with an overview of the different ways contemporary sociologists have theorized the relationship between societies and their environments, the book then considers how the main strands of 'green' social and political theory have understood environment-society relations and why they see the current forms of these relationships as problematic. Particular social processes and practices such as industrialization/post-industrialization, urbanization, 'development' and globalization, are then examined in terms of their impact on the environment. Contesting perspectives on the relationship between the 'social' and the 'natural' draw the book to a close, with a consideration of human interactions with animals. Environment and Society provides a comprehensive and critical account of the ways in which we can think about the relationship between human societies and the environments with which they interact. It argues that human societies are ecologically embedded, and that environments are often socially embedded and constituted. It makes the different theoretical positions and empirical studies accessible to students, and includes chapter outlines and summaries, annotated further reading, boxed case-studies and discussion points.

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9780415216173

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Erika Cudworth

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