Environment and Society

An introduction to the sociological study of the environment. It emphasises the ways in which our conceptualisation of the relationships between environments and human societies differ historically and cross-culturally.

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 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.