Sociological Theory and the Environment: Classical Foundations, Contemporary Insights

Front Cover
Riley E. Dunlap
Rowman & Littlefield, 2002 - Nature - 357 pages
Sociological Theory and the Environment is a comprehensive survey and assessment of sociological theories of the relations between societies and their "natural" biophysical environment. This book touches on and addresses virtually all of the major perspectives, focal points, and debates in environmental sociology today--classical and twentieth century social theories, macro-micro linkage issues, globalization and development, reflexive modernization, ecological modernization vs. "limits" viewpoints, modernity and post modernity, risk society, constructionalism-realism, environmental movements/identities, consumption and environment, cultural sociologies of the environment, and so on. At the same time, the book aims to go beyond an inventory of environmental sociological theory. Sociological Theory and the Environment stresses how new ground can be broken in the articulation of environmental sociology with major classical and contemporary sociological theories.
 

Contents

Sociological Theory and the Environment An Overview and Introduction
3
THE CLASSICAL TRADITION AND ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIOLOGY
33
Environmental Sociology and the Classical Sociological Tradition Some Observations on Current Controversies
35
A Green Marxism? Labor Processes Alienation and the Division of Labor
51
Ecological Materialism and the Sociology of Max Weber
73
Has the Durkheim Legacy Misled Sociology?
90
ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIOLOGY AND TWENTIETHCENTURY SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY
117
Social Theory and the Environment A SystemsTheoretical Perspective
119
Modernity Politics and the Environment A Theoretical Perspective
197
Inconspicuous Consumption The Sociology of Consumption Lifestyles and the Environment
230
Social Theory and Ecological Politics Reflexive Modernization or Green Socialism?
252
The Social Construction of Environmental Problems A Theoretical Review and Some NotVeryHerculean Labors
274
When the Global Meets the Local Critical Reflections on Reflexive Modernization
286
Cultural Analysis and Environmental Theory An Agenda
311
SOCIOLOGICAL PARADIGMS AND ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIOLOGY
327
Paradigms Theories and Environmental Sociology
329

Dynamic Constellations of the Individual Society and Nature Critical Theory and Environmental Sociology
144
WorldSystem Theory and the Environment Toward a New Synthesis
167
SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIOLOGY IN THE LATE 1990s MODERNITY CULTURE AND THE NATURAL WOR...
195
Index
351
About the Contributors
355
Copyright

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About the author (2002)

Riley E. Dunlap is Boeing Distinguished Professor of Environmental Sociology at Washington State University and past president of the International Sociological Association's Research Committee on Environment and Society. Frederick H. Buttel is professor of rural sociology and environmental studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He is currently president of the Environment and Society Research Committee of the International Sociological Association. Peter Dickens is senior research fellow, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Cambridge, UK. He is also fellow and director of studies at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. August Gijswijt retired as an environmental sociologist from the University of Amsterdam in 1998. In 1990 he and Gyorgy Szell founded the Research Committee on Environment and Science.

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