Nature, Environment and Society

How have sociologists responded to the emergence of environmentalism? What has sociology to offer the study of environmental problems? This uniquely comprehensive guide traces the origins and development of environmental movements and environmental issues, providing a critical review of the most significant debates in the new field of environmental sociology. It covers environmental ideas, environmental movements, social constructionism, critical realism, "ecocentric" theory, environmental identities, risk society theory, sustainable development, Green consumerism, ecological modernization and debates around modernity and post- modernity. Philip Sutton adoptsa long-term view, which focuses on the relationship between ideas of nature and environment, ecological identities and social change, providing a framework for future research. Bringing environmental issues into contact with sociological theories, Nature, Environment and Society provides an up-to-date introduction to this important new field. It will be essential reading for all students of sociology, environmental studies and anyone interested in understanding environmental problems.

Phillip Sutton is Lecturer in Sociology at Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen.

List of Tables and Figures * Acknowledgements * Introduction * Modern Ideas of Nature and Environment * The Development of Environmental Movements * Theorising the Social and Natural * The Ecocentric Challenge for Society and Sociology * Living with Gaia: Deep Ecological and Social Selves * Environmentalism in a Risk Society * Modernity as an Unfinished Ecological Project * Postmodernity, Poststructuralism and Ecological Diversity * Environment, Self and Society * Bibliography * Index