Environmental Sociology

This new edition of John Hannigan's widely-known and respected text has been thoroughly revised to reflect major recent conceptual and empirical advances in environmental sociology. Key updates and additions include: · an extended discussion of how classic sociological theory relates to contemporary environmental sociology; · a focus on cultural sociologies of the environment, notably discourse analysis and social framing; · updated coverage of the environmental justice movement and global biodiversity loss; · a critical overview of contemporary interdisciplinary perspectives, namely co-constructionist theories of 'socionature'. The new edition includes two new 'hot topic' chapters: · 'Discourse, power relations and political ecology' deals specifically with discursive conflicts between North and South, and includes a profile of contemporary struggles over water privatisation in Africa and Latin America; · 'Towards an "emergence" model of environment and society' introduces a new way of conceptualising the environmental field that brings together insights from complexity theory, the sociology of disasters, collective behaviour and social movements, perspectives on 'social learning' and the sociology of environmental 'flows'. Written in a lively and accessible manner, Environmental Sociology makes a strong case for placing the study of emergent uncertainties, structures and flows into a 'realist/constructionist model' of environmental knowledge, politics and policy-making. The book offers a distinctive and even-handed treatment of environmental issues and debates, integrating European theoretical contributions such as risk society and ecological modernisation with North American empirical insights and findings. The book will interest environmental professionals and activists, and will be an invaluable resource to undergraduate and postgraduate students in geography, sociology, political science and environmental studies.Hannigan, John is the author of 'Environmental Sociology ', published 2006 under ISBN 9780415355131 and ISBN 0415355133.