Self Interaction And Natural Environment

Provides a framework for sharing a more adequate view of human-environment relations and contributes to the development of an ecologically aware sense of self-understanding. Self, Interaction, and Natural Environment helps us as individuals to understand environmental issues and to respond accordingly. Although it acknowledges that such issues exist on a worldwide scale, it sharpens our focus on the personal level. For example, it shows that most people do not consider the pollution they cause by operating cars or fertilizing lawns. Throughout the text, the author links ideas to both social concerns and everyday activities, helping readers to comprehend political decisions that involve the environment, as well as making them more aware of their own role in that respect. "Besides contributing to an understanding of our environmental situation, Weigert shows how to apply a wellestablished theoretical perspective to a critical, contemporary issue. Not only does he show that symbolic interactionism is useful in understanding human-environment relations, but he modifies and extends classical statements of the theory in the process". -- Riley E. Dunlap, Washington State University

Self, Interaction, and Natural Environment helps us as individuals to understand environmental issues and to respond accordingly. Although it acknowledges that such issues exist on a worldwide scale, it sharpens our focus on the personal level. For example, it shows that most people do not consider the pollution they cause by operating cars or fertilizing lawns. Throughout the text, the author links ideas to both social concerns and everyday activities, helping readers to comprehend political decisions that involve the environment, as well as making them more aware of their own role in that respect.

The often impassioned nature of environmental conflicts can be attributed to the fact that they are bound up with our sense of personal and social identity. Environmental identity—how we orient ourselves to the natural world—leads us to personalize abstract global issues and take action (or not) according to our sense of who we are. We may know about the greenhouse effect—but can we give up our SUV for a more fuel-efficient car? Understanding this psychological connection can lead to more effective pro-environmental policymaking. Identity and the Natural Environment examines the ways in which our sense of who we are affects our relationship with nature, and vice versa. This book brings together cutting-edge work on the topic of identity and the environment, sampling the variety and energy of this emerging field but also placing it within a descriptive framework. These theory-based, empirical studies locate environmental identity on a continuum of social influence, and the book is divided into three sections reflecting minimal, moderate, or strong social influence. Throughout, the contributors focus on the interplay between social and environmental forces; as one local activist says, "We don't know if we're organizing communities to plant trees, or planting trees to organize communities."

The role natural environments play in human health and wellbeing is attracting increasing attention. There is growing medical evidence that access to the natural environment can prevent disease, aid recovery, tackle obesity and improve mental health. This book examines the history of natural environments being used for stress-reduction, enjoyment, aesthetics and catharsis, and traces the development of the connection between humans and the environment, and how they impact our personal and collective health.

Environmental sociology tends to be dominated by macrosociological theories, to the point that microsociological perspectives have been neglected and ignored. This collection of original work is the first book dedicated to demonstrating the utility of microsociological perspectives for investigating environmental issues. From symbolic interactionism to actor–network theory, from dramaturgy to conversation analysis, from practice theory to animism, a variety of microsociological perspectives are not only drawn upon but creatively applied and developed, making this collection not only a contribution to environmental sociology, but to microsociological theory as well. The authors address such topics as the treatment of waste, human–animal relations, science and industry partnerships, environmental social movements, identities, and lifestyles, eco-tourism, the framing of land, water, and natural resources, and even human conceptions of outer space. Bringing together diverse scholars, perspectives, and topics, Microsociological Perspectives for Environmental Sociology opens the field up to new approaches and initiates much needed dialogue between environmental sociologists and microsociologists. It will appeal not only to sociologists, but to environmental scholars across the social sciences interested in enriching their theoretical repertoire in studying the social aspects of the environment.

The Routledge International Handbook of Interactionism demonstrates the promise and diversity of the interactionist perspective in social science today, providing students and practitioners with an overview of the impressive developments in interactionist theory, methods and research. Thematically organized, it explores the history of interactionism and the contemporary state of the field, considering the ways in which scholars approach topics that are central to interactionism. As such, it presents discussions of self, identity, gender and sexuality, race, emotions, social organization, media and the internet, and social problems. With attention to new developments in methods and methodologies, including digital ethnography, visual methods and research ethics, the authors also engage with new areas of investigation that have emerged in light of current societal developments, such as policing and police violence, interactionism beyond binaries and social media. Providing a comprehensive overview of the current state and possible future of interactionist research, it will appeal to interactionist scholars, as well as to established sociologists and students of sociology who have an interest in latest developments in interactionism.

First handbook to integrate environmental psychology and conservation psychology.

This book has been written as a text for advanced undergraduate students and graduate students in the burgeoning field of study that has come to be called environment and behavior. It is appropriate for courses in environmental psychology, social ecology, ecological psychology, and community psychology when the community is conceptualized from an ecological viewpoint. In addition, the book may be used in design courses oriented toward an appreciation of the interaction between architecture and human behavior. The book presents a thorough explication of a perspective or viewpoint in approaching the study of environment and behavior, which has tended to be underemphasized in past work in this area. The dynamic perspective focuses on the active role people play in dealing with environmental challenges. Its investigative interest is in the processes that mediate the effects of environment on behavior, especially the positive and adaptive ways in which people cope with the environment. The accent is on the creative, complex, yet subtle character of these environmental processes.