Product Description

This book examines the roots of contemporary environmental consciousness and action in terms of both popular experience and tradition. A wide range of case-studies explore traditions and myths that shape our environmental thought.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3034841 in Books
• Published on: 2000-11-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 240 pages

From the Back Cover
Across the globe, environmental agendas feature more and more in today's social and political agendas. In western countries environmental campaigns target issues both at home and abroad. They have a special urgency which draws in an astonishing range of field campaigners, from young militants to rebel aristocrats. This book examines the roots of contemporary environmental consciousness and action in terms of both popular experience and tradition.
The global spread of this book reflects the character of contemporary environmentalism. It examines a geographically and thematically diverse range of case studies, including:
British environmental campaigners in the Brazilian rainforest
Ecocriticsm and literature
The environmental movement in Kasakstan
Mediaeval church iconography
The common theme linking each chapter is that environmental consciousness and activism are shaped through people's life stories, and that their memories are shaped not only through individual experience but also through myth, tradition and collective memory.
Containing a wealth of empirical source material, this book will be invaluable for sociologists and historians alike. It offers a cutting-edge illustration of how narrative and oral history can illuminate our understanding of an uncertain present.