Rethinking the Environment for the Anthropocene

Political Theory and Socionatural Relations in the New Geological Epoch
1. Auflage 2019
ISBN: 978-1-138-30216-7
Verlag: Routledge

Buch, Englisch, 234 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 365 g

This book brings together the most current thinking about the Anthropocene in the field of Environmental Political Theory ('EPT'). It displays the distinctive contribution EPT makes to the task of thinking through what 'the environment' means in this time of pervasive human influence over natural systems.

Across its chapters the book helps develop the idea of 'socionatural relations'—an idea that frames the environment in the Anthropocene in terms of the interconnected relationship between human beings and their surroundings. Coming from both well-established and newer voices in the field, the chapters in the book show the diversity of points of view theorists take toward the Anthropocene idea, and socionatural relations more generally. However, all the chapters exemplify a characteristic of work in EPT: the self-conscious effort to provide normative interpretations that are responsive to scientific accounts. The Introduction explains the complicated interaction between science and EPT, showing how it positions EPT to consider the Anthropocene. And the Afterword, by a pioneer in the field, relates all the chapters to a perspective that has been deeply influential in EPT.

This book will be of interest to scholars already engaged in EPT. But it will also serve as an introduction to the field for students of Political Theory, Philosophy, Environmental Studies, and related disciplines, who will learn about the EPT approach from the Introduction, and then see it applied to the pressing question of the Anthropocene in the ensuing chapters. The book will also help readers interested in the Anthropocene from any disciplinary perspective develop a critical understanding of its political meanings.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Arias-Maldonado, Manuel

Trachtenberg, Zev

Fachgebiete

• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Umweltpolitik, Umweltprotokoll
• Geowissenschaften Geographie | Raumplanung Humangeographie
• Geowissenschaften Geographie | Raumplanung Geographie: Allgemeines, Karten & Atlanten
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Regierungspolitik Umwelt- und Gesundheitspolitik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction Manuel Arias-Maldonado and Zev Trachtenberg Part I: Understanding nature in the Anthropocene. 1. The return of nature in the Capitalocene: a critique of the ecomodernist version of the 'good Anthropocene' Anne Fremaux 2. Emancipation, capture, and rescue? On the ontological turn and its critique Luigi Pellizzoni 3. Novel ecosystems and the return of nature in the Anthropocene Susan Baker Part II: Environmental political theory and the Anthropocene. 4. Vocations of (environmental) political theory in the Anthropocene John M. Meyer 5. The ecological circumstances of politics Zev Trachtenberg 6. What cities can teach us about environmental political theory in the Anthropocene Nir Barak Part III: The Anthropocene as a moral question. 7. Anthropocene: the emergence of the figure of "Governator" Yohan Ariffin 8. Real Anthropocene politics Simon Hailwood 9. Towards a good Anthropocene? Manuel Arias-Maldonado Part IV: Democratic responses to the Anthropocene. 10. Geo-engineering: a curse or a blessing? Marcel Wissenburg 11. Sustainability governance in a democratic Anthropocene: the arts as key to deliberative citizen engagement Marit Hammond and Hugh Ward 12. Critical design, hybrid labor, just transitions: moving beyond technocratic ecomodernisms and the it's-too-late-o-cene Damian White Afterword: the Anthropocene or welcome to our fluxed futures John Barry

Über Autor(innen)

Manuel Arias-Maldonado is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Málaga, Spain. His research has revolved around different aspects of Environmental Political Theory, mostly the relationship between sustainability and democracy, the philosophical and political character of socionatural relations, the concept of nature, and, as of late, the Anthropocene.

Zev Trachtenberg is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oklahoma, USA. His work in Environmental Political Theory focuses on ways historical works prefigure thinking about the Anthropocene. He is also interested in the relevance to the field of new developments in the study of human evolution.