Putting Sustainability into Practice Applications and Advances in Research on Sustainable Consumption
Produktdetaljer
Biographical note
Edited by Emily Huddart Kennedy, Washington State University, Maurie J. Cohen, New Jersey Institute of Technology, US and Naomi Krogman, Dean, Faculty of Environment, Simon Fraser University, Canada<i>'For too long there has been a huge gap between thinking about sustainability, and actually doing something about it. This outstanding book questions the prevailing ''Norms and Nudge'' approach based on changing people's minds, and shows how practice theory can be used to move towards truly effective social change. This is a big step forward in rethinking the connection between consumerism and the limits of sustainability.'</i><br /> --Richard Wilk, Department of Anthropology, Indiana University<p><i>'Sustainable consumption has become one of the most dynamic fields in the social sciences. Putting Sustainability Into Practice consistently demonstrates how the social practice approach has become the best alternative to behaviorist and rationalistic theories of social action and to nudge perspectives. It is definitely an insightful volume that should urgently be put into the hands of policy makers!'</i><br /> --Sophie Dubuisson-Quellier, National Center for Scientific Research, Sciences Po, Paris, France</p><p><i>'[T]he book is well-written and the theoretical discussions and empirical analyses are strong. The authors provide excellent models to assist the reader and the text is rich withsupporting materials such as summary tables, bar graphs, and flow charts . . . .The book stands as an appropriate supplemental text for advanced undergraduate and graduate sustainability seminars. It would be an appropriate addition to college, university, and personal libraries as it provides the basis of continuing research for those working in the areas of social practice theory and sustainability.'</i><br /> --Michael Hirsch,<i> International Social Science Review </i></p>
Given the complex and systemic nature of contemporary ecological issues like climate change, a rapidly growing group of scholars is seeking new explanations of behavioral patterns and behavioral change. These new accounts clarify why patterns of consumption and waste continue to be unsustainable despite a wealth of information proving sustainability's importance. In particular, social practice theories offer a way of understanding how material consumption is built into the everyday work of belonging and shaping one's social life. Putting Sustainability into Practice contributes to the rich scholarship developed to date by applying social practice theories to case studies. These case studies are likely to be especially valuable to readers who are relatively new to the social practice perspective. The volume also includes research that advances social practice theories, moving the study of sustainable consumption into novel terrain such as sustainable finance, collective action, and social policy.
This book offers multiple empirical applications of social practice theories in sustainable consumption, advancing this research area in such a way that will attract academics to its findings. Those teaching classes in the environmental social sciences will find this introduction suitable for the classroom as well. It offers a rare account of the history of social practice theories and provides numerous case studies to which one can apply these approaches. Graduate students will also find this a useful guide to conducting empirical research on sustainable consumption and civic engagement from a social practices perspective.
Contributors: J. Backhaus, S. Barr, T. Bateman, F. Forno, M. Gismondi, C. Grasseni, M. Jaeger-Erben, D. Kasper, R. Kemp, J. Marois, J. Rückert-John, M. Sahakian, C. Schelly, S. Signori, D. Straith, H. Wieser