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Anthropology and Climate Change
From Encounters to Actions
Susan A. Crate (Editor); Mark Nuttall (Editor)
384 pp. / 6.00 x 9.00 / Jan, 2009
Paperback (978-1-59874-334-0)
Hardback (978-1-59874-333-3)
  
Related Interest
  - Anthropology
  - Environmental Studies

The first book to comprehensively assess anthropology’s engagement with climate change, this pioneering volume both maps out exciting trajectories for research and issues a call to action. Chapters in
" There are some very good articles in this book, ranging from discussions of pedagogy, representation, methodology, and several key case studies of local and indigenous knowledge that span different parts of the world. The focus of the work is not limited to the Arctic or North America, and will ostensibly appeal to a variety of students. Because the diverse subject matter in this book points to the increasingly multi- and interdisciplinary nature of the study of climate change, a wide array of readers–in particular, scientists and social scientists–will appreciate this book for its contributions to the study of climate change. "

- Christopher Paci, American Review of Canadian Studies

"This effectively organized, crisply presented, and compellingly argued book is essential reading for everyone concerned about the impact of climate change on human communities around the world, and for readers of any background seeking to understand the unique and critical contributions of anthropology to these important questions. The list of contributors, with their highly varied interests and accomplishments, makes clear that anthropologists have been working on issues of environmental change and sustainability for decades, and that their contributions focus on precisely the kinds of questions that have been relatively neglected in the physical sciences of the environment. With its close attention to strategy and tactics, Anthropology and Climate Change will serve as a major resource for anthropologists looking for conceptual and practical tools by which they might refocus their work so as to contribute more effectively to these major debates of our day."

- Population and Development Review, Susan Greenhalgh

" The issues surrounding climate change loom large in the research agendas of many disciplines. Here, Crate (George Mason Univ.) and Nuttall (Univ. of Alberta) speak to fellow cultural anthropologists to illuminate realized and potential roles for them in this field. The volume contains three parts: "Climate and Culture," "Anthropological Encounters," and "Anthropological Actions." The book opens with four review chapters covering climate change in prehistory and recorded history, and earlier anthropological discourse relating to the environment. The areas of inquiry in anthropological climate change research are established as peoples' perceptions, knowledge, valuation, and responses or adaptations to the changes. Eleven short case studies recount field-based research worldwide. Most of the authors endorse livelihood analysis as a focus for climate change effects on indigenous cultures. The remaining nine chapters articulate active roles for anthropologists in policy making. New research topics, such as the consumer and car cultures, are introduced, as are ways to integrate climate change into interdisciplinary collaborations, curriculum development, and community outreach. Contributions are well written and documented, and they hold provocative ideas for research and action by students and professional anthropologists alike. Summing Up: Highly recommended. "

- CHOICE

" This book is a leap forward in our understanding of how societies around the globe perceive and adapt to climate change from the perspective of their own unique socio-cultural framework. It introduces concepts which advance the discussions of human adaptations to climate change from the realm of an esoteric intellectual debate about past societies, to one of pressing and immediate relevance for our modern world. "

- Arlene Miller Rosen, UCL Institute of Archaeology and author of Civilizing Climate

part one are systematic research reviews, covering the relationship between culture and climate from prehistoric times to the present; changing anthropological discourse on climate and environment; the diversity of environmental and sociocultural changes currently occurring around the globe; and the unique methodological and epistemological tools anthropologists bring to bear on climate research. Part two includes a series of case studies that highlights leading-edge research—including some unexpected and provocative findings. Part three challenges scholars to be proactive on the front lines of climate change, providing instruction on how to work in with research communities, with innovative forms of communication, in higher education, in policy environments, as individuals, and in other critical arenas. Linking sophisticated knowledge to effective actions, Anthropology and Climate Change is essential for students and scholars in anthropology and environmental studies.



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