Rethinking Nature. Challenging Disciplinary Boundaries

Edited by Aurélie Choné, Isabelle Hajek and Philippe Hamman
Series: Routledge Environmental Humanitie
268 p.
Hb: 978-1-138-21492-7 / Pb: 978-1-138-21493-4

L’ouvrage collectif Rethinking Nature. . Challenging disciplinary boundaries coordonné par Aurélie Choné, Isabelle Hajek et Philippe Hamman est publié en langue anglaise aux éditions Routledge dans la collection Environmental Humanities. Ce manuel/textbook rassemble de nombreux spécialistes européens et internationaux afin de montrer, dans un dialogue pluridisciplinaire et à partir de traditions de recherches variées, comment l’idée de nature, dans les défis qu’elle adresse aux sociétés contemporaines, reconfigure les cadres de pensée et leurs objets pour produire de nouveaux champs de questionnements et de pratiques que sont les Humanités environnementales.

Dans le sens de constituer un manuel accessible, l’ouvrage est d’emblée disponible en format Paperback, en plus du format Hardback.

Lien vers le site de Routledge.

Description

Contemporary ideas of nature were largely shaped by schools of thought from Western cultural history and philosophy until the present-day concerns with environmental change and biodiversity conservation. There are many different ways of conceptualising nature in epistemological terms, reflecting the tensions between the polarities of humans as masters or protectors of nature and as part of or outside of nature.
The book shows how nature is today the focus of numerous debates, calling for an approach which goes beyond the merely technical or scientific. It adopts a threefold – critical, historical and cross-disciplinary – approach in order to summarise the current state of knowledge. It includes contributions informed by the humanities (especially history, literature and philosophy) and social sciences, concerned with the production and circulation of knowledge about ‘nature’ across disciplines and across national and cultural spaces. The volume also demonstrates the ongoing reconfiguration of subject disciplines, as seen in the recent emergence of new interdisciplinary approaches and the popularity of the prefix ‘eco-’ (e.g. ecocriticism, ecospirituality, ecosophy and ecofeminism, as well as subdivisions of ecology, including urban ecology, industrial ecology and ecosystem services). Each chapter provides a concise overview of its topic which will serve as a helpful introduction to students and a source of easy reference.　
This text is also valuable reading for researchers interested in philosophy, sociology, anthropology, geography, ecology, politics and all their respective environmentalist strands.

Table of contents

Introduction: Rethinking the idea of nature; Aurélie Choné, Isabelle Hajek & Philippe Hamman; Part I – Values and actions 1 Environmental ethics; Catherine Larrère; 2 Ecosophy; Hicham-Stéphane Afeissa; 3 Ecospirituality; Aurélie Choné; 4 Ecopsychology; Dennis L. Merritt; Part II – Writings and representations; 5 The aesthetics of nature; Nathalie Blanc; 6 Ecocriticism; Emmanuelle Peraldo; 7 Epistemocritical perspectives on nature; Laurence Dahan; Part III – Movements, activism and societies 8 From Lebensreform to political ecology; Catherine Repussard; 9 Ecofeminism; Margot Lauwers; 10 From environmental sociology to ecosociologies; Graham Woodgate; 11 From anthropogeography to ethnoecology ; Éric Navet; Part IV – Renewed ecologies 12 Rethinking rural nature in the era of ecocide; Owain Jones; 13 Urban ecology; Isabelle Hajek and Jean-Pierre Lévy; 14 Nature, environment, health; Lionel Charles; 15 Sustainable urbanism; Philippe Hamman; 16 Industrial ecology ; Nicolas Buclet; 17 The ecosystem services paradigm; Roldan Muradian; Part V – Human–animal 18 Ecocide, ethnocide and civilizations; Éric Navet; 19 Animal studies; Roland Borgards; 20 Constructing an animal history; Éric Baratay; 21 Environmental humanities; Sabine Wilke; Conclusion: How nature matters; Aurélie Choné, Isabelle Hajek and Philippe Hamman