Climate and Culture
Multidisciplinary Perspectives on a Warming World

Discusses how culture both facilitates and inhibits our ability to address, live with, and make sense of climate change.

Giuseppe Feola (Edited by), Hilary Geoghegan (Edited by), Alex Arnall (Edited by)

9781108422505, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 3 October 2019

348 pages, 16 b/w illus.
25.4 x 17.8 x 2.2 cm, 0.84 kg

'Multidisciplinary studies by 23 contributing authors who explore how human cultures conceptualize and respond to climate … Though the book does not downplay social, psychological, and economic factors that have slowed climate action at the societal level, its chapters collectively suggest a surprisingly optimistic view: namely, that human cultures throughout history have exhibited curiosity about and resilience to climate … Clear writing and thoughtfully chosen images make this book accessible and engaging for broad audiences.' D. P. Genereux, Choice

How does culture interact with the way societies understand, live with, and act in relation to climate change? While the importance of the exchanges between culture, society and climate in the context of global environmental change is increasingly recognised, the empirical evidence is fragmented and too often constrained by disciplinary boundaries. Written by an international team of experts, this book provides cutting-edge and critical perspectives on how culture both facilitates and inhibits our ability to address and make sense of climate change and the challenges it poses to societies globally. Through a set of case studies spanning the social sciences and humanities, it explores the role of culture in relation to climate and its changes at different temporal and spatial levels; illustrates how approaching climate change through the cultural dimension enriches the range and depth of societal engagements; and establishes connections between theory and practice, which can stimulate action-oriented initiatives.

Foreword
1. Climate and culture: taking stock and moving forward Hilary Geoghegan, Giuseppe Feola and Alex Arnall
2. Cultures of prediction in climate science Martin Mahony, Gabriele Gramelsberger and Matthias Heymann
3. Visualising climate and climate change: a longue durée perspective Sebastian Vincent Grevsmühl
4. Indigenous knowledge regarding climate in Colombia: articulations and complementarities among different knowledges Astrid Ulloa
5. Thin place: new modes of environmental knowing through contemporary curatorial practice Ciara Healy
6. Multi-temporal adaptations to change in the Central Andes Julio C. Postigo
7. Not for the faint of heart: tasks of climate change communication in the context of societal transformation Susanne C. Moser
8. At the frontline or very close: living with climate change on St Lawrence Island, Alaska, 1999–2017 Igor Krupnik
9. Localising and historicising climate change: extreme weather histories in the United Kingdom Georgina Endfield and Lucy Veale
10. From denial to resistance: how emotions and culture shape our responses to climate change Allison Ford and Kari Marie Norgaard
11. Effective responses to climate change – some wisdom from the Buddhist worldview Peter Daniels
12. Creating a culture for transformation Karen O'Brien, Gail Hochachka and Irmelin Gram-Hanssen
13. Back to the future? Satoyama and cultures of transition and sustainability John Clammer
14. Culture and climate change: experiments and improvisations – an afterword Renata Tyszczuk and Joe Smith
Index.

Subject Areas: Social impact of environmental issues [RNT], Climate change [RNPG], Environmentalist thought & ideology [RNA], Meteorology & climatology [RBP], Environmental economics [KCN], Comparative politics [JPB]