Reviews
" 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, "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, '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, "Readers will benefit from the collective insight provided by diverse examples of how indigenous communities have fought to build or retain control over the resources, knowledge, and the lifeways that have sustained them through the 'becoming' of the ever changing world they inhabit. Climate researchers, policy makers, and students of all disciplines will find the narratives and insights within this volume both encouraging and thought-provoking as we all discover our role in 'imagining a culture of the near future that intelligently and responsibly' faces climate change and helping our research partners to negotiate successfully through this time." - Zareen Pervez Bharucha, Sibirica, "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
Table of Content
Foreword Introduction PART 1: CLIMATE AND CULTURE 1. Human Agency, Climate Change and Culture: An Archaeological Perspective, Fekri A. Hassan, University College London 2. Climate and Weather Discourse in Anthropology: From Determinism to Uncertain Futures, Nicole Peterson, Columbia University, and Kenneth Broad, University of Miami 3. Fielding Climate Change: The Role of Anthropology, Carla Roncoli, University of Georgia, Todd Crane, University of Georgia, Ben Orlove, UC-Davis 4. Disasters and Diasporas: Global Climate Change and Population Displacement in the 21st Century, Anthony Oliver-Smith, University of Florida PART 2: ANTHROPOLOGICAL ENCOUNTERS 1. Climate Change and Melting Andean Glaciers: Indigenous and Anthropological Knowledge merge in Restoring Water Sources, Inge Bolin, Malaspina University College 2. Salmon Nation: A Nez Perce Policy in Spite of Global Climate Change, Benedict J. Colombi, University of Arizona 3. Gone the Bull of Winter?, Susan A. Crate, George Mason University 4. Storm Warnings: The Role of Anthropology in Adapting to Sea-Level Rise in Southwestern Bangladesh, Timothy Finan, University of Arizona 5. Opal Waters, Rising Seas: Climate Impacts on Indigenous Australians, Donna Green, University of New South Wales 6. Sea Ice: The Socio-cultural Dimensions of a Melting Environment, Anne Henshaw, Bowdoin College 7. From Local to Global: Perceptions of Environmental Change Among Kalahari San, Robert K. Hitchcock, Michigan State University 8. Climate Change and El NiÑos in the West Central Highlands of Papua New Guinea: Indigenous Perceptions and Responses to Environmental Change and Deforestation, Jerry Jacka, North Carolina State University 9. Sea Change: Anthropology and Climate Change in Tuvalu, South Pacific, Heather Lazrus, University of Washington 10. Talking and Not Talking about Climate Change in Northwestern Alaska, Elizabeth Marino and Peter Schweitzer, University of Alaska Fairbanks 11. Moral Certitude and the Anthropologist's Outrage (pace Rosaldo), Sarah Strauss, University of Wyoming PART 3: ANTHROPOLOGICAL ACTIONS 1. Shifting the University: Faculty Engagement and Curriculum Change, Peggy F. Barlett and Benjamin Stewart, Emory University 2. Global Climate Change: Car Culture & Emissions, Lenora Bohren, Colorado State University 3. Terms of Engagement: an Arctic perspective on the narratives and politics of global climate change, Noel D. Broadbent, Smithsonian Institute and Patrik Lantto, UmeÅ University 4. The Efforts of One Gulf Coast Community to Deal with the Challenges of Climate Change, Gregory V. Button, University of Tennessee at Knoxville and Kristina Peterson, University of New Orleans 5. Global Change Policymaking from Inside the Beltway: Engaging Anthropology, Shirley J. Fiske, Independent Consultant, Adjunct Professor, University of Maryland 6. Living In a World of Movement: Human Resilience to Environmental Instability in Greenland, Mark Nuttall, University of Alberta 7. Global Responsibilities, Local Realities: Negotiating the Cultural Dimensions, P.J. Puntenney, University of Michigan 8. Anthropology and Climate Change: The Exhibition Thin Ice-Inuit Traditions within a Changing Environment, A. Nicole Stuckenberger, Dartmouth College 9. Consuming Ourselves to Death, Richard Wilk, Indiana University
