why focus on individual action?
TRANSCRIPT
CPT737: Sustainability in Practice
Lecture 1: Introduction to theModule, the Subject and theApproach
Jon Anderson and Richard Cowell
A central concern with individual action to promote sustainabilityRC
Functional reasons: individuals and their consumption, travel, etc, seen as a major cause of unsustainability
Theoretical reasons (1): sociologists contend that society has become increasingly individualised (Beck), anxious and reflexive
Theoretical reasons (2): ideologies of neo-liberalism place increased responsibility for welfare and achieving societal goals on the individual
Approach to teaching and learningRC
Two hour session each Friday
Thematic interest in self-monitoring and auto-ethnography …
Placing the Individual in Social Science Research JA
How to do research on the individual? One way is through ETHNOGRAPHY
“ethnographic research has developed out of a concern to understand the world and ways of life of actual people from the ‘inside’, in the contexts of everyday, lived experiences” (Cook, in Flowerdew & Martin, 1997)
“In its most characteristic form it involves the ethnographer participating, overtly or covertly, in people’s daily lives for an extended period of time, watching what happens, listening to what is said, asking questions – in fact, collecting whatever data are available to throw light on the issues that are the focus of the research” (Hammersley & Atkinson, 1995)
“The basic purpose in using these methods is to understand parts of the world as they are experienced and understood in the everyday lives of people who actually ‘live them out’” (Cook & Crang, 1994:4)
Auto-Ethnography JA
Autoethnography: research, writing, story, and method that connect the autobiographical and personal to the cultural, social, and political.
Autoethnographic forms feature concrete action, emotion, embodiment, self-consciousness, and introspection... (Ellis, 2004: XIX).
Being an auto-ethnographer JA
write the story of your approach to environmentalism and sustainable development,
reflect on your positioning, philosophy and action in relation to these issues,
write reflective pieces that document, critique and reflect on the material you engage with (be it
academic, policy, or from the media) and any actions they may move you to take in
your everyday life. engage with the tensions that are perhaps
inevitable when trying to be green “environmentalists lead lives of contradiction”
(Thomashow, 1995:161)
“highlight...the tensions, contradictions, uncertainties, and ambiguities of constructing an ecological identity in the shifting terrains of post-modern life. It is not easy to navigate this terrain, balancing conflicting feelings about technology, politics, faith, nature, and humans. …There are no easy answers, comprehensive programs, or miraculous blueprints that will guide us smoothly to an ecotopian future. Becoming a reflective environmentalist brings happiness and struggle, liberation and suffering. Many of the questions I raise remain unresolved” (Thomashow, 1995:XV).
Approach to teaching and learningRC
This interest in autoethnography is reflected in how we will be teaching, and the assessment:
Small blocks of traditional lecturing Issue readings or other items for you to look at
between sessions Use of focus groups – need for informed consent Field Study Visit to the Centre for Alternative
Technology, Machynlleth
Assessed Work: Reflective Journal/Field Diaries JA
“some kind of record to how the research progresses, day by day, and to chart how the researcher comes to certain (mis)understandings. Diaries should represent the doubts, fears, concerns, feelings, and so on that the researcher has at all stages of her/his work” (from Cook & Crang, 1995:29).
“It's amazingly difficult. It's certainly not something that most people can do well. Social scientists usually don't write well enough. Or they are not sufficiently introspective about their feelings or motives, or the contradictions they experience. Ironically, many are not observant enough of the world around them. The self questioning autoethnography demands is extremely difficult. Often you confront things about yourself that are less than flattering” (Ellis, 2004:XVIII)
“I decided to use myself as a source of information. ...I wanted to use my experience the way [I would] use theirs – to elaborate empirical links with concepts…” (Moss, 2001:3)
“What have you ‘learned’ from reading it [my auto-ethnographic diary]? Not much about ‘me’, I hope. Its not a me-me-me-me-me-me-me-type narrative. Is it? I think it’s an it-me-them-you-here-me-that-you-there-her-us-then-so- … narrative. It’s an ‘expanded field’ thing. And you’re in it too. Aren’t you?” (Cook, in Moss, 2001:120)
Initial Ideas for Field Diary Reflections(from Thomashow, 1995) JA
- in what circumstances do you act in accordance with your values?
- what motivates you to act on public issues? - when do you feel most politically empowered? - when do you experience political apathy? - what political actions cause you to be frustrated or to
feel fulfilled? - what do you consider to be worthwhile political
participation? - are there institutions that facilitate this? - are there modalities of civic participation that best reflect
your political temperament? - what does this tell you about how you should become
involved in the future? - what would you consider as you first political act?
Reflective journalRC
No more than 3600 words: six entries of about 600 words; option of two entries MAX using video (4 mins max per entry)
The key is reflection, not description Scope to use supplementary illustrative material
Please send two draft entries by Friday 18th March for interim feedback: [email protected]
Deadline for reflective journal, Wednesday 18th May 2010