Chapter Three: Fielding Climate Change in Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology and Climate Change: From Encounters to Actions, by Susan A Crate (Editor), Mark Nuttall (Editor) January 2009
29 Pages Posted: 17 Feb 2014
Date Written: 2008
Abstract
This chapter examines a number of studies that exemplify the way anthropologists have engaged with various aspects of climate change. We do not intend to present a comprehensive review, but we seek to identify the epistemological and methodological approaches that have led to particularly valuable insights. We recognize that a great deal of research on climate change and its effects on cultural systems and social organization has been carried out in archaeology (Balter 2007; Kuper and Kropelin 2006; Migowski et al. 2006; Richerson 2001), historical ecology (Crumley 1994; McIntosh et al. 2000; Oldfi eld 1993), and cultural ecology (Bogin 1982; de Menocal 2001; Peterson and Haug 2005). In this chapter, however, we focus on the ways that cultural anthropologists address present-day issues related to global climate change, issues that are confronting both local communities and global scientific and policy communities with unparalleled urgency and severity (Batterbury 2008).
Keywords: climate change, global warming
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