Interacting for the environment:Engaging Goffman in pro-environmental action

Hargreaves, Tom ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3764-7364 (2016) Interacting for the environment:Engaging Goffman in pro-environmental action. Society and Natural Resources, 29 (1). pp. 53-67. ISSN 0894-1920

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Abstract

Whilst there are profound disagreements about how more sustainable forms of living might be achieved, most research on pro-environmental action recognises it as a fundamentally social challenge – demanding shifts not merely in individuals’ attitudes and behaviours, but also in social norms, contexts and practices. Despite the social nature of the challenge, perhaps the most fundamental social medium – social interaction - remains under-theorised in this area. To address this gap, this paper applies Erving Goffman’s understandings of social interaction to an ethnographic case study of a pro- environmental change initiative called Environment Champions. The analysis shows that social interaction plays a crucially important role in shaping responses to pro-environmental change processes that has the potential to both help and hinder the spread of pro-environmental action. The paper concludes by exploring how Goffman’s ideas develop and extend current debates about pro- environmental behaviour change.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This is an Open Access article. Non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly attributed, cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way, is permitted. The moral rights of the named author(s) have been asserted.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	banal environmentalism,conspicuous environmentalism,erving goffman,pro-environmental behaviour,social interaction,social practice
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences University of East Anglia Research Groups/Centres > Theme - ClimateUEA
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Centre for Social and Economic Research on the Global Environment (CSERGE) Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Science, Society and Sustainability Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Resources, Sustainability and Governance (former - to 2018) Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Climate, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences (former - to 2017) Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Environmental Social Sciences
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	01 Dec 2015 07:21
Last Modified:	20 Mar 2023 12:37
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/55516
DOI:	10.1080/08941920.2015.1054978

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