Understanding Human Ecology Knowledge, Ethics and Politics

This book examines the domain of human agency–environment interaction from a multidimensional point of view. It explores the human–environment interface by analysing its ethical, political and epistemic aspects – the value aspects that humans attribute to their environment, the relations of power in which the actions and their consequences are implicated and the meaning of human actions in relation to the environment. The volume delineates the character of this domain and works out a theoretical framework for the field of human ecology. This book will be a must-read for students, scholars and researchers of environmental studies, human ecology, development studies, environmental history, literature, politics and sociology. It will also be useful to practitioners, government bodies, environmentalists, policy makers and NGOs.

PartI Human ecology: the domain and its dimensionsIntroduction PartII Ethics.1 Environmental scenario of the twentieth century:a historical sketch2 ‘Value’ dynamics in the environmental thought systems PartIII Politics3 ‘Environment’ in the ‘development’ context:a historical inquiry4 The question of ‘political’ in environmental thought systems, movements and as a political process PartIV Knowledge5 The making of human ecology:a historical perspective6 ‘Human ecology’ as a discipline: methodological reflections PartV Ethics, politics, knowledge:a multidimensional approachConclusion BibliographyIndex

Geetha Devi T. V. is Project Coordinator (Honorary), Institute for Social and Ecological Studies (ISES), an NGO based in Kozhikode, Kerala, India, and an independent researcher. She began her academic career in the sciences and completed her postgraduate degree in botany. Subsequently, she moved into the field of human ecology and completed both her MPhil and PhD degrees from the School of Social Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala. She was Lecturer (temporary)of Human Ecology in the Social Sciences department for postgraduate and MPhil programmes. She became an affiliated scholar at the Interuniversity Centre for Social Science Research and Extension (IUCSSRE), M. G. University for one and half years and submitted a working paper titled Sustainable Development and Environmental Policy Making: A Review. She gained insights in Geo-spatial technology from theDr. R. Satheesh Centre for Remote Sensing and GIS at the School of Environmental Sciences, M. G. University and continued research to examine the role of GIS tools in environmental studies and completed training programmes at the National Remote Sensing Centre, Hyderabad. Her research interests include natural resource management, environmental studies, human ecology, environment–development interface, sustainable development and political ecology. Her other interests include music and Indian philosophy.