ABSTRACT
Environmental sociologists have spent a good deal of worthwhile effort rethinking the classical macrosociological theories of Emile Durkheim (Catton, 1998; Jarvikoski, 1996), Karl Marx (Dickens, 1997; Foster, 1999), and Max Weber (Foster and Holleman, 2012; Murphy, 1994; West, 1985) for developing environmental sociological theory. These and other more macro-oriented theories, such as the treadmill of production, ecological modernization, and risk society, often receive significant coverage and prominent representation in environmental sociology textbooks, readers, and handbooks (Brewster, 2011). While microsociological theories are valued in sociology, they have been treated fairly dismissively in environmental sociology (Dunlap, 2002: 17; Dunlap and Catton, 1983: 117-118; Freudenburg and Gramling, 1989: 441). This volume is the first of its kind to represent a diversity of microsociological perspectives for environmental sociology, as we hope to redress this theoretical imbalance in the field.
