ABSTRACT

If the political and social benchmarks of sustainability and sustainable development are to be met, ignoring the role of the humanities and social, cultural and ethical values is highly problematic. People’s worldviews, beliefs and principles have an immediate impact on how they act and should be studied as cultural dimensions of sustainability.

Collating contributions from internationally renowned theoreticians of culture and leading researchers working in the humanities and social sciences, this volume presents an in-depth, interdisciplinary discussion of the concept of cultural sustainability and the public visibility of such research. Beginning with a discussion of the concept of cultural sustainability, it goes on to explore its interaction with philosophy, theology, sociology, economics, arts and literature. In doing so, the book develops a much needed concept of ‘culture’ that can be adapted to various disciplines and applied to research on sustainability.

Addressing an important gap in sustainability research, this book will be of great interest to academics and students of sustainability and sustainable development, as well as those studying sustainability within the humanities and social sciences, such as cultural studies, ethics, theology, sociology, literature and history.

part I|60 pages

Concepts of culture and cultural sustainability

part II|64 pages

Philosophy, sociology, economics and cultural sustainability

chapter 6|12 pages

Sustainability and modernisation in conflict

On Roger Scruton’s conservative green philosophy

chapter 8|11 pages

Social happiness as a cultural value

An analysis of shared values for ecosystem assessment

chapter 10|16 pages

Sustainability’s promise of salvation?

A Kuhnian reconstruction of sustainability from resource management to contingency management

part III|122 pages

The arts, literature and cultural sustainability

chapter 11|13 pages

Culture and the arts in sustainable development

Rethinking sustainability research

chapter 13|30 pages

An entangled history of environmental and cultural sustainability

Satirical reflections on the German forest and the German oak as resources of cultural energy

chapter 15|15 pages

The moral dilemma of unsustainability

Eco-dystopian fiction as cultural critique

chapter 16|12 pages

A tale of love and fallout

Lauren Redniss’ graphic narrative and the ecological imaginary

chapter 18|15 pages

Ecogames

Playing to save the planet

part IV|9 pages

Where do we go from here?

chapter 19|7 pages

Conclusion