ABSTRACT
Our beliefs about energy shape how we use it; our uses of energy simultaneously shape our cultural concepts of and beliefs about energy. People perceive energy as invisible, omnipotent, and dangerous—or as desirable and indispensable, but perhaps unreliable. Through both conceptual essays and case studies, this volume explores cultural conceptions of energy as it is imagined, developed, utilized, and contested in everyday contexts around the globe. The issues of energy use and conservation are crucial for both the United States and the world, yet the degree of social science engagement with this topic—especially in terms of human values, beliefs, and behaviors—has so far been minimal and uneven. Despite the diverse theoretical perspectives of this volume’s contributors, we argue in one voice that human use of energy is understood and experienced through cultural frameworks. Given the fast pace of technical innovation, the blockages to responding effectively to the enormous energy challenges facing us all are fundamentally cultural and political rather than technological. This volume examines cultural conceptions, assumptions, and expectations of energy in societies from many parts of the world, enabling readers to think about energy in new ways: as a cultural artifact in particular contexts, and as a broad, cross-cultural concept and concern.
