Political Ecology: A Critical Introduction

By Paul Robbins

Book Overview

This text presents a critical survey of the burgeoning field of political ecology, an interdisciplinary area of research which connects politics and economy to problems of environmental control and ecological change. Provides the first full history of the development of political ecology over the last century. Considers the major challenges facing the field now and for the future. Written to be accessible to students at all levels and from different disciplines. Uses case examples to explore abstract, theoretical issues in a down-to-earth way. Features study boxes, introducing key figures in the development of the discipline and summarizing their key works. Details of the author's own research experiences to offer a personal glimpse into political ecology research.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1405102667
• ISBN13: 9781405102667
• Release Date: August 2004
• Publisher: Blackwell Publishing
• Length: 242 Pages
• Weight: 1.27 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.7" x 0.8" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Read on Robbins

Not a bad text for advanced environmental studies students. The layperson outside of the classroom may have some difficulty identifying the underlying structure, and deeper meaning of political ecology, which I find to be a radical de-constructionist perspective.

The "A" standard

Robbins has provided the new standard for political ecology texts, at least in geography, although this book is far different from a mundane "textbook." He summarizes both the thrust of what political ecology, what political ecologists do, and the shifting ground beneath our feet as we all struggle to understand and explain human-environment relationships in a political and economically complex world. Some readers and reviewers have fairly pointed out that the volume is too accommodating to perspectives that traditionally clash, or don't mesh very well, to the point of neglecting important differences in how political ecologists conduct research and how they frame it in a particular body of ideas. I am not sure how some of the authors of past works in cultural, human and political ecology (or anthropology) would view Robbins' interpretation of their work, either in the time-line diagrams of how the sub-discipline has evolved or in the sense of being lumped with other practitioners with whom they shared little in common. So, while the book is exceptional, the volume can be critiqued for being a bit too inclusive: Robbins has tried to build a tent large enough to house all of the bickering schools, personalities and research approaches...that rarely agree to enter the same tent.