Ten facts from critical and interpretive social sciences for environmental research
Jasper Montana,
E.A. Welden,
Lea May Anderson,
Aoife Bennett,
Andrea Byfuglien,
Sophie Bhalla,
Hannah Fair,
Beth Greenhough,
Caitlin Hafferty,
Mark Hirons,
Eric Mensah Kumeh,
Victoria Maguire-Rajpaul,
Constance L. McDermott,
Mari Mulyani,
Laura Picot
Affiliations
Jasper Montana
Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, Australian National University, Acton, ACT 2612, Australia; School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UK; Corresponding author
E.A. Welden
Department of Geography, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-4740, USA; Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UK; Corresponding author
Lea May Anderson
Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UK
Aoife Bennett
Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UK; Amazon Sustainability Research Institute, Universidad de Ingeniería & Tecnología, Lima 15063, Peru
Andrea Byfuglien
Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UK
Sophie Bhalla
Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UK; Morwick G360 Groundwater Research Institute, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
Hannah Fair
School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton, University Road, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK
Beth Greenhough
School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UK; Keble College, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3PG, UK
Caitlin Hafferty
Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UK; Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UK
Mark Hirons
Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UK; Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UK
Eric Mensah Kumeh
Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UK; Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UK
Victoria Maguire-Rajpaul
Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UK; Global Sustainability Institute, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB1 1PT, UK
Constance L. McDermott
Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UK; Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UK
Mari Mulyani
Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UK
Laura Picot
Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3QY, UK
Summary: The social sciences are crucial contributors to environmental research. Collectively, they provide insights on the economic, cultural, political, and psychological dimensions of sustainability challenges. Yet, efforts to mainstream the social sciences in environmental research are missing the diversity of social science scholarship. Here, we contend that the critical and interpretive social sciences —which question and rethink established paradigms and power structures— have an invaluable, yet still underutilized, role. We propose that rethinking the focus, conduct, and goals of environmental research recognizing 10 facts from the critical and interpretive social sciences can help environmental research to better support desired transformative change for the benefit of both people and planet.
