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Teaching and Learning Resource (TLR)
1. Title
Classifying Environmentalism: A Critical Introduction to Technocentrism and Ecocentrism
2. Keywords
Environmentalism, ecocentrism, technocentrism.
3. Introduction
There is no single, unambiguous, universally-agreed definition of environmentalism (or cognate terms such as environmental and environmentalist). However, for the purposes of this Teaching and Learning Resource (TLR), environmentalism can be understood as referring to texts (in various media) and actions (undertaken by individuals or groups) of a broadly political nature that are – or are claimed to be – concerned in some way with conserving, improving, preserving, protecting or saving the ‘environment’. Of course, just as there are competing definitions of environmentalism, so there is also disagreement as to what constitutes the ‘environment’ - as well as what it means to conserve, improve, preserve, protect or save it - and, of course, the reasons advanced in support of such proposals and activity. Thus, what is called ‘environmentalism’ can actually be seen as a collection of many different environmentalisms (such as Deep Ecology, eco-anarchism, ecofeminism, eco-socialism, and free-market environmentalism); each with its own characteristic set of assumptions about the nature and cause of environmental ‘problems’, and the most appropriate response to those problems. (It should also be noted that some of these environmentalisms are themselves subject to further internal fragmentation.) This interpretation of ‘environmentalism’ is deliberately all-embracing, so that it includes, for example, activity associated with governmental / political organisations (including those not generally seen as being ‘green’) and business organisations (including those accused of causing the greatest environmental damage) – as well as the more obvious activity of environmental pressure groups. Consequently, whilst some of these environmentalisms can be seen as variations on a theme, others appear to stand in more or less direct opposition to one another.
A number scholars have sought to make sense of this diversity by devising more or less simple - often dichotomous - classification systems. One of the best known, and most frequently cited, of these is Timothy O’Riordan’s division of environmentalism into the categories of technocentrism and ecocentrism. The relatively widespread use of this system and its associated terminology in environmentalist texts – despite O’Riordan’s subsequent revisions (1) – is reflected in the writings and discussions of many students. However, this usage - by students and others - is often uncritical. That is, it appears to assume the adequacy of the terms and the system more generally as a means of categorising the somewhat bewildering heterogeneity of contemporary environmentalism.
4. Aim
The aim of this TLR is provide students with a introduction to the classification of contemporary environmentalism. It seeks to achieve this aim by inviting them to think critically about O’Riordan’s division of environmentalism into the categories of technocentrism and ecocentrism - in relation to their own beliefs, and the views advanced by a range of governmental, political, non-governmental and business organisations.
5. Learning outcomes
After using this TLR, students should:
6. Pre-requisites
Students should be able to identify and summarise the key points of a text, and be able to download on-line documents from internet websites.
7. How to use TLR
The TLR has been designed to be used with a class of up to about 20 students broadly as follows.
Stage 1
i) Introduce the TLR, reviewing the nature of the content, the aims and learning outcomes, and the way in which the TLR will be used.
ii) Review what the students have gained from their preparatory work (see Section 12 – Preparation) by asking them – in an all-class discussion:
iii) Divide the class into groups of 4-5 students, and give each student a copy of the Handout 2 (see Appendix B). Instruct each group member to:
Parts (i) and (ii) and the issuing of instructions for part (iii) would require about 60 minutes of class time. Part (iii) would need to be completed during private study.
Stage 2
i) Instruct the students - working in groups - to:
ii) Conduct an all-class discussion focusing on the adequacy (or otherwise) of technocentrism and ecocentrism as a means of categorising the heterogeneity of environmentalist thought. In particular, students might be invited to consider how well the two categories are able to represent environmentalist positions which may exhibit fundamental differences concerning, for example:
8. Instructions to students
As directed by tutor.
9. Stimulus Material
This TLR is based around the following reading:
O’Riordan, T (1981) Environmentalism. London: Pion Books. Chapter 1, The Evolution of Modern Environmentalism. (pp. 1-19)
Note: If this reading cannot be obtained, an abridged extract from the same publication can be found in the following:
O’Riordan, T (1981) Ecocentrism and Technocentrism. (pp. 32-40) In Smith, MJ (ed) Thinking through the Environment. A Reader. London: Routledge and Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
10. Degree stage
This TLR could be used at any degree stage.
11. Resource requirements
Students should have reasonable access to the internet.
12. Preparation
The students should be given a copy of the Reading (see Section 9 - Stimulus Material) and Handout 1 (see Appendix A); and instructed to read the Introduction and Reading, and answer the Study Questions, prior to this exercise. They should also be given a brief introduction to the TLR at this stage.
13. Links with other TLRs
This TLR has been designed as part of a set to be used (ideally) in the following order:
However, it can be used independently of TLRs (1) and (2) provided that students satisfy the pre-requisites as specified in Section 6, and does not need to be followed by TLRs (4) - (7) in order for the learning outcomes (see Section 5) to be achieved.
14. Follow-up activities
See Section 15 - Recommended reading and Section 13 - Links with other TLRs.
15. Recommended reading
For students who wish to deepen their knowledge of the ideas encountered in this TLR, the following texts are recommended:
Note:
(1) For example, in his 1991 paper, The New Environmentalism and Sustainable Development, (published in The Science of the Total Environment, 108, pp. 5-15), O’Riordan presents a schematic representation of the “The contemporary dynamics of environmentalism, social change and environmental management”. This portrays the ‘evolution of environmentalism’ as a series of social movements arranged along a spectrum (progressing from “right to health” to “animal rights”), with five other spectra showing how “environmental management strategies”, “environmental philosophies”, “green labels”, “green movement characteristics”, and “political structures” can be mapped onto the social movements.
Introduction
There is no single, unambiguous, universally-agreed definition of environmentalism (or cognate terms such as environmental and environmentalist). However, for the purposes of this Teaching and Learning Resource (TLR), environmentalism can be understood as referring to texts (in various media) and actions (undertaken by individuals or groups) of a broadly political nature that are – or are claimed to be – concerned in some way with conserving, improving, preserving, protecting or saving the ‘environment’. Of course, just as there are competing definitions of environmentalism, so there is also disagreement as to what constitutes the ‘environment’ - as well as what it means to conserve, improve, preserve, protect or save it - and, of course, the reasons advanced in support of such proposals and activity. Thus, what is called ‘environmentalism’ can actually be seen as a collection of many different environmentalisms (such as Deep Ecology, eco-anarchism, ecofeminism, eco-socialism, and free-market environmentalism); each with its own characteristic set of assumptions about the nature and cause of environmental ‘problems’, and the most appropriate response to those problems. (It should also be noted that some of these environmentalisms are themselves subject to further internal fragmentation.) This interpretation of ‘environmentalism’ is deliberately all-embracing, so that it includes, for example, activity associated with governmental / political organisations (including those not generally seen as being ‘green’) and business organisations (including those accused of causing the greatest environmental damage) – as well as the more obvious activity of environmental pressure groups. Consequently, whilst some of these environmentalisms can be seen as variations on a theme, others appear to stand in more or less direct opposition to one another. A number scholars have sought to make sense of this diversity by devising more or less simple - often dichotomous - classification systems. One of the best known, and most frequently cited, of these is Timothy O’Riordan’s division of environmentalism into the categories of technocentrism and ecocentrism. The relatively widespread use of this system and its associated terminology in environmentalist texts – despite O’Riordan’s subsequent revisions (1) – is reflected in the writings and discussions of many students. However, this usage - by students and others - is often uncritical. That is, it appears to assume the adequacy of the terms and the system more generally as a means of categorising the somewhat bewildering heterogeneity of contemporary environmentalism.
Note:
(1) For example, in his 1991 paper, The New Environmentalism and Sustainable Development, (published in The Science of the Total Environment, 108, pp. 5-15), O’Riordan presents a schematic representation of the “The contemporary dynamics of environmentalism, social change and environmental management”. This portrays the ‘evolution of environmentalism’ as a series of social movements arranged along a spectrum (progressing from “right to health” to “animal rights”), with five other spectra showing how “environmental management strategies”, “environmental philosophies”, “green labels”, “green movement characteristics”, and “political structures” can be mapped onto the social movements.
Study Questions
Read the following text and answer the questions below.
O’Riordan, T (1981) Environmentalism. London: Pion Books. Chapter 1, The Evolution of Modern Environmentalism. (pp. 1-19)
Instructions
For this activity, you will be divided into groups of 4-5 students. You will then be asked to:
Study Questions
Organisations
You are free to choose your own organisation (provided that it is in some way involved in environmental politics or activism, and has produced an appropriate ‘environmentalist’ text). Alternatively, you may select one from the list given below.
Governmental bodies
Political parties
Non-governmental organisations
Business organisations