GEOG20001 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Commodification, Environmental Politics, Political Ecology
17 May 2018
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WEEK 1: The Social Construction of Nature
Castree, N. (2014): ‘How we make sense of (what we call) nature’
Themes: Nature – What is Natural – Everyday references to Nature
Overview: Castree grapples with the idea of the phrase ‘nature’ in an iconic paper which is iconic in academic literature. He analyses the various uses of the
word nature, from its beginnings to the modern day, and attempts to denaturalise our pre-held conceptions of what we think is nature. He addresses the
following questions: what is nature, where is nature, when is nature. In regard to what is nature, he points to 4 principal meanings: non-human world
(external), entire physical world (universal), a defining quantity (intrinsic) and power/force governing living things (super-ordinate). He concludes that humans
conceputalise natural processes and nature to understand the world we are living in.
Main Points:
• Nature is a keyword, (keyword characteristics: ordinary, enduring + bear social force) with many collateral concepts
o Collateral concept: keywords often generate families of words with a similar meaning
• There is a belief there are degrees of naturalness – a grey area between natural + unnatural
• To preserve nature, we must downscale our own presence
• The term nature is used to the advantage of the author
• Race is a key example used in the understanding of nature, and has 2 different concepts: different phenotype (biological), and ethno-cultural (non-
biological)
Castree, N. (2014): ‘Preface: nature is here, there and everywhere’
Themes: Nature – What is Natural – Everyday references to Nature
Overview: Author explores references to nature in our everyday lives, to make us question what we consider nature and what we consider natural. Under the
following subheadings; hybrid organisms, ecological compensation, natural adverts, crimes against nature, science fiction and laws of nature, wild behaviour
and how to build a human, we are forced to question our use of the word, and how we have constructed the term.
Main Points:
• Nature is related to both humans and animals
• The use of the word nature depends on the context, and can be used in many ways to suit the purpose of the author
• There is no set definition of the word, what do we consider to be nature/natural?
Cronon, W. (1995): ‘The trouble with wilderness, or getting back to the wrong nature’
Themes: Nature – Wilderness as a cultural invention/social construct – Frontier - Dualisms
Overview: The idea of wilderness is a social construct, a result of the cultural norms of which it is invented. Ideas of wilderness have changed over time,
originally associated with deserted wasteland (biblical connotations), now as places to worship + untouched by humans. This shift in paradigm was caused by
ideas of the sublime and frontier, which worked to remake the image of wilderness with moral values + cultural symbols. Protection of wilderness areas now
occurs on an aesthetic basis, associated with emotions these landscapes invoke, to protect the frontier, and to seek primitivism.
Main Points:
• Wilderness is a human conceptualisation, a product of civilisation, and associated with emotion
• Ideas of wilderness are dynamic and change over time due to changing societies – a cultural invention
• Wilderness comes from an aesthetic appeal, other forms of nature are discriminated against
• Dualism: wilderness embodies a dualistic vision in which the human is entirely outside the natural
WEEK 2: The Production + Privatisation of Nature
Smith, N. (1996): ‘The Production of Nature’
Themes: Production of Nature – Nature-Culture – Commodification of Nature – Capitalism – Marxism
Overview: Author uses The Nature Company and environmentalism to outline how nature is being produced commercially. The author explains how nature is
represented in products, as fun, adventurous and educational, without any consideration for the distinction between real and made natures. Social autonomy
from nature, has allowed the capitalist society to flourish, with little hope of less exploitation of nature in the future, unless a shift in the economic system
occurs. Nature is only valued when it is of use to humans. Marxist thinking suggests humans can rationally interchange with nature, control, but in a different
form. Capitalism and labour relies on nature for accumulation, leading to the social construction of nature. The social construction of nature is: cultural and
economic, consists of both the ‘out-there’ nature, and the nature of society, culture and economy – incorporates material with conceptual construction.
Main Points:
• Nature is a powerful term: can be used in include or exclude humans
• Commodification of nature is leading to consumption, which has negative effects on the environment
• Human/nature dualism – events + revolutions leading to our modern-day society show human dominance + ability to separate ourselves from nature
• We will not be able to ‘save nature’ until we recognise we are part of nature
• Access + constructions of nature depend on social structures (class, race)
• Environmental politics must occur at a global scale to be effective – env politics must aspire to live within + alongside nature without dominating it
• Labour is central to the invention + reinvention of nature
Katz, C (1998): ‘Whose nature? Whose culture?’
Themes: Preservation of Nature – Capitalism – Privatisation of Nature – Production of Nature - Dualisms
Overview: The author uses the following subheadings to explain how nature has been privatised. Changes in societal views of nature have converted
protection, rather than exploitation of nature into an accumulation strategy. Nature as an accumulation strategy: nature has become an investment, which is
secured by commodification and privatisation of nature at all scales. Nature preserves are seen as biodiversity banks, which hold value for future use.
Corporate Environmentalism: reproduction of nature as a product (commodification of smaller bits) + privatisation of common property resources – result in
profit. Environmental Preservation: proves social construction of nature, devalues other natures, only preserved due to notions of resources running out.
Restoration + it’s limits: restoration more promising env politics than preservation, requires ongoing production + exchange – bridging divide between
human/nature. Preservation + Restoration as Gateways to Privatisation: preservation + restoration result in a privatised rescripting of nature
Document Summary
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