Reimagining Sustainability in Precarious Times - Hardcover

by Karen Malone (Editor), Son Truong (Editor), Tonia Gray (Editor)

This book reflects the considerable appeal of the Anthropocene and the way it stimulates new discussions and ideas for reimagining sustainability and its place in education in these precarious times. The authors explore these new imaginings for sustainability using varying theoretical perspectives in order to consider innovative ways of engaging with concepts that are now influencing the field of sustainability and education. Through their theoretical analysis, research and field work, the authors explore novel approaches to designing sustainability and sustainability education. These approaches, although diverse in focus, all highlight the complex interdependencies of the human and more-than-human world, and by unpacking binaries such as human/nature, nature/culture, subject/object and de-centring the human expose the complexities of an entangled human-nature relation that are shaping our understanding of sustainability. These messy relations challenge the well-versed mantras of anthropocentric exceptionalism in sustainability and sustainability education and offer new questions rather than answers for researchers, educators, and practitioners to explore. As working with new theoretical lenses is not always easy, this book also highlights the authors' methods for approaching these ideas and imaginings.

Back Jacket

This book reflects the considerable appeal of the Anthropocene and the way it stimulates new discussions and ideas for reimagining sustainability and its place in education in these precarious times. The authors explore these new imaginings for sustainability using varying theoretical perspectives in order to consider innovative ways of engaging with concepts that are now influencing the field of sustainability and education. Through their theoretical analysis, research and field work, the authors explore novel approaches to designing sustainability and sustainability education. These approaches, although diverse in focus, all highlight the complex interdependencies of the human and more-than-human world, and by unpacking binaries such as human/nature, nature/culture, subject/object and de-centring the human expose the complexities of an entangled human-nature relation that are shaping our understanding of sustainability. These messy relations challenge the well-versed mantras of anthropocentric exceptionalism in sustainability and sustainability education and offer new questions rather than answers for researchers, educators, and practitioners to explore. As working with new theoretical lenses is not always easy, this book also highlights the authors' methods for approaching these ideas and imaginings.
"The book definitely makes an original contribution to the field. Most of the published work related to sustainability in science education does not draw on posthumanism, new materialism or feminist philosophies. I think this book is unique in its use of these theoretical constructs to make sense of sustainability practices in a range of diverse contexts. I think there is an urgent need for this book in the academic community and beyond." Deborah Tippins, University of Georgia, College of Education

Author Biography

Professor Karen Malone is a Professor of Sustainability at Western Sydney University's Centre for Educational Research. She has been sustainability thematic leader since the inception of theme leaders in CER over two years ago. She is an international expert on sustainable cities, children's environments, human rights, environmental education, education for sustainable development, and the sociology of childhood. She has predominantly conducted her research utilising socially critical and human geography theory, but in more recent times has been exploring posthumanism as a theoretical approach for framing her research.
Dr Son Truong is a lecturer in the School of Education and a member of Western Sydney University's Sustainability Research Team at the Centre for Educational Research. He has extensive experience working with young people in diverse educational settings in majority and minority world contexts. His teaching and research converge around contemporary issues of wellbeing, outdoor learning and environmental education. He has presented and published in the area of children's wellbeing, children's environments, participatory methodologies and international education.
Associate Professor Tonia Gray is a specialist in secondary education at Western Sydney University's School of Education and a senior researcher at the Centre for Educational Research. Tonia has been an active member of the sustainability thematic strand since the group was formed at the CER over two years ago. As a leading expert in outdoor and experiential education, she has written widely on the topic.