Sub-disciplining science in sociology: Bridges and barriers between environmental STS and environmental sociology

IF 2.4 Q3 ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES Environmental Sociology Pub Date : 2021-10-20 DOI:10.1080/23251042.2021.1991647

A. Porcelli, J. Besek

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引用次数: 4

Abstract

ABSTRACT It is inarguable that the natural sciences, from chemistry to ecology, are indispensable if sociologists are to address environmental change. Nevertheless, it remains unclear how, exactly, sociologists incorporate natural science into their work. In other words, what might a sociologist mean if they say that natural science is a vital part of their research? Here we examine this question through a comparative history of environmental science and technology studies (eSTS) and environmental sociology (ES), arguably the two sociological subdisciplines to which the inclusion of natural science is most important. Our results show a complicated picture, one in which eSTS and ES, at times, influence one another’s approach to natural science, yet at most other times diverge completely. In the first half of our analysis we detail how they have diverged, showing how most eSTS scholars have treated natural science as an object of analysis while most ES scholars, in turn, have treated natural science as a resource for analysis. Then, in the second half, we discuss where and how they have converged, focusing on three shared concerns: ignorance, democratizing environmental knowledge, and postcolonial epistemologies.

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社会学中的亚学科科学：环境STS与环境社会学之间的桥梁与障碍

摘要社会学家要解决环境变化问题，从化学到生态学，自然科学是不可或缺的。然而，目前尚不清楚社会学家究竟是如何将自然科学纳入他们的工作中的。换言之，如果社会学家说自然科学是他们研究的重要组成部分，那他们的意思是什么？在这里，我们通过环境科学与技术研究（eSTS）和环境社会学（ES）的比较史来研究这个问题，这两个社会学分支学科可以说是纳入自然科学最重要的两个学科。我们的研究结果显示了一幅复杂的画面，在这幅画面中，eSTS和ES有时会影响彼此的自然科学方法，但在大多数其他时候却完全不同。在我们分析的前半部分，我们详细介绍了它们是如何分化的，显示了大多数eSTS学者如何将自然科学作为分析对象，而大多数ES学者则将自然科学视为分析资源。然后，在下半部分，我们讨论了它们在哪里以及如何融合，重点关注三个共同的问题：无知、环境知识民主化和后殖民认识论。

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来源期刊

Environmental Sociology ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES-

CiteScore

4.60

自引率

12.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： Environmental Sociology is dedicated to applying and advancing the sociological imagination in relation to a wide variety of environmental challenges, controversies and issues, at every level from the global to local, from ‘world culture’ to diverse local perspectives. As an international, peer-reviewed scholarly journal, Environmental Sociology aims to stretch the conceptual and theoretical boundaries of both environmental and mainstream sociology, to highlight the relevance of sociological research for environmental policy and management, to disseminate the results of sociological research, and to engage in productive dialogue and debate with other disciplines in the social, natural and ecological sciences. Contributions may utilize a variety of theoretical orientations including, but not restricted to: critical theory, cultural sociology, ecofeminism, ecological modernization, environmental justice, organizational sociology, political ecology, political economy, post-colonial studies, risk theory, social psychology, science and technology studies, globalization, world-systems analysis, and so on. Cross- and transdisciplinary contributions are welcome where they demonstrate a novel attempt to understand social-ecological relationships in a manner that engages with the core concerns of sociology in social relationships, institutions, practices and processes. All methodological approaches in the environmental social sciences – qualitative, quantitative, integrative, spatial, policy analysis, etc. – are welcomed. Environmental Sociology welcomes high-quality submissions from scholars around the world.