Environmental Attitudes as a Hegemonic Discourse? Towards Decolonial Epistemologies of Environmental Orientations

• In Event: 50620 - Section on Environmental Sociology Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 6: Environmental Identities and Beliefs

Abstract

Environmental attitudes (EA) have long been a central focus within environmental sociology. This work addresses topics from climate change denial and political roots of EA to how demographic characteristics such as gender and race, and culture influence attitudes. Even with this breadth, questions remain about the scope and representation of this research. This paper reviews the major theoretical perspectives in sociological research on EA, revealing that these frameworks are predominantly Global North centric. While successfully describing attitudes in a Western context, this work is inadequate in explaining the environmental orientations in many non-Western contexts. We identify four Western-centric assumptions in dominant theoretical frameworks: (1) human/environment duality; (2) human dominion over the environment; (3) the centrality of environmental concern for pro-environmental behavior; and (4) environment/economy conflict. We study research from Sri Lanka to showcase how these assumptions do not apply in this particular Global South context. We argue that existing theoretical perspectives form a hegemonic episteme that marginalizes and misrepresents non-Western experiences and reifies global environmental inequalities. Drawing on postcolonial theory and Black Feminist Epistemology, we then highlight the need for decolonial epistemologies of environmental orientations that challenge these assumptions and offer new theoretical directions.

Authors

• Naduni Jayasinghe, Louisiana State University

• Kevin T. Smiley, Louisiana State University