IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/jenvss/v10y2020i2d10.1007_s13412-020-00592-y.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

EcoTypes: exploring environmental ideas, discovering deep difference

Author

Listed:
  • James D. Proctor

    (Lewis & Clark College)

Abstract

The EcoTypes initiative, launched in early 2017, is a joint research and educational effort focusing primarily on students enrolled in undergraduate environmental courses in US institutions of higher education. EcoTypes was designed for participants to explore the fundamental ideas that shape how they approach environmental issues. They do so via a survey consisting of 15 key scales or axes (e.g., Aesthetics, Change, or Diversity); in the last 2 years, the EcoTypes survey has been completed approximately 3000 times by students in roughly 50 institutions. These 15 axes can be gathered via statistical analysis into three themes, including Place (human/nonhuman), Knowledge (old/new), and Action (small/big). The tensions and contradictions inherent in each theme suggest deep difference, an unsettled environmental contradiction with plural truths that cannot readily be harmonized. EcoTypes themes offer participants an opportunity to discover and engage across deep difference in a manner resonant with the coproduction of knowledge, though never toward some static consensus. EcoTypes suggests that the disagreement and difference we commonly experience today are inherent in environmental issues, not simply a matter of differing opinion, challenging us to take seriously the necessity of engagement across difference.

Suggested Citation

  • James D. Proctor, 2020. "EcoTypes: exploring environmental ideas, discovering deep difference," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 10(2), pages 178-188, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:jenvss:v:10:y:2020:i:2:d:10.1007_s13412-020-00592-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s13412-020-00592-y
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s13412-020-00592-y
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s13412-020-00592-y?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mark W. Neff & Zander Albertson, 2020. "Does higher education prepare students to bridge divides in today’s democracy?," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 10(2), pages 196-204, June.
    2. Michael Maniates & Thomas Princen, 2015. "Fifteen claims: social change and power in environmental studies," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 5(2), pages 213-217, June.
    3. James Proctor & Susan Clark & Kimberly Smith & Richard Wallace, 2013. "A manifesto for theory in environmental studies and sciences," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 3(3), pages 331-337, September.
    4. Shirley Vincent & Will Focht, 2011. "Interdisciplinary environmental education: elements of field identity and curriculum design," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 1(1), pages 14-35, March.
    5. Michael F. Maniates, 2001. "Individualization: Plant a Tree, Buy a Bike, Save the World?," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 1(3), pages 31-52, August.
    6. Susan Caplow, 2020. "The role of EcoTypes in engagement across difference," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 10(2), pages 189-195, June.
    7. James D. Proctor & Jennifer Bernstein & Philip Brick & Emma Brush & Susan Caplow & Kenneth Foster, 2018. "Environmental engagement in troubled times: a manifesto," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 8(3), pages 362-367, September.
    8. Jennifer Bernstein, 2020. "(Dis)agreement over what? The challenge of quantifying environmental worldviews," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 10(2), pages 169-177, June.
    9. Puente-Rodríguez, Daniel & van Slobbe, Erik & Al, Iris A.C. & Lindenbergh, D.E. (Danny), 2016. "Knowledge co-production in practice: Enabling environmental management systems for ports through participatory research in the Dutch Wadden Sea," Environmental Science & Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(P3), pages 456-466.
    10. Emma Brush, 2020. "Inconvenient truths: pluralism, pragmatism, and the need for civil disagreement," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 10(2), pages 160-168, June.
    11. Ellis, Richard J. & Thompson, Fred, 1997. "Culture and the Environment in the Pacific Northwest," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 91(4), pages 885-897, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Susan Caplow, 2020. "The role of EcoTypes in engagement across difference," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 10(2), pages 189-195, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mark W. Neff & Zander Albertson, 2020. "Does higher education prepare students to bridge divides in today’s democracy?," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 10(2), pages 196-204, June.
    2. Susan Caplow, 2020. "The role of EcoTypes in engagement across difference," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 10(2), pages 189-195, June.
    3. Eve Z. Bratman & William P. DeLince, 2022. "Dismantling white supremacy in environmental studies and sciences: an argument for anti-racist and decolonizing pedagogies," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 12(2), pages 193-203, June.
    4. Shirley Vincent & Stephen Mulkey, 2015. "Transforming US higher education to support sustainability science for a resilient future: the influence of institutional administrative organization," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 341-363, April.
    5. James Proctor & Jennifer Bernstein & Richard Wallace, 2015. "Introduction: unsettling the ESS curriculum," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 5(2), pages 195-199, June.
    6. James Proctor, 2015. "Theory in, theory out: NCSE and the ESS curriculum," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 5(2), pages 218-223, June.
    7. Sun-Ki Chai & Dolgorsuren Dorj & Katerina Sherstyuk, 2018. "Cultural Values and Behavior in Dictator, Ultimatum, and Trust Games: An Experimental Study," Research in Experimental Economics, in: Experimental Economics and Culture, volume 20, pages 89-166, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    8. Niklas Harring & Sverker C. Jagers, 2013. "Should We Trust in Values? Explaining Public Support for Pro-Environmental Taxes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(1), pages 1-18, January.
    9. James D. Proctor & Jennifer Bernstein & Philip Brick & Emma Brush & Susan Caplow & Kenneth Foster, 2018. "Environmental engagement in troubled times: a manifesto," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 8(3), pages 362-367, September.
    10. Debra Javeline & Tracy Kijewski-Correa & Angela Chesler, 2019. "Does it matter if you “believe” in climate change? Not for coastal home vulnerability," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 155(4), pages 511-532, August.
    11. Di Vaio, Assunta & Varriale, Luisa & Alvino, Federico, 2018. "Key performance indicators for developing environmentally sustainable and energy efficient ports: Evidence from Italy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 229-240.
    12. Manisha Anantharaman, 2018. "Critical sustainable consumption: a research agenda," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 8(4), pages 553-561, December.
    13. Assunta Di Vaio & Luisa Varriale, 2018. "Management Innovation for Environmental Sustainability in Seaports: Managerial Accounting Instruments and Training for Competitive Green Ports beyond the Regulations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-35, March.
    14. Teresa Kramarz & Susan Park, 2016. "Accountability in Global Environmental Governance: A Meaningful Tool for Action?," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 16(2), pages 1-21, May.
    15. Veronika Winter & Johanna Kranz & Andrea Möller, 2022. "Climate Change Education Challenges from Two Different Perspectives of Change Agents: Perceptions of School Students and Pre-Service Teachers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-29, May.
    16. Janina Grabs & Graeme Auld & Benjamin Cashore, 2021. "Private regulation, public policy, and the perils of adverse ontological selection," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(4), pages 1183-1208, October.
    17. Jennifer Bernstein, 2020. "(Dis)agreement over what? The challenge of quantifying environmental worldviews," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 10(2), pages 169-177, June.
    18. Dowty, Rachel A. & Wallace, William A., 2010. "Implications of organizational culture for supply chain disruption and restoration," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(1), pages 57-65, July.
    19. Brian Burgoon & Luc Fransen, 2018. "Might Corporate Social Responsibility Hollow Out Support for Public Assistance in Europe?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 56(1), pages 128-163, March.
    20. Nelson Oliveira Stefanelli & Charbel José Chiappetta Jabbour & Lara Bartocci Liboni Amui & Jorge Henrique Caldeira de Oliveira & Hengky Latan & Pascal Paillé & Martin Hingley, 2021. "Unleashing proactive low‐carbon strategies through behavioral factors in biodiversity‐intensive sustainable supply chains: Mixed methodology," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(5), pages 2535-2555, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:jenvss:v:10:y:2020:i:2:d:10.1007_s13412-020-00592-y. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.