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What is the story with sustainability? A narrative analysis of diverse and contested understandings

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  • Aliette K. Frank

    (University of British Columbia)

Abstract

Since the coining of the term “sustainability/sustainable development,” diverse and contested understandings of sustainability theory and practice have circulated both within the academy and the public at large. For the most part, sustainability has been approached from a very science-dominated perspective. That is only part of the story: while science is important for sustainability, science alone cannot account for the many situated dimensions of life. In contrast to science, story—or narrative—as both a mode of knowing and process of knowledge construction, can account for life’s place-, time-, and event-dependent dimensions. This paper performs a narrative analysis of eight different conceptual frameworks of sustainability—Deep Ecology, Social Ecology, Ecofeminism, Environmental History and Human Geography/Ecology, Complex Adaptive Systems, Political Ecology, Ecological Economics, and Business and Sustainability—to identify where these frameworks are commensurate and irreconcilable, with the aim of exploring a coherent alternative to current practice and conventional ways of thinking.

Suggested Citation

  • Aliette K. Frank, 2017. "What is the story with sustainability? A narrative analysis of diverse and contested understandings," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 7(2), pages 310-323, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jenvss:v:7:y:2017:i:2:d:10.1007_s13412-016-0388-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s13412-016-0388-3
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    1. Franzisca Weder & Stella Lemke & Amornpan Tungarat, 2019. "(Re)storying Sustainability: The Use of Story Cubes in Narrative Inquiries to Understand Individual Perceptions of Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-15, September.
    2. Heidi Hendersson & Christine Wamsler, 2020. "New stories for a more conscious, sustainable society: claiming authorship of the climate story," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 158(3), pages 345-359, February.
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    4. Filippo Gambella & Giovanni Quaranta & Nathan Morrow & Renata Vcelakova & Luca Salvati & Antonio Gimenez Morera & Jesús Rodrigo-Comino, 2021. "Soil Degradation and Socioeconomic Systems’ Complexity: Uncovering the Latent Nexus," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-13, January.
    5. Ben Purvis & Hannah Keding & Ashley Lewis & Phil Northall, 2023. "Critical reflections of postgraduate researchers on a collaborative interdisciplinary research project," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-13, December.
    6. Erik Aschenbrand & Thomas Michler, 2021. "Why Do UNESCO Biosphere Reserves Get Less Recognition than National Parks? A Landscape Research Perspective on Protected Area Narratives in Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-18, December.
    7. Isabell Koinig & Franzisca Weder, 2021. "Employee Representatives and a Good Working Life: Achieving Social and Communicative Sustainability for HRM," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-19, July.

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