Motivated by a deeply rooted sense of place and community, Appalachian women have long fought against the damaging effects of industrialization. In this collection of interviews, sociologist Shannon Elizabeth Bell presents the voices of twelve Central Appalachian women, environmental justice activists fighting against mountaintop removal mining and its devastating effects on public health, regional ecology, and community well-being. Each woman narrates her own personal story of injustice and tells how that experience led her to activism. The interviews--many of them illustrated by the women's "photostories"--describe obstacles, losses, and tragedies. But they also tell of new communities and personal transformations catalyzed through activism. Bell supplements each narrative with careful notes that aid the reader while amplifying the power and flow of the activists' stories. Bell's analysis outlines the relationship between Appalachian women's activism and the gendered responsibilities they feel within their families and communities. Ultimately, Bell argues that these women draw upon a broader "protector identity" that both encompasses and extends the identity of motherhood that has often been associated with grassroots women's activism. As protectors, the women challenge dominant Appalachian gender expectations and guard not only their families but also their homeplaces, their communities, their heritage, and the endangered mountains that surround them. 30% of the proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to organizations fighting for environmental justice in Central Appalachia.

In the twentieth century, disasters caused by human beings have become more and more common. Unlike earthquakes and other natural catastrophes, this 'new species of trouble' afflicts person and groups in particularly disruptive ways.

Contextualizing the Case : Central Appalachia --Micro-Level Processes and Social Movement Participation -- The Depletion of Social Capital in Coalfield Communities -- Identity and Environmental Justice Movement Participation -- Cognitive Liberation and Coal Industry Ideology -- Cognitive Liberation and Hidden Destruction in Central Appalachia -- Photovoice in Five Coalfield Communities -- Becoming, and Un-Becoming, an Activist.

Thoreau's Religion presents a ground-breaking interpretation of Henry David Thoreau's most famous book, Walden. Rather than treating Walden Woods as a lonely wilderness, Balthrop-Lewis demonstrates that Thoreau's ascetic life was a form of religious practice dedicated to cultivating a just, multispecies community. The book makes an important contribution to scholarship in religious studies, political theory, English, environmental studies, and critical theory by offering the first sustained reading of Thoreau's religiously motivated politics. In Balthrop-Lewis's vision, practices of renunciation like Thoreau's can contribute to the reformation of social and political life. In this, the book transforms Thoreau's image, making him a vital source for a world beset by inequality and climate change. Balthrop-Lewis argues for an environmental politics in which ecological flourishing is impossible without economic and social justice.

This handbook defines the contours of environmental sociology and invites readers to push boundaries in their exploration of this important subdiscipline. It offers a comprehensive overview of the evolution of environmental sociology and its role in this era of intensified national and global environmental crises. Its timely frameworks and high-impact chapters will assist in navigating this moment of great environmental inequality and uncertainty. The handbook brings together an outstanding group of scholars who have helped redefine the scope of environmental sociology and expand its reach and impact. Their contributions speak to key themes of the subdiscipline—inequality, justice, population, social movements, and health. Chapter topics include environmental demography, food systems, animals and the environment, climate change, disasters, and much more. The emphasis on public environmental sociology and the forward-thinking approach of this collection is what sets this volume apart. This handbook can serve as an introduction for students new to environmental sociology or as an insightful treatment that current experts can use to further their own research and publication. It will leave readers with a strong understanding of environmental sociology and the motivation to apply it to their work.

In the last fifty years, the Appalachian Mountains have suffered permanent and profound change due to the expansion of surface coal mining. The irrevocable devastation caused by this practice has forced local citizens to redefine their identities, their connections to global economic forces, their pasts, and their futures. Religion is a key factor in the fierce debate over mountaintop removal; some argue that it violates a divine mandate to protect the earth, while others contend that coal mining is a God-given gift to ensure human prosperity and comfort. In Religion and Resistance in Appalachia: Faith and the Fight against Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining, Joseph D. Witt examines how religious and environmental ethics foster resistance to mountaintop removal coal mining. Drawing on extensive interviews with activists, teachers, preachers, and community leaders, Witt's research offers a fresh analysis of an important and dynamic topic. His study reflects a diversity of denominational perspectives, exploring Catholic and mainline Protestant views of social and environmental justice, evangelical Christian readings of biblical ethics, and Native and nontraditional spiritual traditions. By placing Appalachian resistance to mountaintop removal in a comparative international context, Witt's work also provides new outlooks on the future of the region and its inhabitants. His timely study enhances, challenges, and advances conversations not only about the region, but also about the relationship between religion and environmental activism.

The sixth edition of Environment and Society continues to connect issues about human societies, ecological systems, and the environment with data and perspectives from different fields. While the text looks at environmental issues from a primarily sociological viewpoint, it is designed for courses in Environmental Sociology and Environmental Issues in departments of Sociology, Environmental Studies, Anthropology, Political Science, and Human Geography. Clearly defined terms and theories help familiarize students from various backgrounds with the topics at hand. Each of the chapters is significantly updated with new data, concepts, and ideas. Chapter Three: Climate Change, Science and Diplomacy, is the most extensively revised with current natural science data and sociological insights. It also details the factors at play in the establishment of the Paris Agreement and its potential to affect global climate change. This edition elevates questions of environmental and climate justice in addressing the human-environment relations and concerns throughout the book. Finally, each chapter contains embedded website links for further discussion or commentary on a topic, concludes with review and reflection questions, and suggests further readings and internet sources.

Ecocriticism and Appalachian studies continue to grow and thrive in academia, as they expand on their foundational works to move in new and exciting directions. When researching these areas separately, there is a wealth of information. However, when researching Appalachian ecocriticism specifically, the lack of consolidated scholarship is apparent. With Appalachian Ecocriticism and the Paradox of Place, editors Jessica Cory and Laura Wright have created the only book-length scholarly collection of Appalachian ecocriticism. Appalachian Ecocriticism and the Paradox of Place is a collection of scholarly essays that engage environmental and ecocritical theories and Appalachian literature and film. These essays, many from well-established Appalachian studies and southern studies scholars and ecocritics, engage with a variety of ecocritical methodologies, including ecofeminism, ecospiritualism, queer ecocriticism, and materialist ecocriticism, to name a few. Adding Appalachian voices to the larger ecocritical discourse is vital not only for the sake of increased diversity but also to allow those unfamiliar with the region and its works to better understand the Appalachian region in a critical and authentic way. Including Appalachia in the larger ecocritical community allows for the study of how the region, its issues, and its texts intersect with a variety of communities, thus allowing boundless possibilities for learning and analysis.

The Oxford Handbook of Environmental History draws on a wealth of new scholarship to offer diverse perspectives on the state of the field.