- Between weeks 8 and 12, each student should provide a weekly reflection (500 words) on the data you have collected to date.
- What data did you collect?
- What is your initial impression of the data?
- How have the data you have collected this week changed/progressed your thinking about your research project?
- What challenges did you encounter while collecting the data?
- What are your next steps?
This week, I began my interviews and have completed interviews with three respondents so far. My first impression of the data from these interviews is that different activists, even though they operate within the same organization, may hold very different worldviews when it comes to the social structures that impact the environment, and thus their priorities as activists. One respondent was very clear about the connection between neoliberalism and environmentalism, as she in fact brought up neoliberalism without me prompting her to, and spent much of our interview targeting the relationship between government and the fossil fuel industry as a necessary area for change. My other two respondents both had mixed mindsets when it came to neoliberalism. One of them saw the connection between fossil fuel industry and other corporations and the government, describing it as “corruption” but also emphasized that she hopes to educate individuals to change their minds about the environment. My other respondent also placed a lot of emphasis on the role of everyday individuals, heavily emphasizing that she wishes she could get people to “care” more. Both of these respondents framed the issue as one of a lack of information: if only people knew, they would care and they would act. This embodies neoliberalism because it assumes that individuals will make rational decisions if given all available information.
I plan on conducting two more interviews next week, and look forward to seeing how my next two respondents’ perspectives fit in with those that I have gathered so far.
Kashyap, Rajiv K., Easwar S. Iyer, and Bobby Subhabrata Bannerjee. 2009. “Relationship between Corporate and Individual Environmental Responsibility.” in Consumer Behavior.
This article seeks to draw connections between individual environmental responsibility and corporate responsibility. This concept is relevant because the individual and corporations play different roles in neoliberal logic; the individual is considered responsible for the own actions while the corporation is meant to act in the interest of profit and growth. Environmental concerns may not necessarily be in the best interest of corporations, but as my respondents show, they may, in fact, be a rational decision on the part of individuals. This finds that there is a strong relationship between individual and corporate environmental responsibility and suggest that both of these orientations are important for developing widespread environmental responsibility. This may support what my respondents have argued, namely that individuals contributing to collective power can not only increase individual responsibility for environmentalism but also change the orientations of corporations and other large entities, such as government.
Wanner, Thomas. 2015. “The New ‘Passive Revolution’ of the Green Economy and Growth Discourse: Maintaining the ‘Sustainable Development’ of Neoliberal Capitalism.” New Political Economy 20(1):21–41.
This article argues that green economy/green growth are still entrenched in capitalism and therefore do not get at the root issues of inequality and prevents progress on social justice. It argues that these green economy/green growth proposals therefore maintain the ideals and discourses of neoliberal capitalism. This argument is important because it conflicts with the methods that the respondents I have interviewed focus on. A major component of their activism is the Green New Deal, which I believe fits within the paradigm of green economy. While my respondents have been critical of neoliberalism, capitalism, and corporations’ involvement in government, they are also proponents of the Green New Deal. This article may provide an opportunity to explore whether these ideas are actually contradictory or whether the Green New Deal can be seen as a method of pushing back against neoliberalism.
Comments:
Glad to hear that your interviews went well, Sophie. It is great that you encountered a variety of approaches to environmental activism among your informants. This will make your argument more nuanced than it would otherwise be.
One quick point on your last comment: remember that when we discussed “strangers in their own land,” we pointed out how lack of transparency and of education can not fully help us to understand why people make the political choices that they are making. When you interview others, maybe you can somehow incorporate this insight into your interviews (if possible).
As for your sources, I think the first one is good. But I am not sure if the second source will be helpful for your analysis of environmental activism since or your research, you are mostly focusing on the discourses and practices of the activists ( I might be wrong about this, though). But for your next interviews, you might want to bring up the ideas that this article makes and see if your informants will have anything to say about them (you might just say “some people claim that…what do you think” or something like that)