Abstract
Environmental anthropology has evolved from early ethnographic traditions that emphasized the interplay between culture and ecology to a field increasingly influenced by ideological perspectives across the political spectrum. Traditionally, anthropologists examined how human societies adapted to their environments through cultural practices, laying the groundwork for ecological anthropology. However, in recent decades, the field has increasingly been shaped by political and theoretical shifts that prioritize critiques of capitalism, colonialism, and environmental injustice—sometimes at the cost of empirical diversity and democratic debate. There are critiques of the broader trend in academia where intellectual discourse becomes dominated by elite-driven ideological conformity. Critics warn that this politicization of science could compromise scholarly inquiry, risking environmental anthropology's dismissal as another form of "Grievance studies." This article analyzes key developments in environmental anthropology, critiques its contemporary ideological inclinations, and proposes ways forward that balance ecological analysis with a more pluralistic and empirically grounded approach. It concludes that the challenge should be to ensure scholarship remains intellectually rigorous, open to diverse perspectives, and committed to nuanced, evidence-based inquiry. The increasing polarization of academia, where binary thinking prevails on both left and right, reflects a broader societal trend of ideological entrenchment. While polarized categories of thought are deeply problematic, the response should not be the wholesale rejection of humanities and social sciences, but rather their revitalization as spaces for genuine debate.
Recommended Citation
Kopnina, Helen. "Pluralism and Critique in a Renewed Environmental Anthropology." Journal of Ecological Anthropology 26, no. 1 (2025): .
Available at: https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/jea/vol26/iss1/2
