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International Conservation and Development

International Conservation and Development. ENV 298.58 Feb. 17 – Discourses and Narratives. Environmental Discourses. What is discourse?

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International Conservation and Development

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  1. International Conservation and Development ENV 298.58 Feb. 17 – Discourses and Narratives

  2. Environmental Discourses • What is discourse? “A discourse is a shared way of apprehending the world. Embedded in language, it enables those who subscribe to it to interpret bits of information and put them into coherent stories or accounts” (Dryzek, p.8).

  3. Environmental Discourses • Why is it useful to think about discourse? • Frames problems and solutions, identifies actors and their roles, informs policy • Where do we see evidence of environmental discourses? • Governments • Industry • NGOs • Media • Academia

  4. Dryzek’s “Checklist of Elements for the Analysis of Discourse” • Basic entities recognized or constructed • Assumptions about natural relationships • Agents and their motives • Key metaphors and other rhetorical devices

  5. Dryzek’s “Checklist of Items for Assessing the Effects of Discourses” • Politics associated with the discourse • Effect on policies of governments • Effect on institutions • Arguments of critics • Flaws revealed by evidence and argument

  6. Discourse I: Survivalism • Problem – “freedom in the commons brings ruin to all” (Hardin 1968) • Solutions: • Central authority (strong state) to protect private property, enforce population controls • ‘Original Sources’ • Thomas Malthus (1766-1834) • Garret Hardin and the “Tragedy of the Commons” (1968) • Famous Example: “The Limits to Growth” (1972)

  7. Discourse Checklist: Survivalism • Basic entities recognized or constructed • Finite natural resources • “Population” in the aggregate (a number, not individual people) • Elites – in government; experts

  8. Discourse Checklist: Survivalism • Assumptions about natural relationships • Hierarchy – elites manage and control the masses (population) • Agents and their motives • Elites have agency – they choose how to manage • Populations do not have agency – they are acted upon

  9. ‘spaceship earth’ ‘the population bomb’ The lily pond ‘the cancerous growth of population’ Discourse Checklist: Survivalism 4) Key metaphors and other rhetorical devices

  10. Effects of Survivalism • Politics associated with the discourse • Pressure groups – ZPG; Worldwatch Institute • Effect on policies of governments • China’s one child policy • India – forced sterilization • Effect on institutions • Indirect - need for coordinated global action, e.g. multi-lateral environmental agreements

  11. Effects of Survivalism • Arguments of critics • Religious (e.g. Catholics) • Racist (e.g. Sierra Club scandal) • Feminist • Injust • ‘the Promethean response’ • Flaws revealed by evidence and argument • World has not yet exploded • Consumption vs. population

  12. Recap: Doing Discourse Analysis 1) Identify Elements of Analysis: • Basic entities recognized or constructed • Assumptions about natural relationships • Agents and their motives • Key metaphors and other rhetorical devices

  13. Recap: Doing Discourse Analysis 2) Identify Effects: • Politics associated with the discourse • Effect on policies of governments • Effect on institutions • Arguments of critics • Flaws revealed by evidence and argument

  14. Discourses – Take Home Message • The ‘culprit(s)’ and solutions vary according to how we define problems • Discourse Practice (people don’t always do what they say)

  15. Discourse or Narrative? • Some use them interchangeably • Different philosophical positions • Narratives more specific stories, instead of broader set of ideas

  16. The ‘gist’ of Roe: what is a narrative? • Story with beginning, middle, and end • Defines the problem and its source, required action, and outcome • Allows for decision making in the face of uncertainty

  17. The ‘gist’ of Roe: problems with narratives • Sometimes they are wrong • Become institutionalized • Resilient in the face of challenge, even evidence of fault • Requires a compelling counter-narrative to dislodge a narrative

  18. “Second Nature” (film) • What is the dominant narrative analyzed in the film? Make note of: • Problem/solution • Actors (agents) and their motives • Assumptions about relationships • Metaphors • Links to policy/practice • Arguments of critics • Flaws revealed by evidence and argument

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