**APOLOGIES FOR CROSS POSTINGS**
Alternatives Journal Call for Proposals
TRANSFORMING CULTURE
Culture. It's what we do in our everyday lives. It's also how we express
ourselves--our ways of making meaning and forming our identities. Culture
matters.
Environmental problems are typically regarded as matters of economic,
technical, political, regulatory, and lifestyle choices. Consequently the
proposed solutions to those problems usually fall into the same sorts of
frames. In the short term these can be effective at mitigating
environmental degradation. But it has been suggested that over the long
term they will not be enough to overcome the more fundamental problems with
how much of humanity now sees and organizes itself and its relations with
the non-human world.
Another way of looking at environmental problems sees them as broadly
"cultural." In this view, environmental problems are fundamentally
ideological. They stem from the interactions between our ways of seeing
nature and ourselves, the meanings we produce and reproduce, and the ways
in which we live by those meanings. And, these are perpetuated (and can be
challenged) through the spectrum of human cultural expression.
These cultural dimensions of the environmental crisis are enmeshed with the
economic, political and personal dimensions of social power, including
issues of gender, race, class, ethnicity, and religion. Examples of
cultural approaches to environmental concerns are woven through academic
work in environmental anthropology and sociology, cultural geography,
communication and media studies, environmental philosophy, eco-criticism,
and cultural studies. Such approaches are also reflected in the works of
environmental artists, designers, writers and cultural producers, not to
mention new forms of activism and the everyday lives of many
environmentally concerned people.
This issue of Alternatives seeks to go beyond the recognition that the
ideologies of economic individualism, industrial consumerism and extreme
resourcist anthropocentrism dominate our culture. We hope to explore how
people are actively trying to resist and transform these ideologies through
their cultural activity. We are particularly interested in seeing proposals
that consider interesting cultural practices related to environmental
issues. Among the questions we would like to see explored are the following:
o To what extent and in what ways are environmental problems cultural?
o How can healthy and equitable human relations and relations with
non-human nature be renewed through cultural change?
o How deeply has environmental consciousness permeated dominant Western
culture? How much further does it have to go?
o How will we recognize cultural attitudes and practices favouring
non-consumptive joys, inclusive and egalitarian behaviour, and ecological
understanding when we see them?
o What would ecologically sustainable cultural practices look like?
o How do cultures need to change in order to ward off or adapt to
environmental changes (e.g., global warming, resource depletion)?
o How do we best deal with the apparent tension between respect for
diversity and local choice, and the need for the global adoption of
ecologically and socially viable cultural practices?
o To what extent is there agreement on the kinds of cultural changes that
are needed?
o How does cultural change happen; how could it happen?
o Where and how can cultural change be sown, given the chance to take root?
o What does the diversity of human cultural history offer us for the
future; how can we build on different traditions?
o How effective are "culture jamming" and other challenges to
over-consumption and consumer culture?
o How is globalization affecting our chances for cultural change?
o How can and do the mass media promote eco-cultural change or inertia?
o How is nature being represented in popular culture and why does that matter?
o Is good environmental education enough?
o What role do spiritual organizations and practices play in transforming
culture?
o What are the special problems of cultural change and adaptation in Canada?
Article proposals will fall into three broad categories:
o FEATURES of between 2500-4000 words of a more analytical nature, written
in essay, investigative, or academic style. Submitted papers may be sent
out for peer review.
o REPORTS of between 1000-1500 words covering recent developments or
detailing a relevant case. They are usually written in newsy style, with
some analysis.
o NOTES of between 250-500 words written in news style conveying only the
basic information about a recent development or new initiative.
Honoraria may be negotiated for published features and reports. All
published authors receive a free subscription or gift subscription to
Alternatives Journal.
Proposals should explain what you plan to cover and how you will proceed
with the writing. The proposal should convey your approach, tone, and
style; and should answer the following: What are your specific
qualifications to write on this topic? What sources do you plan to use?
What is your essential argument? How long do you anticipate the article
being?
Authors who have not previously been published in Alternatives Journal
should also include samples of previously published writing.
Alternatives is a quarterly journal dedicated to in-depth analysis of
environmental issues, and in particular, to the connections among
ecological, social and economic dimensions. It combines the learned rigour
of an academic journal with the accessible style and format of a
general-audience magazine, making a unique hybrid that has proved itself by
its staying power: the journal has been publishing continuously in Canada
since 1971, making it the oldest environmental journal in the country.
Alternatives is published by Alternatives Inc., a non-profit charitable
corporation.
For a more detailed style guide, authors are encouraged to consult
Alternatives' Guidelines for Contributors, available from the office or our
web site at http://www.fes.uwaterloo.ca/alternatives/.
The deadline for receipt of article proposals is August 31, 2000.
Submit manuscripts to: Anicka Quin, Managing Editor, Alternatives Journal,
Faculty of Environmental Studies, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L
3G1 phone: (519) 888-4567 X6783, email [log in to unmask]
Anicka Quin
Managing Editor
Financial Manager
Alternatives Journal
Faculty of Environmental Studies
University of Waterloo
Waterloo, ON
N2L 3G1
ph: (519) 888-4567 X6783
fax:(519) 746-0292
<[log in to unmask]>
http://www.fes.uwaterloo.ca/alternatives
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