Understanding Nature and Society

Essay from the year 2008 in the subject Geography / Earth Science - Demographics, Urban Management, Planning, grade: A+, National University of Singapore (Department of Geography), course: Bachelor of Social Sciences (Geography), language: English, abstract: In this essay, a specific timeline, beginning from the 1970s to the present day, that traces the emergence and development of various theories, themes and concepts in the strand of Nature and Society will be discussed. While the timeline may appear to present a linear, chain-like trajectory to the study of nature and society relations in human geography, it is crucial to note that there is no singular definition that can account for all works associated with one theory, say, actor-network theory; and no singular theory that dominates the academic debates entirely at any time. Instead, what are present are gradual emergences of theories that maintain dialectical relations with pre-existing theories, often critiquing, shaping and influencing one another. For example, cultural ecology, which pre-dates political ecology and actor-network theory, is seen to share some resemblance with the latter (Braun, 2007: 151), and continues to be an approach used by some contemporary human geographers.