The scholarly journal Environment and Society was founded with a specific goal in mind: to bring the environmentally focused research, analysis, and theory building from the social sciences—particularly anthropology, human geography, sociology, and political science—to an audience who might not read the flagship journals of our various disciplines, but would, nevertheless, benefit from knowing about our approaches to environmental problems. As an environmental anthropologist, I have encountered scholars trained in the natural sciences, the humanities, and various policy-oriented fields throughout my career. While these interactions have taken multiple forms, one constant has been the need for a much more broad and robust understanding of the contribution that the social sciences make to complex socio-ecological questions. Environment and Society is an effort to promote that understanding and to foster dialogue between scholars in the many disciplines that are coming together today to bring positive change to this ecologically troubled planet.
Our new companion site, EnviroSociety, strives to broaden this scholarly work through a more dynamic and accessible medium, as well as to expand the conversation that we have been cultivating in the journal over the years. In addition to including highlights from the journal, the main feature of the site is a blog section that focuses on contemporary socio-ecological issues addressed by scholars from the social sciences in a timely and broadly accessible form. Taking their prompts from current events and their own research, our bloggers write through the conceptual and theoretical lens of their disciplines in a way that encourages a broad population to think about both the issues at hand and the perspectives these scholars provide in their analysis.
I speak for my Environment and Society co-editors, our editorial board, and myself when I say that we hope that EnviroSociety becomes a go-to site for people who want to think about and understand contemporary socio-ecological events and issues. We welcome your suggestions, comments, and collaboration on this new and exciting addition to the Environment and Society remit.