Uncommon Cause: Living for Environmental Justice in Kerala
How can activists strike a balance between fighting for a cause and sustaining relationships with family, friends, and neighbors? Uncommon Cause follows environmental justice activists in Kerala, India, as they seek out, avoid, or strive to overcome conflicts between their causes and their community ties. John Mathias finds two contrasting approaches, each offering distinct possibilities for an activist life. One set of activists repudiates community ties and resists normative pressures; for them, environmental justice becomes a way of transcending all local identities and affiliations, even humanity itself. Other activists seek to ground their activism in community belonging, to fight for their own people. Each approach produces its own dilemmas and offers its own insights into ethical tensions we all face between taking a stand and standing with others. In sharing Kerala activists’ diverse stories, Uncommon Cause offers a fresh perspective on environmental ethics, showing that environmentalism, even as it looks beyond merely human concerns, is still fundamentally about how we relate to other people.
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Uncommon Cause: Living for Environmental Justice in Kerala
How can activists strike a balance between fighting for a cause and sustaining relationships with family, friends, and neighbors? Uncommon Cause follows environmental justice activists in Kerala, India, as they seek out, avoid, or strive to overcome conflicts between their causes and their community ties. John Mathias finds two contrasting approaches, each offering distinct possibilities for an activist life. One set of activists repudiates community ties and resists normative pressures; for them, environmental justice becomes a way of transcending all local identities and affiliations, even humanity itself. Other activists seek to ground their activism in community belonging, to fight for their own people. Each approach produces its own dilemmas and offers its own insights into ethical tensions we all face between taking a stand and standing with others. In sharing Kerala activists’ diverse stories, Uncommon Cause offers a fresh perspective on environmental ethics, showing that environmentalism, even as it looks beyond merely human concerns, is still fundamentally about how we relate to other people.
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Uncommon Cause: Living for Environmental Justice in Kerala

Uncommon Cause: Living for Environmental Justice in Kerala

by John Mathias
Uncommon Cause: Living for Environmental Justice in Kerala

Uncommon Cause: Living for Environmental Justice in Kerala

by John Mathias

Paperback(First Edition)

$29.95 
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Overview

How can activists strike a balance between fighting for a cause and sustaining relationships with family, friends, and neighbors? Uncommon Cause follows environmental justice activists in Kerala, India, as they seek out, avoid, or strive to overcome conflicts between their causes and their community ties. John Mathias finds two contrasting approaches, each offering distinct possibilities for an activist life. One set of activists repudiates community ties and resists normative pressures; for them, environmental justice becomes a way of transcending all local identities and affiliations, even humanity itself. Other activists seek to ground their activism in community belonging, to fight for their own people. Each approach produces its own dilemmas and offers its own insights into ethical tensions we all face between taking a stand and standing with others. In sharing Kerala activists’ diverse stories, Uncommon Cause offers a fresh perspective on environmental ethics, showing that environmentalism, even as it looks beyond merely human concerns, is still fundamentally about how we relate to other people.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780520395510
Publisher: University of California Press
Publication date: 05/02/2024
Edition description: First Edition
Pages: 276
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

John Mathias is a cultural anthropologist and associate professor in the College of Social Work at Florida State University, where he teaches on activism, community organizing, and social theory.

Table of Contents

Contents

List of Illustrations 
Acknowledgments 
Note on Translation and Orthography 

Introduction: Activist Lives 
1. Living for the People 
2. Living for Our People 
3. Uncommon Subjects 
4. Unquiet Objects 
Conclusion: Life Beyond Activism 

Appendix: Note on Methods 
Notes 
Bibliography 
Index
 
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