Using content analysis, this research examines the impact of the first 25 years of environmental sociology research on current introductory sociology textbooks. The investigators searched the texts for 40 key concepts in environmental sociology and for the inclusion of works by 20 award-winning environmental sociologists. On average, the texts cited 7 of the 40 key concepts. Eliminating multiple citations to a page, the total number of pages cited averaged just under three percent per book. On average, the texts cite four works by influential environmental sociologists. The texts, however, omitted some of the most central, unique concepts in the field. The texts typically treated environmental issues as social problems rather than as the by-products of institutionalized behaviors or practices. There tends to be a positive relationship between the sales of a text and the discussion of the environment.
Challenging the white spaces of environmental sociology
