Climate Change and Cultural Anthropology

This chapter provides a partial overview of contemporary anthropological engagement with climate change. The aim is twofold: first, to provide a state-of-the-art review of scholarly contributions in this field from 2008 to date; second, to provide researchers with a tool to compare recent contributions. Recently, the discipline reached new levels of reflection regarding multiscale analysis, critics of mainstream concepts of adaptation and mitigation practices, the concept of the Anthropocene, and multidisciplinary and interspecies approaches. Works have expanded from “glocal” analysis and the discussion on the Anthropocene to the development of new relationships with the environment. These perspectives investigate and critique contemporary Western capitalism and exploitative system, promoting a collaborative approach with nonhuman entities. These approaches aim at new sustainable practices and a renovated consciousness of the human role in climate change, by rethinking the concepts, ideas, histories, and cultural influences behind the capitalist system.