[Linganth] John Mathias on his book, Uncommon Cause

[Ilana Gershon]

Dear Colleagues,
Today on the blog, John Mathias discusses his book, *Uncommon Cause: Living
for Enviromental Justice in Kerala *with Chip Zuckerman.

campanthropology.org

Best,
Ilana

Press blurb: 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.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/linganth/attachments/20241230/162559da/attachment.htm>